City trip to Belfast – sights and restaurant tips

In recent years, it has become a tradition that we use the Fridays between the years for a city trip. After Helsinki, Edinburgh and Saint Petersburg, Warsaw, Athens and Belfast were shortlisted this year. The Northern Irish capital Belfast won the race. A destination that doesn’t appear on any top ten list for New Year’s Eve trips – exactly what we’re looking for.

Traveled – Flight to Belfast

There are no direct flights from Switzerland to Belfast. We therefore decided to take a connection from Geneva Airport via London Heathrow to Belfast City Airport with British Airways. In addition to the city airport, Belfast is served by the International Airport, which is located a good 20 kilometres outside the city. The practical thing about City-Airport is its close proximity to the city centre. By bus or taxi, the journey to the centre takes less than 15 minutes. On arrival we made the mistake of waiting an eternity for a bus and paid £2 each for the bus ticket to the city centre. My tip: Take a taxi! This costs £8 – £10, but saves you the waiting time at the bus stop.

Done – Sightseeing in Belfast

View Belfast from above |

Belfast’s city centre is uncluttered and compact. Most of it is within walking distance. But if you think that Belfast is “compact” overall, you’re wrong. The city has distinctive, historically grown neighbourhood structures. As a result, cool cafés and restaurants are located a good two or three kilometres from the city centre in a residential area. Nevertheless, if you don’t shy away from the kilometers, you are well served on foot. To get a first overview, we headed for Victoria Square with the shopping centre of the same name. In rainy weather, you could easily waste a day here. When the sun is shining, it’s worth taking a detour up to the glass dome. The panoramic view of the city centre is free of charge up here.

Stroll through the Cathedral Quarter |

A stroll through the Cathedral Quarter around the towerless (but since 2007 with a steel spire) St. Anne’s Cathedral between Lagan River and Royal Avenue is one of the must-do’s when visiting Belfast. The city’s formerly run-down “problem child” is turning into a trendy artists’ quarter. Commercial Street is particularly pretty, with a courtyard worth seeing. One of my Belfast highlights was the visit to the Metropolitan Arts Centre (the MAC Belfast), which is located opposite the cathedral. The MAC International 2016 exhibition runs there until 19 February with the winning project “Tear Down and Rebuild” by Slovenian Jasmina Cibic, which is well worth seeing. Admission is free.

Walk in the footsteps of the Titanic |

“She was still swimming here,” Belfast people are inclined to say when asked about the Titanic. The giant steamer was built in Belfast, the world’s largest dry dock at the time. The dry dock still exists and can be visited together with the pump house. Also part of Belfast’s cityscape are the two yellow cranes from the Harland & Wolff shipyard, which was awarded the contract to build the Titanic in 1910.

Since 2012, Belfast has had a new figurehead and visitor magnet in the form of the Titanic Museum. Tickets can be booked online via the website. We decided not to do so and chose the first morning of January as an ideal time. No queuing, no crowding. The Titanic Museum offers an experience for all the senses. I found the first part, which revolves around Belfast’s booming industrial years at the beginning of the 20th century, particularly exciting.

Meet Belfast’s different faces |

From Georgian to Victorian to contemporary buildings, Belfast is an architectural grab bag. With some buildings, I vacillate between “wow, that’s ugly” and “wow, fascinating”. These include the Ulster Museum, whose annex is a magnificent example from the Brutalist corner. Just behind it is the filigree Palm House from the first half of the 19th century. The area around Queen’s University is a great corner to discover exciting historic and modern buildings. Also interesting is the contrast between the working-class quarters from the beginning of the 20th century (partly chic and partly run-down) and the remnants of ambitious housing projects of the 60s, such as the Divis Tower. The third tallest building in Ireland, the Belfast City Hospital, is unmistakable in the skyline.

Understanding Walls and Murals |

Hardly anything reflects the eventful history of Northern Ireland as clearly as the numerous murals. A good overview of where to find them can be found on the Belfast Murals page. The motives and stories behind them are complex. I also found it confusing that urban districts are still demarcated by walls (for example, between Falls Road and Shankill Road). Catholics and Protestants are still hardly mixed. Die Zeit has written an article on this topic that is well worth reading.

If you want to check out all the murals, you have to put up with a few kilometers. We concentrated on the Falls Road with the International Wall, the Shankill Road and the Sandy Row and made a detour towards “Broadway” (and were slightly shocked to see a tank as a playground element). If you don’t want to get your feet sore, it’s best to invest in a black cab tour.

Eaten – Restaurants in Belfast

From casual cafes to street food and Michelin-starred pubs, Belfast offers a wide range of culinary delights. Unfortunately, the much-praised OX was closed over the holidays. We also had bad luck with our reservation at the Mourne Seafood Bar. On the very evening for which I had reserved a table, the restaurant had to close due to a power outage. Well. Nevertheless, I have brought you some restaurant tips.

Kaffeeliebe |

There is no shortage of great cafes in Belfast. However, some are very decentralised and require a taxi ride or a long walk. Close to the city centre, we are particularly fond of the Town Square Café on Botanic Avenue. If this should be full, there are two good alternatives in the immediate vicinity with the Sinnamon Coffee and the Kaffe O. Also recommended is Established Coffee in the Cathedral Quarter.

In between |

St. George’s Market is undisputedly one of the foodie hotspots. Everyone will find something fine here. At Sizzle & Roll, people queue up in the morning for an “Ulster Fry”. I opted for a fine steak burger instead.

Another great place to grab a bite to eat is The National Grand Cafe, which has an extensive brunch, sandwich and appetizer menu.

Lunch |

At least once fish and chips are a welcome must for me on a trip to the UK. This (and other delicious things) can be found at The Ginger Bistro. It goes well with a ginger beer or a local cider.

Pub o’clock

The Crown Liquor Saloon and the Duke of York are definitely not among the “ultimate insider tips”. Both restaurants have quasi-inventory status and can be found in practically every travel guide. This is where people meet to toast the end of the day together. Not far from the Duke of York, Dirty Onion & Yardbird, in one of the city’s oldest buildings, offers a modern alternative to the two pub classics.

Dinner |

It is advisable to reserve the restaurants for dinner. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a table for 2 even without a reservation. For example, at Deanes love Fish (Howard Street), where we spontaneously got a seat at the Mourne Seafood Bar due to the reservation that had fallen into the water.

For New Year’s Eve, I had reserved a table at James Street South, where a fixed menu was served. Our culinary highlight of this city trip.

The Home restaurant offers a casual ambience and uncomplicated, seasonal cuisine.

The Coppi restaurant is open 7 days a week and was therefore one of the few options we had to choose from for the first evening of January. The Coppi restaurant is best known for its Italian tapas variant “Cichetti”. We also liked them and next time I would probably rather order the whole Cichetti palette and do without a main course.

Slept

We stayed at a central location in the Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast. We booked the room (category Executive King Room) without breakfast and paid £570 for four nights. New Year’s Eve was particularly significant. In terms of price, the hotel was within reasonable limits on the remaining nights with just over £100 for a double room. I really liked the room. I was pleasantly surprised by the spacious floor plan and the bathroom with walk-in shower and bathtub. If you are looking for a stylish, modern hotel in a central location, the Fitzwilliam is a good choice.

More tips for your city trip to Belfast

• In case of rainy weather, you will find shelter in the Linen Hall Library
• If you have a time budget of three to four days, you should plan a day trip to the Giant’s Causeway
• You can find even more Belfast tips at Katrin on viel-unterwegs