where is belfast

Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, located on the northeast coast of the island of Ireland at the mouth of the River Lagan where it opens into Belfast Lough.

Quick Scoop: Where is Belfast?

Belfast sits on the northeast of the island of Ireland, facing the Irish Sea via Belfast Lough. It is about 100 miles (roughly 160 km) north of Dublin, connected by road and rail along what’s often called the Dublin–Belfast corridor.

Key location facts

• Capital city of Northern Ireland, in the United Kingdom.

• Located on the banks of the River Lagan, near where it flows into Belfast Lough (a sea inlet).

• On the northeast coast of the island of Ireland, facing towards Scotland across the North Channel.

• One of the major cities on the island, second in size only to Dublin.

Nearby and wider context

• On the island of Ireland: Belfast is in the northern part; Dublin is further south on the east coast.

• In UK terms: Belfast is one of the key regional cities alongside London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff, but it’s the main urban center for Northern Ireland.

If you picture a map of Ireland, Belfast is up in the top-right corner, on the coast, with the river running into a wide sea inlet.

A quick note on “Belfast” elsewhere

There are other places named Belfast, for example Belfast in the U.S. state of Maine, a small coastal city in Waldo County. But when people ask “where is Belfast?” they almost always mean the Northern Ireland capital described above.

TL;DR: Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, in the UK, on the northeast coast of the island of Ireland where the River Lagan meets Belfast Lough.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.