With the Victorian splendour of Queen's University at its heart, Queen's Quarter, in the south of the city, offers a compelling mix of traditional and contemporary artistic and cultural life, superb restaurants and cafes, a vibrant nightlife and attractions to suit all tastes elegant Botanic Gardens to super dance clubs like Shine and the M-club and stylish bars like the Fly, as well as a fascinating collection of art galleries and arts centres, Queen's Quarter is the perfect place to unwind.

Designed in a Tudor style by Charles Lanyon in 1849, the entrance to Queen's Universtiy is a version of Magdalen Tower, Oxford.The striking Lanyon Building is a good place to start your tour. Call into the Queen's university Visitor Centre, they enjoy a coffee in the Great Hall. Afterwards, recharge your cultural batteries at the Naughton Gallery and the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, a new cultural venue that attracts writers from around the world and has a beautiful new Reading Room, which is open to the public. Look out for special events at the magnificent new Centre for Drama and Film at Queen's, which houses a 150-seat theatre and the Queen's Film Theatre, home to the finest in world cinema.

Across the road from Queen's University is Elmwood Hall – home to the Ulster Orchestra, a world-class symphony orchestra. Built in 1862, it was the only church that the architect John Carry designed in the North Italian Romanesque style.Renowned actors Liam Neeson, Adrian Dunbar and Jimmy Nesbitt all cut their teeth at the atmospheric Lyric Theatre in Ridgeway Street, which has been producing scintillating classical and contemporary drama for over three decades now, including the work of top local playwrights like Marie' Stones in his Pockets' Johns and Gary Mitchell.8,000 square metres of galleries, rich collections of art, archaeology, local history and natural sciences are the perfect ingredients for a day out at the Ulster Museum. It's perfect for families too.

Afterwards take a different kind of stroll through the past at the delightful Palm House, the earliest surviving use of curvilinear glass and cast iron in the world and the Tropical Ravine in the adjacent Botanic Gardens. Within these glasshouses grow all manner of exotic and striking plants: from passion flowers to colourful climbers, from elegant palms to delicate ferns- an unforgettable tropical journey.

If you have time, don't miss the ancient and beautiful Friar's Bush walled graveyard nearby – Belfast's oldest Christian site which has a plot for those who died in the cholera outbreak of the 1880s.The King's Hall Exhibition and Conference Centre in Balmoral hosts a series of enthralling exhibitions and shows throughout the year, including the Balmoral Show, Ideal Home Exhibition and the Practical Garden Show.The church at Newtownbreda Village dates from 1737 and in the graveyard are buried merchant princes and figures from the rebellious 1790s.Belvoir Park Forest and the top-class Belvoir Park golf course are close at hand.

Excerpt from “Belfast 2006” by Belfast Visitor & Convention Bureau