stormont estate and parliament buildings

Set in a llovely park The Stormont Building is at the end of a very long drive It's a typical "empire " type building a true classic we never went inside but just go and see adds to the occasion if visiting Belfast in some ways this place Humbles you just thinking if all the history of this place

We visit to Stormont Parliament buildings and parklands of the Stormont Estate on 10th of March. We entered to the Stormont Estate through Children's play area. Couldn't take the boys out of the play area for a while. It was really interesting for the kids because of the three big slides. After playing there we headed to the Parliament Building. The building is neo-classical style of glistening white stone. The long waking path which gradually takes you to the building at the mountain top was really a good exercise. Greenery surrounding and the view from the top was breathtaking. Better visit here if you have time.

We popped in here in the morning before our flight home so we were a bit rushed. The building is beautiful and we parked at the bottom and walked upto the front which was a very pleasant walk.The staff inside were welcoming and friendly and we arrived around midday so got to watch some of the debates. Well worth a visit!

We visited during the Red Bull event so didn't get the full impact walking up the tree lined avenue. However, was an added bonus to watch the skaters! Tour was v interesting. Friday good day to go as it's quiet and u get full access to rooms. Fascinating design history.

I was one of a group of (mature) trainee tour guides from Belfast Metropolitan College who visited the Stormont Estate and Parliament Buildings as part of our course.We did the free guided tour around the inside of Parliament Buildings with Shane as our guide. And he was excellent - very knowledgeable and easy to hear and understand even though we were part of a larger group and the foyer where we began the tour was quite noisy with a lot of people milling around.Shane gave us an impartial and comprehensive account of the setting up of the new Northern Ireland Government following the partition of Ireland in 1921.We started off in the Great Hall which has a magnificent golden chandelier as its centrepiece. Shane told the story of how it had been a gift from the German Kaiser Wilhelm II to his Uncle King Edward VII and that it used to hang in Windsor Castle in England. At the outset of WWI it was taken down and put into storage and subsequently given as a gift to the Government of NI on the condition that it was permanently on display for the public to see and enjoy. And it's magnificent - as are the 4 smaller replica chandeliers which hang alongside it and which were made locally at Harland & Wolff.Shane also pointed out the life-size bronze statue of James Craig, who was NI's first Prime Minister,which stands at the top of the Grand Staircase. I, for one, had no idea that Craig was 6ft 7ins tall!We then made our way into the Assembly Chamber where we had a chance to sit down and listen to Shane explain the mechanics of how the NI Assembly works. We also learned that following a fire caused by an electrical fault on New Year's Day 1995 the Chamber was totally destroyed and it took three years for it to be restored.Unfortunately we weren't able to see the Senate Chamber as a Committee Meeting was being held there. I'm told that if you do the tour on a Friday you'll be able to see the Senate Chamber as Committee Meetings aren't held on Fridays.I would recommend this tour to both locals and visitors alike. It goes twice a day at 11am and 2pm Monday-Friday and more frequently in the summer holiidays when Parliament is not sitting. After the tour we went for lunch in the cafe situated at the Massey Avenue entrance to Stormont. It's called A Storm In A Teacup and the food and service was excellent - definitely one of Belfast's hidden gems! Shane was able to answer all of the questions we put to him in an informative, enthusiastic and interesting way with a great deal of humour and he certainly brought the building and the history of Northern Ireland to life - so thank you Shane for the very professional manner in which you conducted the tour!You're an excellent tour guide - we have a lot to live up to!

Used to work in Storming Estate and visit the public park quite often for a walk in the park. Beautiful grounds and great views over Belfast from Carson's statue and higher up at Parliament Buildings. The Estate is routinely on the Belfast City Tour and free guided tours are available during July, August, Easter and Halloween breaks operating on the hour between 10.00am and 3.00pm.You can arrange a private tour of Parliament Buildings outside of the above mentioned times by contacting your local MLA.

Visited here to do the Memory Walk in November the grounds are lovely and the building is great too.. Lovely day out and met lots of lovely people here raising money for a fantastic cause

Excellent trip around Parliament buildings. The guide was first class and very knowledgeable. Beautiful surroundings and some amazing facts to be learned about the history of Belfast and Northern Ireland.

Love this part of stormont...absolutely excellent for getting dogs socialised and out to blow off some steam. There should be one of these in every borough. Any time we have been it has been well maintained!

Guided tour was excellent, the building itself is beautiful and well worth a visit. We also sat in on a parliamentary debate about integrated education which was interesting, but found it quite difficult to keep quiet.

Stormont Parliament buildings are located in the large parklands of the Stormont Estate. Prince of Wales Avenue lined with 2 rows of twig lime trees leads to the front door of parliament & is a truly grand kilometre. The building is neo-classical style of glistening white stone which was covered in cow manure during WW11 so that night aircraft bombers couldn't see it. There are ongoing efforts to remove all evidence of this coating. Inside it is breathtaking with its amazing ceiling, marble stairs, seats and statues. The seats in the chamber were donated by Australia in 1932 when it was opened. In 1972, after unrest, Northern Ireland came under the rule of Westminster so the building is now home of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Allow half a day to visit. You may be able to hear political debates from the gallery.

Recently went on a tour of Parliament Buildings during a familiarisation trip for work. I hadn't been on this tour for years and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Mickey was our tour guide, he was interested to know where we were from etc which was really nice and personalised the experience for me. He was a great guide with excellent knowledge of the buildings and NI history, he also had a few other anecdotes which really added to the experience.This tour is free and is really very worthwhile, plus you have the opportunity to explore the beautiful grounds of the estate which is open to the public daily and year round so very popular with walkers and families.

We jumped off the tour bus for a free guided showing of the parliament buildings. I tend to like visiting parliaments wherever I go, and this one seemed like a 'Must Do' considering Northern Irelands history.Our tour was much more casual than I was expecting but incredibly informative. I learned lots of neat things about the building, the decor (inside and out) and the details regarding being the building that represents an at times on edge country. While we didn't see a lot of rooms in the building, we learned lots from sitting and talking to our informative guide for a large amount of time.The grounds are also vast and very pretty, especially on a nice day. Well worth the visit.

Very impressive buildings and pretty estate grounds. The information boards at the start of the mile and next to the statue are really informative.

You can get off the red bus here, but I wouldn't bother, you get all the history from the guide on the bus. Take a picture. It is interesting, but save yourself some time and stay on the bus!