Hey,
Last weekend I headed to Belfast for 2 nights. Myself and my boyfriend were looking to go somewhere in Ireland we both hadn’t been before and ended up deciding on taking a trip to Northern Ireland instead. I had heard great things about Belfast as a few of my friends had been there recently. We drove up from Tipperary which took about 3 -3 1/2 which did actually fly it didn’t feel that long at all.
Hotel:
We stayed in the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Belfast. This was really easy to find as its just a few minutes from the motorway. They have a car park that you pay a nightly rate to keep your car there which suited us perfectly. This hotel was really modern the decor was stunning and the staff were so friendly and really helpful. The location was great too there were lots of pubs and restaurants within walking distance and the main shopping centre was about 10/15 minutes walk. We were really lucky with the weather so we were able to walk to most of the places we wanted to visit.
Food:
When we arrived in Belfast we had an hour to spare before our first tour so we got food in our hotel bar. The food was really nice we couldn’t fault it. On Saturday night after our tour and some shopping we did leave it a bit late to go for food we asked in our hotel where would be best to try for a table. They suggested Stix and Stones which was about 10 minutes walk from our hotel. We luckily got a table even though the place was packed. We both got Steak on a Stone which is literally a steak that comes out on a heated stone that you cook what ever way you like. I love this as I like mine well done and often restaurants don’t get this right. The restaurant, staff and food were all amazing if your heading to Belfast I would recommend eating here.
Sunday night we went for food in another restaurant recommended by the hotel but we didn’t have a great experience here so I’m not going to write about it. On Monday before we left we did pop into Five Guys which I was so excited about and it didn’t disappoint the burger was amazing and the cajun fries are the nicest I have ever had. I can’t wait to go when I’m in Dundrum again delighted one has opened in Ireland finally!
Tours:
We wanted to pack in as much as we could in the dew days we had in Belfast. One of the things I was really interested in was the Black Taxi tour. We booked the day before we left with Belfast Tours for the Belfast Political & Mural Tour and done the tour on Saturday it was definitely one of the most interesting tours that I have done. I really enjoyed it and again would recommend this to anyone heading to Belfast it was my favourite part of the trip. We got picked up at our hotel and dropped of at the shopping centre. The tour lasted 90 minutes and the tour guide was brilliant. This cost £35 for two people.
Signing the Peace Wall
On Sunday we headed to the Titanic Museum we didn’t book our tickets in advance we just got them there I think they were about £17 each for the Titanic Experience. This was a long tour but it was enjoyable I personally didn’t read any of the stuff due to the fact there was too many people I would recommend getting the audio tour so you can listen as you are walking around. There was a ride that I thought was good and lots of audio and videos throughout the museum. If you have loads of time and its not too packed this is a great tour.
After the Titanic Museum we decided last minute to head to the Giants Causeway which was about 90 minutes from Belfast because the weather was so nice and we were up that part of the country we said we might aswell go. Tickets here were £9 and this included the charge for the parking. Here we did do an audio guided tour which is definitely worth it we learned so much instead of just walking around. This place is stunning the views are amazing and the sunshine made it even more stunning there are a few walking routes that you can take but we opted for the easier one and shorter one as we got there late enough.
Shopping:
The shopping here is great it has every shop that a girl would want all within walking distance of each other its brilliant. We went to Victoria Square shopping centre which has shops like H&M, River Island, Pull & Bear, Top Shop and House of Fraser but also designer shops like Guess, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Kurt Keiger its brilliant. Outside of the shopping center there is Primark, Zara, Office, Stradavarius and even a Dunnes Stores!
Victoria Square Shopping Centre
Overall our trip to Belfast was amazing I already want to go back. So if anyone is looking for a weekend away I would highly recommend a trip here!
Richael x