https://maritime-mile.com/city-quays/
Belfast Harbour was first established in the area now known as City Quays, where the rivers Lagan, Farset and Blackstaff converged. The first quays were built here for early merchants trading linen and other commodities. Modern Belfast retains much of its early maritime heritage, and the area once dominated by shipyards is now one of Europe’s largest waterfront regeneration sites with millions of visitors every year, and a busy port handling millions of tonnes of cargo.
The area is currently being regenerated from old shipping warehouses and port operations into modern office blocks and hotels. The modern City Quays offices now house tech companies, legal firms and the UTV studios. The AC Hotel has stunning views across the waterfront, and celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli has his signature restaurant there. Much of the early heritage of the area has been retained from the Clarendon Dry Docks, to the stunning Harbour Offices. Dating from the 1850s, the Harbour Offices have a heritage room detailing Belfast’s emergence as a major port and the city’s subsequent growth and development as an industrial hub. Inside you can also see the Titanic Captain’s table, due to travel on board but missed the iconic liner’s fateful journey.
The nearby Clarendon Docks are the oldest remaining docks in Belfast Harbour, built in the 1800s, and though no longer used, are an important link to Belfast’s past. They were constructed by Belfast’s first commercial shipbuilder, William Ritchie, beginning hundreds of years of innovative ship design and construction in the Harbour. Belfast would go on to have some of the most productive shipyards in the world, with the biggest dry docks in the world.
One of Belfast’s earliest remaining quays, Donegall Quay was built in the early 1800s and named after the Earls of Donegall, one of Belfast’s original landowning families, also commemorated by Donegall Square, surrounding City Hall.
A walk along Donegall Quay offers the best views of Belfast – you can see out towards Belfast Lough, across to the iconic H&W cranes, Titanic Belfast, and upriver to the city centre. City Quays also includes the park around the Big Fish sculpture, Belfast’s salmon of knowledge, which is the starting point for the Maritime Mile. Keep an eye out for the Sammy the Seal sculptures, marking the seal colony that still lives in Belfast Harbour.
