Secret Belfast

Discover how the city stood up against the evils of the slave trade, admire its stunning art deco facades, unearth beautiful stained-glass windows by an accomplished yet little-known female artist, take to the windy coastal paths just out of town and peek into caves where smugglers once hid their loot, visit the humble cottage of an American president, uncover the mysteries of Bronze Age burial grounds and Stone Age forts, squeeze down a secret underground tunnel or take a boat ride to see the city's seal colony, visit the place where Marconi sent his first wireless signal across the waves, go to a cinema shaped like a ship. Small, yet bursting with history and mystery, Belfast, far from the crowds and the usual clichés, is a reserve of well-concealed treasures that only reveal themselves to those who know how to wander off the beaten track, whether residents or visitors. An indispensable experience.