The Big Fish

Beside the Lagan Weir stands The Big Fish, a ten-metre ceramic salmon created by artist John Kindness in 1999 to mark the regeneration of the river. Officially titled 'The Salmon of Knowledge', it has become one of Belfast's best-loved modern landmarks.

Its skin is a mosaic of printed blue-and-white tiles, each carrying texts and images from Belfast's history — newspaper fragments, old maps, medieval records and more. Up close it rewards slow reading; from across the river it is pure photo-bait, with the Lagan and the city behind it.

The salmon references the ancient Irish legend of the fish that granted all the world's knowledge to whoever ate it. Today a local tradition holds that kissing the Big Fish brings good luck — a cheerful bit of modern folklore on a riverside that, a generation ago, few would have chosen to stroll along.

Visitor tips

• Get close to read the historical tiles in the fish's skin.
• It's steps from the Cathedral Quarter and Lagan Weir.