Grosvenor Tropicals and the Lagan Canal Greenway add a nature angle, both free and easy to fit into an afternoon.
When the weather turns, Airtastic Entertainment Centre Lisburn and places like Tumbles Soft Play or Omniplex Cinema Lisburn keep things moving. Add farms, karting, and trampolines, and Lisburn earns a full family day.
The best days out near Lisburn
Lambeg Golf Club
Jumping Jacks Lisburn
Tumbles Soft Play
MJS Exotics (Lisburn)
Grosvenor Tropicals
Lagan Canal Greenway (Lisburn to Aghalee)
Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum
Nature and Nurture
High Rise Lisburn
High Rise Clip 'n Climb (Lisburn)
Bow Street Mall
Hilden Brewery
Airtastic Entertainment Centre Lisburn
Lagan Valley LeisurePlex
Omniplex Cinema Lisburn
Ultimate Challenges (Airtastic Lisburn)
Escape Quest Lisburn
Hilton Park Garden Centre
Jump Lanes Lisburn
Happy Days Lisburn
Stoneyford Reservoir (PAE)
Sprucefield Centre
Laganview Golf Centre
Spruce Meadows Activity Farm
Laganvale Farm
Dobbies Soft Play (Lisburn)
Lisburn Golf Club
Bubble Brewing
Ashvale Farm Shop & Tea Room
Wallace Park Playground
Lyons Karting
Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park Playground
Brook Leisure Centre
Lagan Airsoft Club
Eikon Bowling — Balmoral Park
Ulster Aviation Society Museum
Roar and Explore
Hillsborough Forest & Lake
Giant's Ring
Hillsborough Garden Centre
Hillsborough Lake (PAE)
Colin Glen Adventure Centre
Hillsborough Castle & Gardens
Hillsborough Forest Play Park
Larchfield Estate
Belfast Activity Centre (BAC)
Belfast Activity Centre Climbing
Belfast Activity Centre
What's on near Lisburn
- 1JulPond dippingCastle Espie
- 1JulExhibition by Diarmuid Delargy RUA REArtisAnn Gallery
- 3JulVision — Comber LibraryComber Library
- 4JulDragonfly crafts with Boom StudiosCastle Espie
- 5JulCourtyard sessionsCastle Espie
- 6JulBright Sparks Summer CampW5 Belfast
Days out in Lisburn — your questions
What are the best days out in Lisburn?
The Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum is a great free start. Families with young children tend to love Grosvenor Tropicals and Spruce Meadows Activity Farm. For an active day, try High Rise Lisburn or Airtastic Entertainment Centre Lisburn. The Lagan Canal Greenway is ideal if you want to get outside without spending anything.
What free things are there to do in Lisburn?
Lisburn has a good number of free options. The Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum, Grosvenor Tropicals, MJS Exotics (Lisburn), Wallace Park Playground, and the Lagan Canal Greenway are all free to visit. Bow Street Mall and Sprucefield Centre are worth a browse too, and Bubble Brewing offers free visits.
Where can you go on a rainy day near Lisburn?
Lisburn is well set for wet days. Airtastic Entertainment Centre Lisburn, Happy Days Lisburn, Tumbles Soft Play, and Jumping Jacks Lisburn are all fully indoors. The Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum is another good call — it's free, covered, and interesting for older kids and adults alike.
What's good for young children near Lisburn?
Young children are well catered for. Grosvenor Tropicals and MJS Exotics (Lisburn) are both free animal experiences that go down well with little ones. Wallace Park Playground is a good open-air option. For indoor play, Happy Days Lisburn, Tumbles Soft Play, and Jumping Jacks Lisburn all have soft play areas.
More about Lisburn
Lisburn grew up around linen. When Huguenot refugees arrived from France in 1698 they brought finer weaving techniques with them, and the town became a world centre for linen for centuries. William Barbour's spinning mill, started in 1831, grew into the largest of its kind anywhere, employing around 2,000 people. You can still explore that story at the Irish Linen Centre.
Christ Church Cathedral dates from 1623 and gained its distinctive octagonal spire in 1804. Lisburn only became a city in 2002, during Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. It sits about 8 miles southwest of Belfast on the River Lagan, which here forms the border between County Antrim and County Down, and with around 51,000 people it is Northern Ireland's third-largest city.