If You Go: Belfast

We truly loved our trip to Belfast, it was a quick, easy, cheap flight and it was a great weekend.  We managed to cram in a lot of fun things for 48 hours.

Hotels
Fitzwilliam Hotel: We loved this hotel - it was modern and very central.  Our room was lovely with a large king-sized bed and couch as well as a fantastic rain shower and separate soaking tub.  Very highly recommend ($180/night)



Restaurants 
Ginger Bistro: We had a beautiful meal at Ginger Bistro - it's highly recommended on both Trip Advisor and various local publications.  Upscale casual environment with a diverse continental menu.  I enjoyed a tomato-basil soup and mussels and P enjoyed goat cheese and a steak.  Everything was delicious and the service was fabulous

India Gate: This was a highly rated Indian restaurant - we both enjoyed the meal and ordered our usual favorite currys.  If you like Indian food, it's a good stop.  Not stand out, but solid Indian food.

St. George's Market: We had an amazing lunch at St. George's Market - they have all kinds of food stands around the market.  P enjoyed a Cuban sandwich and I had some fantastic paella.  There was live music and plentiful tables to enjoy the food.



Things To Do 
Titanic Museum: This is one of the most well-done museums I have every visited.  The architecture (in the shape of the ship) is truly incredible and the exhibits walk you through Titanic in the context of the history of Belfast.  It's truly an "all senses" experience - with a Disney-style ride through the ship yards as well as a 3D style large-scale movie of the shipwreck itself.  Highly, highly recommend.  Also suggest booking tickets in advance - it appeared they sold out frequently for various times (we had booked in advance)

Crumlin Road Gaol: This is a Belfast prison that was used until 1996 to house everyone from political activists in "The Troubles" period to convicted murderers.  You can only visit it on a guided tour - which was well done.  It was a bit graphic for my taste (you walk through the chambers where people were hung) so I definitely wouldn't recommend taking children here.

Paddy Campbell's World Famous Tour: The second day, we took a private tour with Paddy Campbell (and got the man himself!)  This was truly fabulous - expensive, but well worth it.  In the morning, we visited various political murals and he gave an oral history of the city and the political violence that took place there.  We also visited the peace wall seperating the two sides.  This was eye opening...and honestly, I didn't know too much about it until we visited.  The second half of the day, he took us up to the Northern Coast to many of the famous sites there - the dark hedges, the Cerrick Rope Bridge, Giant's Causeway, and Dunluce Castle.  Given that it was a private tour, we could plot of our own day and really spend the time we wanted at each place.  Highly recommend!!! One note - the tour does not include entrance fees to the various items - but if you're a National Trust member - bring your card so you can get in free!

This is in front of the peace wall