Belfast
50 Reviews by Students #68 out of 422 University locations

Belfast is a very student oriented city! It’s a great place for students looking for the city experience in a less overwhelming form
By Member2527 On 10th November 2019
Study in Belfast
Queen’s University and the Belfast Campus of Ulster University, have great locations. They are close to the waterfront and right on top of all the main attractions that Northern Ireland’s Capital has on offer.
Image Credit

Queen's University
Queen’s University is the ninth oldest UK university, founded in 1845 and is a prestigious Russell Group university. They offer approximately 300 degree programmes spread across three faculty groupings which are Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Engineering and Physical Sciences and Medicine, Health and Life Sciences.
Image Credit

Ulster University
Ulster University has four campuses spread across Northern Ireland, the Belfast Campus is situated in the cultural and artistic centre of the city known as the Cathedral Quarter. Traditionally associated with arts nowadays the campus spans a range of subjects such as architecture, hospitality, event management, photography and digital animation.
Study in Belfast? Review your location
Belfast Student Life
It’s good craic! If there’s something you’ll have to get used to is the Northern Irish lingo. Belfast is a welcoming capital city, that is easy to get around and so much to offer students. You’ll have no problem settling in and making it feel like home.
Cost of Living
Accommodation
Student accommodation costs are on average £139 per week.
Compare the average elsewhere: Coleraine: £136/week, Liverpool: £149/week, Lancaster: £151/week.
(prices are for all purpose-built student accommodation (both private and university-owned) in August 2020, as listed on StudentCrowd)
The average price for:
A cheap meal at a restaurant: £12.00
A pint of beer: £4.10
A regular takeout coffee: £2.69
1L of milk: £0.84
A loaf of white bread: £1.01
Prices are about 6% lower than equivalent costs in Liverpool and about 9% lower than Lancaster.
(Source: Numbeo)
Nights Out
Image Credit

Live Music Venues
Belfast’s live music scene is truly fantastic, whether you want to see up-and-coming acts or traditional Irish bands make sure Limelight, Black Box, Oh Yeah! and Voodoo are on your radar. The larger venues for well-known acts are SSE Arena, Waterfront Hall and Ulster Hall.
Image Credit

Nightclubs
If you are into clubbing until the early hours you’ll feel right at home in Belfast. There’s clubbing institution Thompson’s Garage and in the Cathedral Quarter the sophisticated Ollie’s. And for some of the best parties around head to the unofficial gay quarter for Kremlin, Boombox and Maverick.
Image Credit

Bars
Late night bars are a thing in Belfast, unlike most of the UK pubs in Northern Ireland can serve up until 1 am, ideal for pre-club or if you fancy a fun night but not a late one! Head to Babel for rooftop bar with panoramic views or Filthy McNasty’s who have a student night on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Public Transport
You’ll find it easy and simple to get everywhere by foot, with the central campus being no more than a 15-min walk to most places you need to go. It’s also easy to get around by bike thanks to the Belfast Bike public bike scheme rental. You can pick up a bike at one docking station and leave it at another. Belfast is well connected by rail, road, air and ferry to give plenty of options to get in and out of the city.
Eating Out
Big offer of vegan food…
Like the big offer of vegan food
Restaurants are also dirt cheap…
Restaurants are also dirt cheap. Me and my boyfriend have gone out on date nights and spent £25
Food quality is very high…
Food quality is very high due to Northern Ireland being an agriculture-driven economy.
Belfast is all round…
Belfast is all round a great place to be a student , there are plenty of cheap supermarkets , great nightclubs , restaurants and shopping centres!
Image Credit

Shopping
Two key places to know about are the Victoria Square Shopping Centre, which includes over 50 shops, restaurants and a cinema, and St George’s Market. This historic market is over 150 years old but is still a major part of city life and a great place to track down some bargains.
Top 5 Pubs
- The Botanic Inn
Affectionately known as ‘The Bot’ they are famous for their ‘Bot Wednesdays’ which is known as one of the best student nights out in the week. It’s one of the city’s top spots for great food, quality drinks, live music and a lively atmosphere! - The Crown Bar
The Crown is an iconic 200-year-old pub and the most famous in Belfast. Imagine carved mahogany booths, etched-glass, Victorian tiles and a fantastic selection of everything from cask ales to premium gins. - Duke of York
Down a cobbled alleyway, in the historic Half Bap area is the Duke of York. It’s a traditional pub that’s full of character with a great atmosphere. The walls are covered in Belfast memorabilia including hundreds of old photos. - The Dirty Onion
Housed in an old Whisky warehouse, they describe themselves as an authentic Irish pub with a modern twist. They boast a large beer garden, a cosy fire inside and entertainment 7 nights a week… oh and make sure you try their chicken. - The Parlour
If you like pizza and alcohol then you’ll love the Parlour. Based in the Student Quarter, they put on different themed nights for students such as quiz nights and live music nights, it will be sure to become a firm favourite!
Top 10 Belfast Accommodation

The Courtyard
River street tower is a very good choice for students! This apartment has just opened this year, all facilities are new, staff disinfects every day, a...

Swanston House, Belfast
Swanston House is amazing, i have had nothing but wonderful experiences with them. The team who work front of house are so friendly and helpful. They ...

Clive Halls
Montezuma House feels like the nicest accomodation in the UK. Our modern accommodation overlooks the harbour with sometimes breathtaking views, par...

Cranagh Student Village
Nice accomodation with ensuites...

Waldegrave Park Houses
Great place only 10minutes walk to DCU. Super fast broadband was always around 60Mbps. There is a large supermarket, post office, bank, pizza place an...

Old House
I've really enjoyed my experience at Old house, it has been a very friendly one with all the Girls on my floor getting on so well. Our senior resident...

76 Malone Road
Close to the main campus...

Great Patrick Street, Belfast
Best place I've lived in for university over four years, staff are friendly and helpful, spaces are clean and work perfectly, bedrooms are spacious an...

Grant House
Brill prices, I pay 125 a week for a double bed duplex room- where as if you're thinking about living in actual Uni Accommodation you'll be paying rou...

Duncreggan Student Village
Honestly it’s a great home away from home. Magee campus is a 2 minute walk from the student village. On campus parking passes available as well as loa...
Read Belfast Reviews
Good city. Nice people....
Good city. Nice people. Haven’t tried public transport. Shopping options are good read more
Really homely and nice...
Really homely and nice place. Better than English top metropolitan cities as a inttovert person. More people you would connect with and less people who are just a crowd to you! read more
Great town and friendly...
Great town and friendly people. read more
I have had the best time...
I have had the best time living in Belfast! After I dropped stranmillis and started Biology at queens my mental health improved and life became enjoyable! read more
Belfast is amazing i...
Belfast is amazing i am so glad i decided to come read more
It has everything you...
It has everything you could need in a city. read more
Again location does not...
Again location does not matter for Open University read more
There's plenty of good...
There's plenty of good places to stay and things to do! The buses can be a bit confusing though read more
Horrific, Great place...
Horrific, Great place to be afraid read more
Actually was Derry city...
Actually was Derry city at Magee campus read more
A great town with lots...
A great town with lots of art events. A very easy place to familiarize yourself with. Public transportation is good. Shopping is also good. read more
Belfast is a great city....
Belfast is a great city. Thats easy to navigate and fun to live in read more
Belfast is quite expensive...
Belfast is quite expensive however you can find some wonderful deals, you just have to look! read more
Great place to live and...
Great place to live and everything’s accessible read more
Eating is very expensive...
Eating is very expensive for students but good nightlife and loads of attractions. Buses regularly and trains. Good shopping centres and always new shops opening read more
You are in the centre...
You are in the centre of everywhere and everything and it is easy to walk to anywhere. read more
It's good for what it...
It's good for what it is. Compared to other UK cities, it has its advantages and disadvantages. read more
Good shopping, decent...
Good shopping, decent night's out but the bars are waay better and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. read more
Like the big offer of...
Like the big offer of vegan food read more
Poor bus connections...
Poor bus connections and poor timetabling read more
It’s decent yeah, not...
It’s decent yeah, not too shabby aha read more
Belfast is cheaper than...
Belfast is cheaper than most other UK cities, and has a good nightlife. Transport out of the city, run by Translink, is unreliable and low quality read more
Coming from England,...
Coming from England, a train return ticket to the nearest town over is £18. Here, you can go across the entirety of Northern Ireland with a return for £4! Renting is super cheap too. A 3 bedroom house with a garden costs around £500 a month, which split between three people is pennies! Pubs are really popular here, with people turning up with their own instruments to play music and everyone coming over for a chat. You can't go on a night out here without making a bunch of new friends. There are some really amazing nightclubs too, all of them so different to one another that you have to go to them all to find out what one is your style. Victoria Square is the main shopping centre, although there are multiple. It's extremely pretty with a large selection of shops. It is also only a couple minutes walk away from the Titanic quarter which is an absolutely gorgeous place of the city. Restaurants are also dirt cheap. Me and my boyfriend have gone out on date nights and spent £25 read more
Great city, with Lots...
Great city, with Lots of things to do read more
Local spar beside me...
Local spar beside me has good deals and bus runs every 15 minutes or so to city centre read more
If you are planning to...
If you are planning to live here and away from home be prepared to be broke all the time read more
Belfast is a very student...
Belfast is a very student oriented city! It’s a great place for students looking for the city experience in a less overwhelming form read more
Overall experience in...
Overall experience in Belfast was good. read more
Belfast cost of living...
Belfast cost of living is living and public transports runs to most places. read more
belfast is great wee...
belfast is great wee place to live with something for everyone read more
There's a lot to do and...
There's a lot to do and it's great for a night out ( provided there's student nights on). read more
Great nights out, love...
Great nights out, love the live music, but expensive public transport. read more
Great public transport...
Great public transport compared to the rest of N.Ireland. Great shopping centres such as Victoria square and castle court. Great place for a cheap night out read more
Have to say Love Belfast...
Have to say Love Belfast even though it’s barely a city read more
Cheap and safe. Belfast...
Cheap and safe. Belfast gets a bad reputation for what happened 40-50 years ago but the reality is its now one of the safest places in the UK due to incredibly well-trained police and security. Public transport can be hit or miss, so expect to arrive 5-10 minutes later than the bus service tells you to. Food quality is very high due to Northern Ireland being an agriculture-driven economy. read more
Belfast is all found...
Belfast is all found a great place to be a student , there are plenty of cheap supermarkets , great nightclubs , restaurants and shopping centres! Public transport is cheap and easy to use. read more
Belfast is only a wee...
Belfast is only a wee place, you can walk it in a day which makes it a good university city. On top of that the people are the friendliest you could hope to meet and it's cheap to live. It's also better than England, being Ireland. read more