Days Out NI
Victorian Arcade Belfast City Centre

Queen's Arcade

Belfast's last Victorian shopping arcade — a short, pretty covered walk-through of jewellers and boutiques under a glazed roof.

5 photos
Open 6 daysRoughly 9am–6pm · closed Sundays
Free to walk throughNo own car park · city car parks nearby
BelfastCity centre · BT1 5FE
Get directionsOfficial website
20–40 minHow long
All agesBest for
FreeTo walk through
CoveredRain-proof
City centreCar parks nearby

Duck in off Donegall Place and you're under a glazed Victorian roof, walking a lantern-lit run of jewellers and boutiques — Belfast's last surviving 1880s shopping arcade, and one of the prettiest 40 yards in the city centre.

  • What you'll do — stroll the length of a restored Victorian arcade, look up at the glazed roof and ornate ironwork, and window-shop the watch and jewellery names. Best paired with the rest of the city centre rather than done on its own.
  • How long — genuinely short: a 10-minute walk-through, or 20–40 minutes if you browse the windows and stop for a coffee.
  • Cost — free to wander through. It's a public shopping arcade, not a ticketed attraction — you only pay if you buy something.
  • The shops — leans luxury jewellery and watches. Lunn's, which owns the arcade, is the anchor, and the tenant list has included names like Rolex, OMEGA, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Montblanc and Tudor, plus a café bar. Tenants come and go — check the arcade's own site for who's trading now.
  • Come ready — it's a stop, not a day out. Fold it into a Donegall Place / city-centre wander: it links straight through to Fountain Street at the far end.
  • Closed on Sundays, and it's small. Most units run roughly 9am–6pm, Monday to Saturday, and each shop keeps its own hours. Don't build a special trip around the arcade alone — treat it as a lovely few minutes inside a bigger day in town.
Plan your visit

Just walk in — it's a free, covered shortcut

There's nothing to book and no ticket. The arcade runs between Donegall Place and Fountain Street and is open to walk through whenever the shops are trading — most units keep to roughly 9am–6pm, Monday to Saturday, closed on Sunday, with each shop setting its own hours. The line-up leans luxury watches and jewellery, anchored by Lunn's, with a café bar part-way along. It's fully covered by the glazed Victorian roof, so it's an easy dry spot to duck through — and because it's so short, it's best folded into a wider trip around the city centre.

Restored 1880 Victorian arcade Jewellers & watch boutiques Café bar inside Covered, step-free walk-through Right off Donegall Place
It's a stop, not a day out:

Queen's Arcade is small — a short, lovely walk-through rather than somewhere to spend an afternoon. Come for the Victorian setting and the window-shopping, and pair it with Victoria Square, City Hall and the rest of the city centre. Tenants and hours change, and it's closed on Sundays, so check the arcade's own site before a special trip.

Before you set off

What to wear & bring

  • 📸Your camera or phoneThe glazed roof, lanterns and mosaic floor are the whole reason to come — worth a photo.
  • ☔Nothing special, weather-wiseIt's fully covered, so it's a good bolt-hole if the rain comes on mid-wander.
  • 💳A card for coffeeThere's a café bar inside if you fancy a pause — and the shops if you're feeling flush.
  • 🗺️A plan for the rest of the dayIt's a short stop, so line up Victoria Square, City Hall or the Cathedral Quarter around it.
Good to know

Everything before you go

Cost
Free to walk through — it's a public shopping arcade, not a ticketed attraction. You only pay for what you buy or order at the café.
Opening
Roughly 9am–6pm, Monday to Saturday, and closed on Sundays. Each shop keeps its own hours and they shift around bank holidays and Christmas — check the arcade's website before a special trip.
How long
Short — about 10 minutes to walk through, 20–40 minutes with a browse and a coffee. It's a stop, not a day out.
The shops
Leans luxury jewellery and watches, anchored by Lunn's (which owns the arcade). The tenant list has included names such as Rolex, OMEGA, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Tudor and Montblanc, plus a café bar — but tenants change, so confirm on the arcade's own site.
Setting
Belfast's last surviving Victorian shopping arcade, built in 1880, with a glazed roof, decorative ironwork and a mosaic floor. Grade B1 listed, and restored in recent years.
Parking
None of its own — it's a covered street between two city-centre roads. Use one of the nearby city-centre car parks (Castlecourt, the Victoria Square Q-Park and the Cathedral Quarter parks are all a short walk).
Accessibility
Level, step-free and covered end to end, so it's fine with a pram or wheelchair. It links Donegall Place through to Fountain Street.
Getting there
Queen's Arcade, Donegall Place, Belfast BT1 5FE — dead centre of the city, a short walk from Grand Central Station and Lanyon Place.
Questions

Before you go

Is it free to walk through?
Yes — it's a public shopping arcade, free to wander through any time the shops are open. You only pay if you buy something or stop for a coffee.
How long does it take?
Not long — about 10 minutes to walk the length of it, or 20–40 minutes if you browse the windows and stop at the café. It's a short, pretty stop rather than a whole day out, so pair it with the rest of the city centre.
What are the opening hours?
Most units run roughly 9am–6pm, Monday to Saturday, and it's closed on Sundays. Each shop keeps its own hours, so check the arcade's website before a special trip.
Is there parking?
Not at the arcade itself — it's a covered street between Donegall Place and Fountain Street. Use a nearby city-centre car park; Castlecourt, the Victoria Square Q-Park and the Cathedral Quarter parks are all a short walk away.
Is it good with a pram or wheelchair?
Yes — it's level, step-free and covered the whole way through, linking Donegall Place to Fountain Street.
What sort of shops are inside?
Mostly luxury jewellery and watches, anchored by Lunn's, plus a café bar. The exact tenants change over time, so check the arcade's own site for who's trading now.
Getting there

Queen's Arcade sits right in the heart of Belfast, running between Donegall Place and Fountain Street (BT1 5FE). There's no car park of its own — pull into a nearby city-centre car park, or walk it in a few minutes from Grand Central Station or Lanyon Place.

Directions on Google MapsOfficial website See it on our map
Nearby

Make more of the day

Victoria SquareShops & the dome view · 5 min walk Belfast City HallFree tours & gardens · 5 min walk Cathedral QuarterStreets, art & eats · 10 min walk More Belfast days outSee what else is close by
The story

The last Victorian arcade in Belfast

Queen's Arcade is said to have opened in 1880, designed by the architect James McKinnon for a developer named George Fisher, who is believed to have built it to serve his Castle Restaurant next door. In its day it was described as a fashionable promenade and a smart place to shop, with something like thirty finely fitted units running between Donegall Place and Fountain Street.

The bones of that arcade are still what you walk through today. Look up and there's the glazed roof letting the light down onto the shopfronts; underfoot, near the entrances, is a mosaic floor that spells out the arcade's name in an arc of little tiles. The dark marble pilasters, the gold-picked cornices and the wrought ironwork are all Victorian detailing that has survived — restored rather than rebuilt.

It has changed hands more than once over the years. It's said to have passed to Sir Otto Jaffe, one of Belfast's lord mayors, in the 1890s, and it's now owned by the jeweller Lunn's, which anchors the run of watch and jewellery boutiques inside. A more recent refurbishment brought back the Victorian shine, and the building carries a Grade B1 listing as one of the city's better-kept nineteenth-century commercial landmarks.

The reason it earns a place on a days-out map is simple: it's a genuinely lovely few minutes. Belfast lost most of its Victorian arcades long ago, and this is the one that's left — a short, bright, covered walk through a piece of the old city, tucked just off the main shopping street.