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AIBU?

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Original poster

Holiday in Belfast

207 replies

catsandchaos · 06/04/2021 18:24

Hope it's ok to post this here. Would love to visit Belfast in October. Which is the best area to stay in? any recommendations what to see and what to avoid? Thankyou

OP posts:
DioneTheDiabolist · 07/04/2021 10:46

I'm another who wasn't wowed by the Titanic Museum, but then I'm not a big fan of the movie.
Give me the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens any day.Easter Grin

ItsReallyOnlyMe · 07/04/2021 11:00

Definitely book the Black Cab tours. There's a reason they're the number 1 attraction on Tripadvisor. Absolutely fascinating and terrifying at the same time - I couldn't believe I was in the UK. My 19 year old son said it was the most interesting thing he'd done - and he wasn't even born during the troubles.

I'm not sure the Gobbins Cliff walk has been mentioned - worth a visit if you're going up the east coast.

Mylovelyhorsee · 07/04/2021 11:14

I’d stay on the cost for a few nights (a beach town in the glens maybe) and then go to Belfast for a few nights. Just get a hotel in the city centre, like Jury’s Inn. Yeah it’s safe.

UrAWizHarry · 07/04/2021 13:26

The titanic museum is overpriced and shit. Don't bother.

12548ehe9fnfobms · 07/04/2021 14:43

Keep it coming, we've just added Belfast to our list of things to do in the summer, this thread is great.

We're coming from Bristol so we're used to riots :-). Just wait for a couple of weeks, a little bit of sunshine will help everyone chill the fuck out.

DioneTheDiabolist · 07/04/2021 16:54

Go right up to the top of Victoria Square for a magnificent view right over Belfast. Line of Duty fans will see some buildings they recognise.Wink

RuggerHug · 07/04/2021 17:18

If you go to the Titanic museum make sure you book in for the afternoon tea there. It's the first class dining area and everything is gorgeous 😄

Huginamugg · 07/04/2021 17:38

It's heartwarming to read such lovely comments from people who have visited or are planning to visit our beautiful country. It just reminds me what a little gem of a place we live in and all the things on my doorstep I take for granted.

Griselda1 · 07/04/2021 18:11

Try and get to an Ulster rugby game and visit the Orange museum if you can. I could spend a whole day in the Ulster museum and Botanic gardens easily. Hopefully things will have opened up a bit more then and the Ulster Hall and Opera House are both beautiful.The piano bar in the Europa is great on Saturday nights, very relaxing and great for people watching.

MissMarks · 07/04/2021 18:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pearpickingporky84 · 07/04/2021 18:36

Some great recommendations on here OP. Please ignore the scaremongering, there was one night of rioting near the city centre but I’d doubt anyone staying in the Europa of the Fitzwilliam (if they’d been open) would have even been aware it was going on! I would also have absolutely no worries about Titanic being in East Belfast, it’s nowhere near any areas where there is likely to be trouble and no one coming from the city centre to Titanic would need to be close to those areas.
I’ve lived in and around Belfast all my life, and in the few occasions I’ve found myself near rioting (when I’ve been working at night in inner Belfast and the Crumlin Road) it’s simply been a case of spotting trouble and going the other way!
NI is full of friendly people who love to see tourists here and those causing trouble are part of a tiny and decreasing minority!

Bishbashbosh101 · 07/04/2021 18:38

Just wait for a couple of weeks, a little bit of sunshine will help everyone chill the fuck out.

Ha.

MissMarks · 07/04/2021 18:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

3littlerabbits · 07/04/2021 18:40

This thread has me planning so many wee day trips for once lockdown finishes :)

3littlerabbits · 07/04/2021 18:42

(and might be best ignore yer one... she/he is determined to lower the tone)

MissMarks · 07/04/2021 18:45

I am not attempting to lower the tone. I am just trying to be sensible and avoid someone spending money to come somewhere when it isn’t a great time. If things do escalate and you are confined to the city centre or worried to be out at night you might as well be in Glasgow!

3littlerabbits · 07/04/2021 18:46

There we go again!

Huginamugg · 07/04/2021 18:50

@3littlerabbits

This thread has me planning so many wee day trips for once lockdown finishes :)
Me too 3littlerabbits There is so much to be thankful for. If anything the shutdown has taught me it's to appreciate what I have on my doorstep. Luckily, once it lifts I'll be able to visit my family who live in Belfast and go for lunch to our favourite cafe.. Catch up with friends in the Antrim Coast. A bit of shopping in Ballymena, hey Grin and get to go to my concert in our beautiful Ulster Hall.
poppycat10 · 07/04/2021 18:50

you might as well be in Glasgow Hmmm that betrays prejudice of its own - Glasgow is a fantastic place to visit and you wouldn't be hiding away in a hotel if you visited. And much like Belfast, it has some amazing countryside nearby - Campsies, Kilpatricks and obviously Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.

I'd like to go to Belfast as we didn't really go when we went on holiday to Northern Ireland - stayed near Omagh and visited places like Derry, Enniskillen and the Antrim Coast (there is nowhere like the latter). But it sounds like everyone has beaten me to it for this summer Sad

MaMaLa321 · 07/04/2021 19:24

Ulster Museum and the Botanical Gardens are great.
If you're into CS Lewis, he was bought up nearby and there is a small museum dedicated to him.
The countryside is wonderful, there a 5 National Trust properties which are worth visiting.
There are some wonderful inland cliffs near Enniskillen, but for the life of me I can't remember the name.
The baking is wonderful and people are friendly.
If I knew that the weather was going to be good, I'd go back in a shot.
The only minus is that NI is not dog friendly in the way that the rest of the UK is. We went assuming that we could take our jack russell into cafes and pubs but it was a definite no no.

MissMarks · 07/04/2021 19:30

My point about Glasgow is that it is very like Belfast but without the risk! If you are unable to visit the troubles related activities such as the mural walks, gaol, peace lines you may as well just go to Glasgow. I am not being disparaging about Glasgow at all!

MissMarks · 07/04/2021 19:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

hopeishere · 07/04/2021 19:37

My point about Glasgow is that it is very like Belfast but without the risk! If you are unable to visit the troubles related activities such as the mural walks, gaol, peace lines you may as well just go to Glasgow.

That's rubbish. There is far more to Belfast than the troubles as all of these posts show. It shows how narrow your own view of the the city is. Like I said above people on the Malone Road wouldn't be able to find Lanark Way on a map!

3littlerabbits · 07/04/2021 19:38

😁 there’s no stopping you is there? 😁

Huginamugg · 07/04/2021 19:40

I think you're talking about the Marble Arch caves Mama.
If you're into hiking there's also this discovernorthernireland.com/things-to-do/cuilcagh-boardwalk-trail-p712401
ssh, don't mention the traybakes. There's some things we want to keep for ourselves Grin