Belfast

This was our second city break in 2024 but this time we challenged ourselves with two cities in the one trip. We had booked 2 nights in Belfast and 3 in Dublin although this really only gave us one whole day in Belfast. The main purpose for the trip to Belfast was to visit the Titanic museum. The city was of secondary importance as we admit we were still apprehensive about visiting the ‘troubled areas’. But we now have absolutely no reservations and so, one day, when we return to Ireland in the motorhome we will also return to Belfast to ‘do the city justice’.

We’d had our grand children for a few days and dropped them back home, then our son took us to Eastleigh airport for a late evening flight on the Tuesday the 10th. We thought we’d try getting an Uber taxi from the Belfast airport, but were very disappointed as we failed to get a booking. We later discovered from another taxi firm that Uber doesn’t tend to get out of the city to the airport. FonaCAB’s service however was great, so we would recommend this company if you find yourselves in the same situation.

Wednesday 11th September

We spent over 2 hours in the museum which continues from building, launch, maiden voyage, sinking, passenger list and finally the finding of the Titanic in the vast depths of the ocean. Highly recommended.

We then took the customary tourist trip on the ‘Hop-on, Hop-off’ bus which for the next few hours would cover the city including the ‘troubled regions’. The driver was absolutely brilliant – full of knowledge and very amusing, unfortunately this meant we didn’t leave the bus until the end of the trip.

The trip covers the City, ‘Falls Road’, ‘Shankhill Road’ and the ‘Crumlin Road’. The following slideshow of images covers the ‘outside city’ portion of the journey…

Between the ‘Falls Road’ and the ‘Shankhill Road’ we traveled along Cupar Way and as we were ahead of schedule the driver stopped and let us off the bus for 5 minutes to sign the ‘Peace Wall’. This wall stands 45-feet tall, three times higher than the Berlin Wall, and in place for twice as long. The driver said it probably won’t be removed now as it has become a tourist attraction….

Back into the city where we left the bus to cover the rest on foot. First stop the City Hall

There wasn’t a charge to walk around inside to view the decor and stained glass windows.

Then onto the Victoria Square Shopping Centre to take in a view over the city.

From the viewing platform you can see the unmistakable yellow gantries – Samson and Delilah. After this it was time for a pint – which of course had to be Guinness, so we wandered around a few more streets admiring the street art to find a suitable pub.

The sun would be setting soon so we headed off for something to eat. This time we felt we hadn’t seen anything warranting another ‘sunset’ photo, but also the Hop-on, Hop-off bus finished at 16:30, so no chance to get free transport to other locations.

Before we finish with Belfast, we did think that it deserved more than 2 nights with the extra day visiting either more of the city (e.g. Botanical Garden) or perhaps taking a day trip out to the Giant’s Causeway and other sights.

For us though, we’d had a very good day and tomorrow we would leave on the train for Dublin.