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How walkable is Belfast?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Belfast has a walkability score of 76 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot. It is the 12th most walkable of the 20 cities ranked in the United Kingdom.
What's within walking distance of the centre
2,042 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Belfast. The nearest grocery is about 5 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for groceries, restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee, banks, parks, schools and books & libraries.
Groceries
- SPAR Bradbury, 6 min
- Makkah Market, 6 min
Restaurants & bars
- 1st Belfast Rangers Supporters Club, 5 min
- Kirk's Home Bakery, 5 min
Shopping
- Shopmobility Belfast, 4 min
- Phoneworks, 4 min
Coffee
- G.C’s Cafe Sandyrow, 5 min
- Causeway Cafe, Belfast City Centre, 6 min
Banks
- Bank of Ireland, 7 min
- Santander, 7 min
Parks
- Crescent Park, 7 min
- Botanic Gardens, 11 min
Schools
- Arellian Nursery School, 5 min
- Centre for Global Education, 8 min
Books & libraries
- Queen's University Belfast Biomedical Library And The Healthcare Library of…, 6 min
- Blackwell's, 8 min
Culture & entertainment
- Mandela Hall, 9 min
- The Belfast Empire Music Hall, 9 min
Measured from the centre at 54.5890, -5.9409, the point near Belfast's middle with the most places in walking range. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route.
Street layout
Within 800 m of the centre there are about 182 street intersections per km², and blocks average 63 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
How far walkability reaches
Belfast's score of 76 is the average across the 5 km around its centre, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 97 within 1 km of the centre, 84 from 1 to 3 km out and 66 from 3 to 5 km out. 16 of the 91 points within 5 km fall on water or on land without streets, such as hillsides, forest or farmland, and are left out, so the score describes only the built-up part. 71% of the sampled area scores 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot. Walkability falls off steeply away from the centre, so check a specific address on the map.
- 90+
- 70–89
- 50–69
- 25–49
- 0–24
Each hexagon is the score at a point, 1 km from its neighbours, across the 5 km around central Belfast. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the centre. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | 98 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 97 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 84 | 89% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 66 | 54% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Dublin, Ireland | 142 km | 82 |
| Glasgow, United Kingdom | 176 km | 83 |
| Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom | 229 km | 68 |
| Edinburgh, United Kingdom | 230 km | 80 |
| Liverpool, United Kingdom | 234 km | 85 |
Questions about walking in Belfast
Is Belfast a walkable city?
Around its centre, yes. Belfast has a walkability score of 76 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot. Its centre scores 98. The score covers about 80 km² around the busiest point rather than the whole city, and suburbs further out are usually less walkable, so check a specific address on the map. It ranks 12th of 20 cities in the United Kingdom and joint 181st of 690 worldwide on How Walkable.
What is the most walkable city in the United Kingdom?
London is the most walkable of the 20 cities ranked in the United Kingdom, with a score of 98. Belfast ranks 12th with 76.
How does Belfast compare with nearby cities?
Belfast sits between its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 76, against Dublin (82, 142 km away), Glasgow (83, 176 km away) and Preston, Lancashire (68, 229 km away).
Which part of Belfast is most walkable?
Belfast's most walkable area is its centre, the point near the middle of the city with the most places in walking range, which scores 98. Walkability averages 97 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the east (averaging 87) and falls most to the south (47).
How is Belfast's walkability score calculated?
For Belfast it is the average of 75 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 53 of them score 70 or more. Each point counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and loses up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long, using open map data from Overture Maps (release 2026-09-23.1) and OpenStreetMap. It measures what is within a walk, not what the walk is like: pavements, traffic, safety, hills and heat are not part of the score.
This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. City position and population from GeoNames.
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