haleblood
Austin
A question about this place:
What would be some good things to see and do late December - early Janauary? Cheap/fun places to stay?
Answers:
ninjapajamas
Seattle
What kind of things are you looking for? Trendy pubs/restaurants/clubs? Traditional charm? Historical sites? Natural beauty (btw, what we call mountains, Americans might call hills)?
People like to sit in pubs and eat and drink and talk (the infamous craic). Plan on lots of this.
Belfast is a well laid out city, most of the action is in the center, between the University and the Cathedral.
The Folk and Transport Museum is definitely worth a visit, even in the pouring rain.
The Giant’s Causeway is very cool, but I don’t think its worth the effort to get there. I’d rather drive down to Strangford, take the ferry across to Portaferry and come back via Bangor. MountStewart is cool if you like that sort of thing.
Or just go to Galway…
killercat
Belfast
The most important thing to do while you’re here is to go to the Bot (Botanic Inn). It’s near Queen’s and it’s one of the most popular pubs in Belfast because of its atmosphere and its pub lunches are reasonably priced and tasty. The Empire on Botanic Avenue is good for live music, Katy Daly’s has a bit of a rocker goth scene going on, and there are lots of great places in the Cathedral Quarter like The Spainard and the Duke of York (St. Anne’s Cathedral is a must see and its free.). While walking through the cobbled streets it will seem like you are in a different world, but there’s a lot of construction right now so it’s not the prettiest.
The murals are great, but I would forego the black taxi tour. Just get a map at the Welcome Centre, a book on the history, a chat in the pubs and you’ll have a more complete understanding of the murals and the history behind them. Don’t forget to walk up the Shankill and Falls Roads and see the peace line between them. It’s a bit of a hike, but well worth it. Make sure to do this early as the sun sets quickly and they are not the nicest neighborhoods.
As for lodgings, I think there’s a hostel on Donegal Road that’s popular with young tourists.
Pubs usually close at 1, 11 on Sunday, so if you want to extend your night the only place to go is the Kremlin. It’s a gay bar, but good fun and it stays open till 3.
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