Take a stroll with me in this City Guide to Belfast
Alright, Alright, Alright. Lets get this City Guide to Belfast and its story going. Belfast is a history rich city that once was unfortunately one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Between the 1970s and 80s the city was ravaged by the Troubles – an ethno-nationalist conflict with religious tie-ins. It shaped the city and is now part of its history. You can take taxi tours across and around Belfast and learn about these troubled times, drive along the wall that separated the Unionist/Protestants and the Irish nationalists/Catholics. The history of the Troubles is haunting and maybe not for the light hearted who are visiting Belfast for fun and leisure. If you wanna read more about the Troubles click here.
To keep this article in a light mood let’s move on. My favorite reason to visit this city is to enjoy a good time, see a lot of street art and have a party here and there. I love the vibe in Belfast. It keeps you going.
For the Street Art Section that is a big part of the look and feel of the city I actually took the time to write a separate article and even included a map to explore the city and enjoy the incredible art work. So click right here to see it all.
Take a cab to the Belfast Castle or even better walk up to Cave Hill (1 1/2 hours) for the best view overlooking the city. Take a stroll around Belfast Castle built in the 19th century which is a remake of the original castle that was in the city center in the 12th century and burned down. A lovely serene place and a day out in nature.
Explore the nightlife of Belfast a vibrant and fun place with incredible people having a good time 7days a week. Now that’s my kinda people. Most locals hang out in pubs and bars but there are clubs like Ollie’s or Thompsons Garage. If you are looking for a good drink, good company and maybe even a live band try out the Duke of York, the Crown Liquor Saloon, The Perch Roof Top Bar or the Harp Bar.
If you are hungry before a lovely night out maybe read my food guide because I love food this also got its own article and a bit of insight in to some of the bars/pubs but if you are too lazy here are some names dropped: Muddlers for high-class food, Manny’s for pasties, Parisien for french cuisine.
So let’s say you are a huge Titanic fan and everytime you watch Leonardo di Caprio stand in the breeze of the ocean and scream “I am the King of the world” you get goosebumps (the good kind). Well then I got good news for you: Here in Belfast you can find the biggest museum dedicated to the Titanic in the world. So much money and effort has been put into this building that includes an actual ride that you get to on INSIDE the museum. It takes you through the ship and explains all the details of the work, life and daily business and ends with its unfortunate demise while you float by on your rollercoaster cart. This is like Harry Potter land at the Universal Studios for Titanic fans. So what are you waiting for?
The city itself has beautiful corners, alleyways and streets to explore just by walking around and taking the city in. Start at the Belfast City Hall and stroll till you get to Hill Street with all its restaurants and bars and the tiny alley (my favorite street in Belfast in the evening) the Commercial Ct, (also location of the Duke of York pub).
Have fun exploring and as always Bon Voyage my friends.
