Cave Hill

Cave Hill is a basalt hill overlooking the city of Belfast. Also known as “Napoleon’s Nose”, this promontory overlooks the Northern Irish city, and is even home to a sumptuous castle: Belfast Castle. A unique place that is said to have inspired Irish novelist Jonathan Swift to write his novel “Gulliver’s Travels”.

Visit Cave Hill

A tourist hill overlooking Belfast

Cave Hill rises to a height of over 370 metres and is essentially made of basalt. The hill is one of Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist destinations, and has many nice spots to discover. On its eastern side, the hill is home to the fabulous Belfast Castle, built in 1872 by Charles Lanyon in the pure Victorian style so dear to Queen Victoria… The château also boasts superb gardens planted with trees for you to explore!

Don’t hesitate to take advantage: the entire tour of the château and gardens is free!

Once the tour is over, Cave Hill also boasts three large caves, well worth a visit for caving enthusiasts. In the past, these would have been exploited as iron mines. Professional cavers offer these caves, but it is not advisable to explore them alone. Expect to pay at least €30 to explore…

But these aren’t the only extraordinary features of Cave Hill: the site also boasts McArt’s Fort, an old prehistoric ringfort overlooking the ocean and its sheer rocks. Over 55 metres in diameter, the fort is also protected by a huge defensive ditch, over 7 metres wide and 3 metres deep…