I divide my time between Belfast and North Antrim, although for shopping, nightlife etc, Belfast is always preferable.
Belfast has received a lot of bad press in the past, although thankfully cease fires have made people want to visit this city, and the city itself has evolved a lot over the past few years. There are even 'trouble tours' if you have the desire to see some of the trouble areas.
The main development within the city in recent times was the laganside development, including office space, apartments, the lagan lookout, and also the Odyssey.
The odyssey consists of restaurants, 2 cinemas and also an indoor arena, with an ice rink, although this is covered for concerts. I tend to go to the Odyssey for a night out, as there are a wide choice of restaurants, including the Hard rock cafe, la Tasca (a Spanish restaurant), Pizza hut, and various others, including Mexican, Chinese and Indian. In fact, it's fair to say that almost every time I'm in there there's another new restaurant opens! It also incorporates a Warner Bros cinema, or vue as it's now known, and an IMAX 3d cinema.
There are also 2 nightclubs within the odyssey complex, Beach Club and Coyote Odyssey. I haven’t been to either, but friends tell me the beach club is great. The arena has hosted amongst others Christina Aguilera, Meatloaf and Destiny's Child.
The city centre itself also boasts some great places to eat, including Deanes, a Michelin starred restaurant. The apartment is also a great place for a light snack, and is located beside city hall. Paul Rankin’s restaurant cayenne is located in Shaftsbury square, a short walk from the city centre. The usual culprits including McDonald's and Burger King are also easily accessible within the city centre.
Belfast is also known for its pubs, including the crown liquor saloon, which is a restored old pub which has to be seen to be believed. Belfast’s golden mile, which the Crown is part of, consists of lots of different pubs and bars, catering for all age ranges, and even includes Wetherspoons, for a cheap drink. Robinson's is another pub well worth a visit, although it can get very crowded.
There are also various nightspots, although i don't often visit them. Lavery's Gin palace located on Bradbury Palace, within the golden mile is my favourite nightspot, although I usually just go to the pub in the evenings. there is also comedy nights at the Empire, which started Paddy Kielty's career, as well as bands playing at places like the limelight and Queen's students Union, open to non students. Queen's student union also houses one of the most popular nightclubs in the city. Some puns and clubs can be a bit rough, but as with everywhere, keep your wits about you & you'll be fine.
The shopping is also good in Belfast, although the city centre is mainly high street chains. Debenhams is the only department store, and it is smaller than a lot of similar stores I have visited, but is well stocked and staff are friendly. The city centre, shopping wise, is easy to navigate, as it seems to be laid out in a grid, with each street running parallel to a main street. Castle Court is the main shopping centre within the city centre, incorporating amongst others, debenhams, tk maxx and the Burton group. There are plans for a large House of Fraser, but work has only recently started on this complex. There are also some good out of town shopping centres, such as Forestside, Connswater and the park centre, but the city centre has most of the shops found within these centres.
There's a lot to see and do around Belfast. The city's botanic gardens are located close to the city centre, and are a lovely walk in the summertime. Other city parks include lady Dixon park, Belvoir forest park and Barnett's Demense, all close to the city centre.
Kids are also well catered for in Belfast. Belfast zoo on the outskirts of the city provides a fun day out, as does the interactive learning experience of W5 at the odyssey. There is bowling available at the Belfast superbowl, and Dundonald ice bowl has both bowling and ice skating facilities. Also close is the Ulster Folk & Transport museum and aprox 10 miles away in Bangor, facilities exist to enable kids to race each other or electric toilets or pedal swans along a lake.
There are also various cinemas within Belfast, the warner bros cinema at the odyssey, the UCG on the Dublin Rd and the Movie House at Yorkgate to mention 3. There is also a cinema within Queens that tends to show more arty films.
St George's market is also a great place to visit, even just to see the wide variety of local produce for sale. It's open on Fridays and is located close to Belfast central station.
Belfast has good transport links. There is an airport in Belfast itself, which British airways uses, and another about 10 - 15 miles away at Aldergrove, with good bus links, where easyjet flies into. There are also boats from Scotland and Liverpool. Within the city itself there are also good public transport links, with buses around the city departing from city hall, right in the city centre. Train links are also good, and there are 3 stations within the city. There is also a translink bus that runs the lop between the main bus and train stations to the city centre, and is free with a valid translink ticket.
Belfast is full of hotels as well, with prices ranging from cheap and cheerful to full on extravagant. The Europa is possibly one of the more famous, due to it being blown up so many times, but is one of the top hotels in the city, although it just looks like a block of council flats to me! There is also a Jury's, a days inn and a Holiday Inn around the Golden Mile and city centre area, as well as some other top hotels just outside the city centre, such as the Ramada at Shaw's Bridge.
Belfast is a city that can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. There are lots of cheap cafes as well as top class restaurants, and accommodation is the same. There are lots of things you can do for free, such as see the botanic gardens or VISTA the ulster museum, or terr are other places nearby such as the sea front at Bangor a few miles away. The walk from Sea parks in Holywood to Bangor is well worth it too if you have the stamina!
In my opinion, Belfast is well worth a visit!
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I felt a bit like jesi, you've given us a list, but not really a review and I miss some more remarks on what the city has to offer culture-wise, there must be more to it.
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Aug 10th, 2004
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