Dublin or Belfast for city break

[Sunnyside4]

DH wants to go to Dublin. I suspect I'm looking at the wrong streets on google maps, so can't make it work for me. Can anyone sell it to me please.

Also, does anyone think Belfast would be a better option (thinking about suggesting this to him).

Which is nicer/better for a city break - Dublin or Belfast. Obviously they're cities, but I'd be looking for one or two nice roads to potter along, museums, water, anywhere with character, nice places to eat and drink.

Any thoughts appreciated?

I live in Belfast and I'm from more rural NI so likely biased but...

I don't like Dublin. At all. I went for a concert in June and stayed but next time I'd get a coach home. It's very busy, very expensive and not very friendly to the point I don't feel safe while I'm there. And no culture or soul it nearly feels like. Sorry to anyone from Dublin who reads this!

Belfast on the other hand is friendly and warm, loads of good restaurants, and good bars. You have a lot of fancy nightlife round cathedral quarter and if you fancy more outdoorsy things you have the Mourne mountains and Cavehill near ish, and you can take a day trip to the Giants Causeway if you so fancied. Hotels are more expensive than they were before but there's plenty of Premier Inns if you're looking for something a bit more budget friendly. If you like your theatre there's the Grand Opera House and the Mac both in city centre and you have plenty of nice central restaurants offering pre theatre menus from chilled to fancy. Then you have the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens both within walking/bus distance from city centre which is a little day out in itself. If you want to stay in that area you're around the student area. And this is just the bits I've thought of off the top of my head in the 2 mins I've taken to write this post. We are becoming the hen and stag capital and I'm not surprised. If you want any specific recommendations, ask away.

I would choose Belfast, however if wanting to go to Ireland proper then I would really recommend Galway over Dublin

Irish here 👋 and TBH Ireland is just shit for a city break, the best of Ireland is outside of all cities. Ireland is hands down one of the most beautiful places to holiday if you’re willing to drive and get away from the city.

Belfast, it’s one of my favourite cities.

Brilliant post!
I wouldn't have thought of getting public transport up to the Dublin mountains, what a great idea!
Kilmainham Jail is amazing, though often sold out for months - though I think you can get tickets on the day?
I'm adding Glasnevin cemetery tour to my next visit as friend went recently and thought it was great.

Dublin to live but Belfast to visit

Belfast every time for me. Been to both and I infinitely prefer Belfast.

I'm not sure if you can get tickets on the day, but you could try! If you go there and can't get in, hop across the road to the fabulous terrace of the Hilton Hotel and have a gorgeous lunch (mid range price menu online). We stopped there for a quick bite after the jail tour, it was a Sunday and there was a fab jazz trio playing on the terrace. Sun was shining, I thought I was in New Orleans lol! From there you can walk through the grounds of IMMA, the museum of modern art which leads to the main train station and transport hub. We didn't have time to do that, but will next time.

I'm originally from NI, but lived/worked in Dublin for 12 years. Good place for tech industry work IMHO, but beyond that ... not for me ... As other posters have suggested, I'd strongly recommend Galway or Cork before either of them. Nice and easy day trips outside the city if you want too. Cork airport has good connectivity with UK too.

Belfast would be 3rd choice. It's less expensive than Galway.

And finally Dublin. Best connectivity to get to the airport, but relatively poor transport.

@wominzy do you work for Dublin Tourism - you got it all in there 😂
Great post.
I live in Dublin and to my shame I’ve never been to Kilmainham Jail, or done the Glasnevin Cemetery tour ( one of my daughters did it ) or been in the Blue Light Pub or the Gravediggers.
But you would need to “keep yer wits about ye “ if venturing into the city. It has gone downhill ☹️ and not enough police presence.
I thought Belfast too had gone downhill after Covid- the area around Castlecourt and where BHS used to be. But I’ve only been up there once since Covid. Perhaps it has come back.

Another vote for Cork. I am Irish and not a huge fan of Dublin. Belfast is fun, I visited friends there a few weeks ago as I am on holiday from oz and had a great time, although it has changed loads! But Cork is great for a weekend, or hire a car if you have a few days longer and explore Cork and Kerry.

I happen to know a lass from Dublin and she was able to give us the lowdown and I read lots of reviews etc. before going. That was invaluable as we did manage to see some off the beaten track places like the Blue Light. TBH we got a lot of information from her about where to avoid, so it all worked out great.

I have no doubt that areas of Dublin and the city are very dodgy, (like every city in the world) but we were warned not to venture to the Northside of the river. Probably OK in its own way but since we had just a few days we stuck to the "good" parts.

I will certainly be back since there's lots more to see that we just didn't have time for. And yes, the cemetery tour was very interesting and entertaining too. I would never have known about it, or some other things without the tips my Irish friend gave me.

BTW we were exhausted on the way home, it was full on!

My dds stayed in Belfast and visited the places mentioned by Cappuccino on an open top bus and visited Giants Causeway, Dark Hedges and a couple of castles and seaside towns. They had a great time. They were 16 and 18 and some grannies on the bus took them under their wing 😀
I have been to Dublin years ago but don't remember much, but I liked Galway and Co Wicklow.

Cork, Galway, Belfast in that order.

Dublin is a total dive.

Belfast. Belfast. Belfast.

I've been down to Dublin in the couple of years for concerts, I live in NI and didn't like it.
It's definitely deteriorated in the last few years.

I found Dublin pretty grim and on a thread recently of disappointing places to visit it came up over and over again!!

I love this thread. Born and bred in Stranmillis, Belfast. Moved to London when I was 18 to uni, had a career, married an Englishman, 2 kids. Lived in France for a while. Was abused and I finally threw the towel in after 25 years. My daughter doesn’t speak to me, but I’m close to my boy. I live in Brighton and am thinking of moving back home. My best friend says it’s a terrible place to live. She says all the hatred and bigotry are still there. I don’t want to believe her.

@LesLavandesif you can afford to leave in stranmillis then go for it. I moved from London, looked at BT9, but decided elsewhere. I don’t experience hatred or bigotry. Yes it exists (like anywhere) but it’s very area centric.

Indoorplantqueen. Than u for your encouraging message. Do you have a website for estate agents to recommend? I’m a bit of a loner so will have to try very hard to integrate

@LesLavandesproperty pal or property news are the two main sites.

I work in tourism and I’d be happy to help you @Sunnyside4 if you’re looking for a Dublin itinerary.