Discussion
Any tips or must do’s in Belfast? I have been watching a few documentaries on the troubles and it’s a place I’d like to see but still not sure. Even though reading on the internet it’s just like any main city and is relatively safe but has it’s bad areas.
Looking at going October with me and Mrs keo and my mate and his Mrs. Obviously don’t talk about politics or wear a Rangers/ Celtic shirt!
Looking at going October with me and Mrs keo and my mate and his Mrs. Obviously don’t talk about politics or wear a Rangers/ Celtic shirt!
There's taxi tours for this sort of thing, but I personally would not bother.
Assuming you know the various locations of incidents over the years from 'Once Upon a time in Northern Ireland' I'd suggest getting a taxi from the city centre up to Andersontown Leisure centre and walk back from there. (You can ask them to drive you up Shankill Rd on the way).
You'll pass Casement Park first, then make your way down to the Falls Road and Milltown Cemetery. Stop for a drink in the Rock Bar.
Carry on back to the City.
A pint in The Crown is a must but probably just the one as full of tourists.
Assuming you know the various locations of incidents over the years from 'Once Upon a time in Northern Ireland' I'd suggest getting a taxi from the city centre up to Andersontown Leisure centre and walk back from there. (You can ask them to drive you up Shankill Rd on the way).
You'll pass Casement Park first, then make your way down to the Falls Road and Milltown Cemetery. Stop for a drink in the Rock Bar.
Carry on back to the City.
A pint in The Crown is a must but probably just the one as full of tourists.
We went recently to see Sam Fender play Belsonic - we had a brilliant weekend. A few ideas:
Read a book about the Shankill Butchers https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shankill-Butchers-Case-St... this will give you an account of what the people of Belfast had to endue in the early 70s.
Take the bus from the airport: £12:50 return. Sit upstairs.
Crumlin Road Gaol is a must.
Lavery's Bar - about 20x pool tables upstairs and you can pay by the game or hour.
Holohan's Pantry for traditional Irish grub.
Nu Dehli for tasty Indian food.
Definitely take a Black Taxi tour. £60 for an hour and a half tour.
The Harp bar on a Saturday afternoon for great live music and conversation. Drinks are expensive, but you will have a great time. Read up on the history of the place.
P.S. Luke Combs is playing 14th October. Its a sellout gig, but I expect it to be very good.
Read a book about the Shankill Butchers https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shankill-Butchers-Case-St... this will give you an account of what the people of Belfast had to endue in the early 70s.
Take the bus from the airport: £12:50 return. Sit upstairs.
Crumlin Road Gaol is a must.
Lavery's Bar - about 20x pool tables upstairs and you can pay by the game or hour.
Holohan's Pantry for traditional Irish grub.
Nu Dehli for tasty Indian food.
Definitely take a Black Taxi tour. £60 for an hour and a half tour.
The Harp bar on a Saturday afternoon for great live music and conversation. Drinks are expensive, but you will have a great time. Read up on the history of the place.
P.S. Luke Combs is playing 14th October. Its a sellout gig, but I expect it to be very good.
Edited by WhiskyDisco on Thursday 3rd August 13:17
I lived in Holywood (just outside Belfast) as a kid in the early 80's. Lovely place and nice people in the main. If you have a car, rather than staying in Belfast I would recommend staying here: https://www.cullodenestateandspa.com/ Over looks Belfast Loch and is stunning. Go over to Bangor too. Do the troubles thing if you must but most are trying to forget those times. In 1989 me and a pal flew over to buy an Audi Quattro Turbo we'd seen advertised in some rag, we had £10k in cash in a brief case, yes there were some akward questions at the airport.
I've been back many times and always stayed at The Culloden.
I've been back many times and always stayed at The Culloden.
I’ve been over for work a couple of times with a little bit of free time to see a little of the city. The impression I was left with, having been born in the 80s and hence remembering some of the mainland bombing campaign first hand, is that the violent/politicised things about Belfast are (and always were) conducted by a very small section of the population, who live in very specific parts of the city.
Some of the physical infrastructure is a bit shocking if you’ve not seen it before (the ‘Peace Walls’, the gates that closed off certain streets at night) compared anywhere else in the UK. It certainly made me feel a bit differently about whether it was safe or not, but I think that’s a perception thing really.
Really, the main thing I remember is getting in a cab at the airport, and the cabbie said “I turned on the radio this morning and they said on the news the forecast was rain, and I thought ‘what’s f@@king news about that’!”. So take a coat….
Some of the physical infrastructure is a bit shocking if you’ve not seen it before (the ‘Peace Walls’, the gates that closed off certain streets at night) compared anywhere else in the UK. It certainly made me feel a bit differently about whether it was safe or not, but I think that’s a perception thing really.
Really, the main thing I remember is getting in a cab at the airport, and the cabbie said “I turned on the radio this morning and they said on the news the forecast was rain, and I thought ‘what’s f@@king news about that’!”. So take a coat….
keo said:
Any tips or must do’s in Belfast? I have been watching a few documentaries on the troubles and it’s a place I’d like to see but still not sure. Even though reading on the internet it’s just like any main city and is relatively safe but has it’s bad areas.
Looking at going October with me and Mrs keo and my mate and his Mrs. Obviously don’t talk about politics or wear a Rangers/ Celtic shirt!
If you are here on a Friday or Saturday go to St Georges market, Friday is more of a farmers market, Saturdays have music and are bit more gentrified.Looking at going October with me and Mrs keo and my mate and his Mrs. Obviously don’t talk about politics or wear a Rangers/ Celtic shirt!
Titanic museum and HMS Caroline are a short walk away.
Ulster museum is not far away.
Ulster Folk and Transport museum is a short train journey away, the folk part will require a lot of walking so might be a bit miserable if it's raining.
You can get on one of those hop on hop off buses that takes you all over the place.
I echo the other positive posts about the city having stayed regularly at the Europa Hotel for many years on business.
Great energy and feels like a whole country looking to reinvent itself from the past.
I found a little book at the airport simply titled the troubles which gave a brief insight to the history and took an open top bus tour around the key areas. It was interesting and something I'm glad I did but once done that was that.
Great energy and feels like a whole country looking to reinvent itself from the past.
I found a little book at the airport simply titled the troubles which gave a brief insight to the history and took an open top bus tour around the key areas. It was interesting and something I'm glad I did but once done that was that.
shunt said:
I lived in Holywood (just outside Belfast) as a kid in the early 80's. Lovely place and nice people in the main. If you have a car, rather than staying in Belfast I would recommend staying here: https://www.cullodenestateandspa.com/ Over looks Belfast Loch and is stunning. Go over to Bangor too. Do the troubles thing if you must but most are trying to forget those times. In 1989 me and a pal flew over to buy an Audi Quattro Turbo we'd seen advertised in some rag, we had £10k in cash in a brief case, yes there were some akward questions at the airport.
I've been back many times and always stayed at The Culloden.
He wants to go to Belfast though? It's a lovely hotel but too far from Belfast and while Bangor is close by, he wants to go to Belfast!I've been back many times and always stayed at The Culloden.
I personally would go to trip advisor and see what bars restaurants fit with your preferences
Harp Bar, Duke of York as mentioned are faves of mine too. I like Grannie Annie's for bar food/drink/live music all at once.
The Spaniard is good for wealth of beer choices, or the Deers head brews it's own beer on site and has good music and bar food. But just because I like them.....so yeah, trip advisor YouTube to get a feel for certain places.
Open top bus tour. Just do it. Titanic worth visiting just has a refresh of the tour so even better now. You'll find walking tours or even food and drink tours where you get escorted by a guide....you'll find them on trip advisor excursions.
Dirty onion and thirsty goat are popular too.
Bars with beer gardens are plentiful if there are any smokers.
Indian food already pointed out and yep, Nu Delhi is delicious. For seafood, Mourne seafood has a great menu.
Atmosphere is good no matter where you go in the city centre, so it's more difficult to find a bad bar tbh. You could throw a dart at the city centre and have a great night in any place really.
Andy_290 said:
Been plenty with work and more recently took the lads for a weekend, given how much fun it was.
Can't remember a great deal other than we enjoyed Bootleggers, Bittles Bar, The crown liquor saloon and The Duke of York
You'll love it, cracking city.
Based on my own research - Can't remember a great deal other than we enjoyed Bootleggers, Bittles Bar, The crown liquor saloon and The Duke of York
You'll love it, cracking city.
Bittles - best pint of guinness in belfast, don't try to order a half pint of anything or a soft drink, great artwork on the walls.
Granny Annies - good for a bit of lunch, has music on all day.
Maddens - good pint of guinness, proper belfast pub, area it's in is a bit rough, maybe best avoided after dark.
Sunflower - popular spot, don't like it myself, full of people who like the smell of their own farts.
Berts Jazz Bar - need big pockets, very posh, great cocktails
Gaolhouse (AKA henrys) - not a bad spot
Garrick - good range of beers on offer, front bar small and busy
Morning star - food is apparently good
Margots - down in the basement, relaxing drink, sitting outside I had a junkie fall on top of me.
Franklins - great if you want to watch sport
Rusty Saddle - not bad
Pug Ugly - unsual inside
Boneyard - plenty of outdoor seating
Perch - V trendy, nice rooftop outside drinking if the weather is good
Points - oirish bar, fake peat smell, ok if you want a bit of diddly dee and irish dancers, no chance of getting served if you don't have tits
National - good sized beer garden
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff