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For all the naysayers, Belfast is a nice small city to explore.



A bus ride or walking will take you to Belfast zoo, boat rides on the Lagan, Ulster Museum, Carrickfergus castle, Cregagh glen, the Giant's ring, Lagan towpath, the leaning Albert clock, open top bus tours, Crumlin road jail, Stormont, Botanical gardens, Belfast castle, Cave hill, Belvoir forest park and so much more.

As much as the majority of us hate the silly sectarianism, most of us would prefer to live here than anywhere else.

Northern Ireland is quite small so you're always close to a beach and only 2 hours drive or bus to Dublin.

I didn't even realise I loved this wee country so much!

Your comment is ignorance personified.

Belfast is a beautiful city with plenty of history going back further than the past 30 years. There is plenty to see by day and there is a very lively night life. If you want to engross yourself in the events of 'The Troubles' then you can but I would suggest looking beyond that and visit places like the Titanic Centre, the Ulster Museum, the Botanic Gardens to name a few.
As Hodgey says its a brilliant place :sunglasses:

It's probably one of the safest cities in the UK (Ironically). Through our business I deal with people on the mainland, it's surprising how many don't know it's part of the UK. It can still be difficult to entice them over to spend money. "Belfast"!!!!! ? They must think it's still like Lebanon.

Just don't get on a Paddy Wagon going up the Shankill or wear a Rangers top going up the Falls road and you'll be fine

Michael Jackson lives facing me and David Bowie's just moved in next door.

Jackson's Belfast accent has really come on well!

​I always knew you weren't dead Freddie.

Lol!

I think the Irish are going through a major image change. I mean, the old image of Leprechauns, shamrocks, Guinness, horses running through council estates, toothless simpletons, people with eyebrows on their cheeks, badly tarmacced drives in this country, men in platform shoes being arrested for bombings, lots of rocks, and Beamish. I think people are saying yes, there's more to Ireland than this. Dere's more to Oireland dan dis!

​You won't be allowed in to Belfast

that is good to know it never used to be that way just being English was enough reason to be beaten by some IRA supporters

You could also do the game of thrones tour.

what is Belfast like this century . i have only heard about the past in Belfast with the Catholic and Protestant divide if that is over and religion is no big thing and no more riots or Police in riot vans or people beating you up for being English then it would be interesting .

stayed in the titanic quarter premier Inn last night. would highly recommend. nicest premier Inn I've stayed in and I've been to a fair few

I figured that out after I posted it, but couldn't be bothered editing it :stuck_out_tongue:

I am English (married to a Belfast girl) and have never been beaten up for being English in 26 years of visiting. It's something I would recall.

Flights from Liverpool are always cheap £40 return, the premier in next to odyssey is well Located
Go to the ice hockey , Belfast have a good team and hire a car and drive upto the causeway along the coast, went in September flew Saturday home Sunday evening

Car hire is really cheap paid £12 for a fiat500 and got a Vauxhall mocka
I hired a car for one day picked up at Belfast city (£10 cab ride) and then dropped off at the other Belfast airport for my flight home
2.5hrs up the coast to the causeway an hour their and then hour and a half back down..

I'd last gone in 2001-2002 and Belfast is unrecognisable since those days, it reminds me of the shopping city centres of Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds but on a smaller scale

​Suprised you could read it.

Carrickfergus Premier Inn (not Belfast I appreciate) is a great base and a lovely location adjacent to the marina. I stay in loads of PI's with work and probably the friendliest staff of all. Some really good diners/bistros around the marina area too.

You'd need to be driving or hiring a car really though.

royals is the user name of the wally who reckoned he'd rather watch paint dry than visit this great city

There may be nice bars and places to eat, but the general feel of the place when you're going to these places isnt very nice. Mostly teenagers and tracksuits roaming the streets. Where are all the professionals? Out in the suburbs because there's nothing to see in town.

Try standing around City Hall at 7:30pm some Friday evening. You get the feeling everyone has cleared out of the city. Not much traffic goes by. It feels dreadful. Sure why do most students go home every weekend to the country. Belfast is more a place people come in to for a few hours drinking then get out of again.

Yea Becky I do live in Belfast. White's tavern closed at 10pm one Tuesday night I was there recently. Absolutely shocking for a bar popular with tourists.

I was in Whites tavern one Tuesday night recently and was absolutely shocked when the guy said it was last orders at 9:45... this is meant to be one of bars tourist go to a lot! Not a very good sign.

Yeah I meant weeknights, but even a Friday night can have a quiet feel about the place, like around cornmarket and up Anne Street? I've stood some nights in wonder looking down that street and seeing not a single person and thinking this is meant to be a city! Of course all the shops on Anne Street are closed too, so that doesnt help. Again.. any other city would have something open there.. a few people milling about.

Love Belfast! Get yourself over here and open your own eyes rather than believing what you see and hear on the news. You won't be disappointed

If you like empty bars that close at 10pm anyway, with totally empty streets that make you wonder where everyone is.. then yes come witness that!

It's quiet and grim mid week. A commuter town that everyone rushes to get out off after work!

Are yous working for the tourist board?

Awesome advice there!
I thought I'd add some extra tips:
Ulster Bus are currently offering a day ticket for £2 (valid to 31st March)
Visit the official Belfast City web sites!
Black taxi tours are a touch expensive - you can get cheaper taxi tours from a private taxi firm and ask for a tour!
Worth mentioning the Game of Thrones tour - the dark hedges where damaged recently due to storm...
Also don't forget some of the best golf courses can be found in and around Northern Ireland, (Belfast based one here)
I thought of some more obscure areas of interest - the Giants ring
Which leads me on to the National Trust - it's the same one as England, so you can enter those sites using your membership card as well.
Places to eat - plenty of choice here (thankfully no Jamie Oliver restaurants!) Try an Ulster fry for breakfast. There's a Wetherspoons, Pizza Hut, Spurs, in fact a lot of familiar chains. Fine dining can be had @ Marco Pierre White, Deanes, James Street South and Saphyre, so you can dine from everything from greasy spoon cafes right up to "fine" dining, the prices are much more reasonable than eateries in Reading, well a few quid in it...

Oh yeah~best of all people like"royals" don't go there!!

Went to Belfast on a similar deal last October break with my kids.

Worth noting that Premier Inn breakfast is free for kids - so I paid around £9 for me and two kids.

Belfast folk are one of the friendliest you'll meet anywhere - and the chattiest!

In the words of the 1970s folk song,

"Belfast,
Belfast,
When the country rings the living bell, you're last."

I hate to pi$d in your parade but easter is 27th March ... 2 weeks previous. I'm told by many people who have visited that it's well worth while but remember if you do hire a car there is no free parking at this hotel.

I don't have children :confused:

This sounds like a lovely holiday break for a family. Belfast is a really nice city these days.Heat added.

From NI and lived in Belfast when at uni. Let's be honest with ourselves here it's no London, Paris, Vienna, Munich... Worth a day or two when you have a chance but not much more.

I think breaking the news to the kids that you're taking them to Belfast on holiday would go down like a fart in a spacesuit.

Hire a car and explore - Great for Game of Thrones fans




https://www.discovernorthernireland.com/gameofthrones/

My kids are back to school on 11th April otherwise this would be grand.

The problem with Belfast is that many people only see the negative side of it through TV media, I live in N.I. and it's a nice place to visit, people are very friendly, it takes a while to adjust to people actually acknowledging you exist and saying Hi as you walk past them while you grab your pepper spray thinking 'Why are they talking to me', just relax and enjoy....

Easter is in March, not April. I know school holidays differ slightly but Easter is 27th March and these dates are three weeks later.

Belfast is a beautiful city with plenty of history going back further than the past 30 years. There is plenty to see by day and there is a very lively night life. If you want to engross yourself in the events of 'The Troubles' then you can but I would suggest looking beyond that and visit places like the Titanic Centre, the Ulster Museum, the Botanic Gardens to name a few.
As Hodgey says its a brilliant place :sunglasses:

Belfast may not be a Paris, London, New York but then what is?

It's a perfect spot for a long weekend away.

Bus day ticket is £3.90 and takes you all across the City.

Day 1 -
Belfast City Hall - free tour - tour times
The Mac (Art Gallery) - free
St Anne's Cathedral - free
St Malachy's Church (across from hotel) - free
Titanic Belfast & SS Nomadic - £20/adult

Day 2 - Crumlin Road Jail - £7.50/adult
Black Taxi Tour - £30 for 90 minutes
W5 (Interactive Science Centre - great for kids) in the Odyssey. There's a bowling alley in the Odyssey complex too.

Day 3 - Ulster Museum - free
Belfast Zoo -£8.60

Day 4 - Stormont tour (Seat of Government) - free
St George's Market (Fri - Sun) - free

Nightlife -

Shows in the Mac, Grand Opera House, Lyric Theatre
Bar, nightclubs open to 2am
Cinemas

Further afield -
Day trip to Giant's Causeway/Carrick-a-Rede & North Coast
Train to Dublin
Train to Derry/Londonderry
National Trust Properties like Mount Stewart, Castle Ward
Carrickfergus Castle (accessible by train)

Don't forget to look around Scouseland too before you fly to Belfast :wink:

Whoever said that you need a car if you stayed at this Premier Inn needs to find out what they're talking about before posting silly comments! Belfast City Center is a 10 min walk away -if that- across the bridge at the odyssey. And a beautiful walk it is too. As for the laughable comment about Belfast being a town and not a city. Wise up to yourself. I've lived in Belfast all my life and wouldn't change it for the world. I live in a well known area and not for its food reputation but I still love it here. As has been mentioned in previous posts there are lots of great places to see and visit, however I wouldn't say you could walk it to the Zoo. I live 10 mins drive away from the zoo in one direction and the city center in another and if I were to walk it either way it would take me a lot longer!!
This is a great deal OP. Good find

Have heard it said that "Belfast is a great place to visit but wouldn't want to live there" a few times - and mostly by folk that actually live here. . . :confused:

Its a town, not really a city and its sorta moved up into the 60's . . . its got history by the bucketful, its got loads of churches and historic buildings plus more than its fair share of pubs.

Its got a sailortown like many a grand city on the "big island" so it has its rowdy element but its still a safe place (in comparison to many others)

And its got great folk all over the town, even those that grumble bout how sparkly London is.

What we don't have is enough sunshine, but heyho.. . .


Waring St is still the best Premier Inn because of the location and the staff.

1 hour to the north Antrim coast

Err, no thanks. I'll stay at home and watch the paint on my walls dry

5 minute walk? Not a chance.


Even during weeknights most places are open until 1 or 2.

Would certainly not stay in Premier Inn, Titanic Quarter without a car.

​What an intelligent comment

Nice first post OP'

Heat added.

Welcome to the nut house :smiley:

For all the naysayers, Belfast is a nice small city to explore.



A bus ride or walking will take you to Belfast zoo, boat rides on the Lagan, Ulster Museum, Carrickfergus castle, Cregagh glen, the Giant's ring, Lagan towpath, the leaning Albert clock, open top bus tours, Crumlin road jail, Stormont, Botanical gardens, Belfast castle, Cave hill, Belvoir forest park and so much more.

As much as the majority of us hate the silly sectarianism, most of us would prefer to live here than anywhere else.

Northern Ireland is quite small so you're always close to a beach and only 2 hours drive or bus to Dublin.

I didn't even realise I loved this wee country so much!

Titanic quarter Omg... bleak, desolate, abandoned, grim!

family ones are yes as there is 2 single beds and also the one double bed,a table as well with the phone sitting on it (the table is the size of a computer desk roughly and a chair that is the size of a dining table chair roughly.there is no space between the beds to walk up as you have to climb over them to get to the top of them.but the first 2 floors are dedicated to family rooms where as the other 6 are for the couple guests like the public and business people.

Crapped rooms :confused:

althou in fairness the family rooms are a little crapped in alfred street. but the staff are more friendly in there compared to the other 2 in belfast.

Been to Belfast three times in the last year, stayed at Premier Inn Cathedral Quarter.
Brilliant place - Heat added

great deal Belfast is buzzing ALL week
far too many attractions to list here check it out on the internet~but great arts scene, loads for kids to do,
marvellous pubs and restaurants, interesting history, fantastic people etc etc

beautiful