This is another Easyjet
location, so start at their website. Beware !!! flight prices to Belfast seem
to vary enormously, but the cheapest are around £15 each way for a mid week early morning
arrival and late night departure. You arrive at Belfast International Airport after
a short 40 minute flight. The easiest and cheapest way into the city centre is the
airport bus for £8 return and this can be found by following the way out signs after
collecting your bag and then turning right. The bus-stop is about 10 metres from the
exit. It comes every 30 minutes and the journey into the centre takes between 40 and
60 minutes depending on traffic. The last stop is Glengall Street station, and if
you walk through the terminal/shopping mall you pop out on Great Victoria Street, opposite
The Crown pub. Tip 1 - Make a note of the return bus times to
the airport when you get off the bus - you'll find them just inside the terminal by where
the bus dropped you off.
Accommodation
We stayed at the Holiday Inn, just off Bedford
Street, which is dead handy for the bus station and just 5 minutes walk from the centre.
I've never stayed at a Holiday Inn before and to say I was impressed is an under
statement. You can check it as early as 2 and out as late as mid-day. There
are full leisure facilities including a pool, and the rooms are fantastic. Tip 2 - Email the Holiday
Inn first and inquire about their 'best rate'. Normal price is £127 per night for a
room, but after sending a quick e-mail, I got a room for £58 B&B for 3 of us, which
is less than £20 each !! Other Accommodation - Jury's Inn is very popular, but can be expensive -
they do have special offers, so check their site first. Beware !!! Although they can
work out cheaper, nearly all guest houses are in the University area of Belfast, which is
a bus/taxi ride from the city centre.
Eating Out
Belfast is definitely not as expensive as some city
centres can be. Good size lunches can be found all over the city for around the £5
mark, and evening meals can cost around £15. One thing you will notice as you go
around this city is just how polite shop/bar and restaurant staff are.
"Thankyou" and "You're very welcome" are freely used and nothing is
too much trouble for any of the staff - very refreshing. Recommendations:
Even if you don't stay at the Holiday Inn, the
Junction restaurant within is very nice, and serve a tasty 4 course set menu for £15.
Pizza Express on Bedford Street has 100's of
tables, serving nice pizza if that floats your boat.
For lunch, Wetherspoons on Bedford Street and
McHughs on Queens Square are good value.
Getting Around
Buses are everywhere, and it will cost you either 60p
or 90p to travel around the city. The main areas to get buses are Donegall Square
and Wellington Place. The city is compact though and you can walk to most sites.
Taxi's cost £2.50 for the first 2 miles and you'd be aswell to use them for trips
slightly outside the centre, such as the Botanic Gardens. The main areas for picking
up a black cab are Donegall Square North and outside the aforementioned bus station.
Sadly, there's no hop-on/hop-off tour bus as yet for Belfast - there is a guided
tour, the Citybus Tour, but this costs £9 for 1½ hours and is spent entirely on the bus.
I felt this wasn't worth the money so didn't bother.
Things to See and Do
Belfast is a place to go and look at things, to be
honest there isn't a great deal 'to do'. Finding a guide book before you go is impossible,
and even the Tourist Information Centre don't sell any general guidebook. In
addition, I didn't see any signs directing you to the main sites, so you are pretty much
on your own. When you first arrive in Belfast, head for Donegall Place, and just 30
seconds walk from City Hall you'll find the Belfast Welcome Centre. It's packed with
leaflets, some useful, but most of them not. Tip 3 - Make sure
you acquire a copy of the free booklet, entitled 'Belfast - On the Hoof'. It tell's you
where all the sites are and a little bit about them. You may be able to get the Welcome
Centre to post you one before you go - they are on 028 9024 6609. In case you can't get a copy, I've uploaded the pages from the booklet
showing the main sites - click HERE for Central Belfast and HERE for South Belfast.
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Assuming you arrive by bus, the first sight you'll see
is the Crown Liquor Saloon, which dating from 1840 is one of Belfast's most famous
landmarks, and in my opinion, the most over-rated. The National Trust now own the
place and the attraction is the amazingly decorated interior and the individual little
'snugs'. However, the place is a tourist attraction and they know it !!! The drinks
are expensive and you have to book one of the snugs. Altogether, the experience is not as
great as you are lead to believe, but still worth a quick look or pint.
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Just slightly north of The Crown is the Grand Opera
House, built in 1895. It's a very impressive building and well worth a look
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An intruing building, this is Ewart House on Bedford
Street. Built in 1869 as the Weaving Factory.
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During
your visit, you absolutely MUST visit the City Hall in Donegall Square. It is very
impressive inside and out. Make sure you go in and inquire about guided tour times.
They are completely free and include some great photos and a free guide book !! Near City
Hall on Donegall Square West you'll find Marshal's Coffee Shop selling a amazing and yummy
selection of cakes. On the same block of shops is the Centra Quick Stop which sells a
great selection of authentic 'Mullins' Irish ice-cream, with some bizarre flavours.
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On
the subject of 'free', St Anne's Cathedral on Donegall Street is a must. There's a
free DIY tour of the cathedral and it really is more interesting than some others I've
been in.
At the bottom of High Street you'll find the Albert Memorial
Clock, built in 1865, with an impressive lean due to the land it was built. Sadly,
work is underway to straighten the clock, which may remove some of it's interest?
Near the Albert Clock is McHugh's Bar, which is Belfast's
oldest surviving building. Built as a house on the Town Dock beside the now culverted
Belfast River. Lunch and a Guinness in here is a must, but make sure you sit in the
old part, to the left of the main bar to soak up the atmosphere. The steak burger
sandwich is strongly recommended.
Heading
past McHughs down to the river, you'll find Lagan Lookout and what is apparantly Belfast's
most photographed feature - a giant tiled fish !!! In the background you can just make out
the ship building yard or Harland and Wolf, the famous birthplace of the Titanic.
On the nautical theme, you should check out the Logan Weir
(I'm a Engineer, so indulge me !) and the Custom House, dating from 1854 with impressive
figures of Neptune, Britannia and others/
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This is Belfast's intimidating Royal Courts of Justice.
Either end of the road has barriers that can quickly shut off the entire road.
This
amazing structure is the Presbyterian Church of Belfast, which now has been turned into
trendy office block and restaurants. Not shown in the guides, you'll find it on College
Square East near Howard Street and a small plaque outside tells you a little about it.
All the
guides will tell you that a visit to Shankill is a must. Well, I'm sorry ....
they lie. The place is a dump and not worth visiting. We thought we would go for a look
around and wished we hadn't bothered. Apart from the sectarian wall paintings and millions
of flags, there is very little to see. We decided to look at Woodvale House, which was
used by the RIC during the Irish Rebellion. You can see from this photo how well the
locals have treated the place !!!
When you are ready
to take a break from the City centre, you MUST head to the Botanic Gardens for half a day.
As with many things in Belfast, everything in the Gardens is free, and you don't need to
be a gardening expert to really enjoy it. The Palm House seen here dates back to 1839, and
you can read more about it by clicking HERE
Other
things with the Botanic Gardens to check out are the Tropical Ravine House and the rose
garden (seen here). Read more about the Gardens by clicking HERE. As you enter
the gardens the path to the right of the Kelvin statue takes you up to the Ulster Museum,
which is also well worth a look. Everything in the Botanic gardens closes at 5.00 pm
including the museum.
Whilst
you are visiting the Botanic Gardens be sure to check out these 2 sites of interest. St.
Thomas Church or Ireland (right) is impressive and Belfast University is like something
straight out of Brideshead Revisited. There's a visitors' centre within the Uni.
Summary
A leisurely two days is all you will need to pretty much see
all that Belfast has to offer. There's isn't loads to do here, but it is worth a
look. If you are not adverse to flying visits, you could even visit most of the city
in a day. It's a pretty, clean and compact city which is easy to explore. If
you are like me and not interested in the sectarian issues, Belfast is still steeped in
history.
TOP 5 MUST DO'S
City Hall Tour
DIY Tour of St Anne's Cathedral
Lunch, with a Guinness, in either McHughs or The Crown
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