Do you really need to know anything about me? It's not as if we'll ever meet. It's pretty obvious ...
Do you really need to know anything about me? It's not as if we'll ever meet. It's pretty obvious what I like if you read my reviews, so what's the pint in me telling you here?
Member since:13.12.2000
Reviews:124
Members who trust:71
There are plenty of myths that have grown up around Belfast in recent years, some coming from visitors who misunderstood the place, more coming from those who have seen pictures on TV. But I know the real Belfast, both its ugly side and its alluring side.
Like every city everywhere, Belfast has some ugly areas. The Falls Road (Catholic area) and the Shankill Road (Protestant) are working class areas of political hostility and sometimes violence. Nowadays the violence is largely concentrated on specific targets in 'punishment beatings' and revenge attacks. Bombs do not go off as readily as fireworks on New Years Eve. The last major bomb was the tragedy of Omagh, a city in the North West of Ireland (Belfast is in the North East). And while this tragedy remains all too fresh in the memory, the threat of something similar is extremely small. Another myth about Belfast is that since the cease-fires declared in the Mid 1990s the place has been bound with prosperity. While tourism is on the up since then, prosperity was beginning sooner than that. The people of N. Ireland don't stand around watching their backs all day, they get on with their jobs.
Perhaps I am being a little harsh, but a city that's most prominent landmarks are two massive yellow cranes and an orange hospital tower block, does not seem particularly cultured. Harland & Wolfe may once have been the greatest ship-builders in the world at a time (I'll ignore the sectarianism within the company), building the most famous of all ships RMS Titanic, but it is now a business shambles set in an ugly harbour.
Their are scenic areas though. Belfast castle (pictured in the Epinions Belfast page) is a fine building, albeit not a real castle and the view from Divis Mountain is panoramic. Their is the seat of contentious politics at Stormont too.Up the river Lagan we find signs of new prosperity in the new flats and the renovated St. George's Market which is back in use. You can catch a performance at the beautiful modern construction of the Waterfront Hall, that sits beside the nicer part of the river. Botanic Gardens looks beautiful on a sunny day and the City Hall is a fine example of turn-of-the-century architecture.
If you want culture their is plenty of it. In October the Belfast Festival at Queens is a cultural event second only to Edinburgh in Europe. The Empire lends itself to both music and comedy, their are a plenty of Theatres for plays like the Arts. Live music and concerts can be seen at the Ulster Hall, Kings Hall or get more intimate at the excellent Limelight. Their are the pretentious trendy bars for those who like that sort of thing. Orpheos being one. Their are the restaurants like Roscoffs and Morrisons. And any tourist must have a drink in The Crown Bar where the Guinness is the best in the North.
Shopping is something that many (although not I) enjoy and Belfast excels at this. It has all the usual big name stores and trendy stores but it's the small secluded ones I like. Hector's Houss is the best record store in the city and has hundreds of rarities. Matchetts music supplies me with all I need for instruments. I doubt if a tourist will come home with £300 fiddle, but it's the window shopping that is most satisfactory (and inexpensive). Prices in Belfast are a lot cheaper in general than its more snobby but cosmopolitan neighbour Dublin.
So that's Belfast in a nutshell. Not the finest city in the world but not the ugliest (ever been to Birmingham, England?). I prefer Derry myself, but Belfast is not without its charms. I hope I've dispelled a few myths.
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I'll have to visit derry sometime, heard loads about it but never bothered travelling all the way from here.
Connoisseur_Haggler 31.12.2000 13:19
an excellent opinion!! I have been to N. Ireland (inc. Belfast, Coleraine and Londonderry (derry)) a few times and have to say the place has many unspoilt araes of beauty and the people are friendly!
boydgray 25.12.2000 20:11
As a Derry man myself I can do nothing but agree with your closing remarks. That apart this one of the best reviews I've read. Slainte!
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Dec 13th, 2000
(Mar 10th, 2001)
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