A weekend alone in Belfast

August 17, 2009 3:33 PM

I'll be working in Belfast next week and have some time alone at the weekend (29/08/09-30/08/09). What should I get up to? Any events I should be aware of?
posted by nam3d to travel & transportation (5 comments total)

If you haven't already done it, then a Black Cab tour of the trouble spots is well worth it.
posted by ihunui at 5:53 PM on August 17

...or rent a car and head up to the Giants Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.
posted by ihunui at 5:58 PM on August 17

There's a Blues Festival on, if that tempts you. It's a shame, you just missed a huge Maritime festival with Tall Ships last weekend.

Try The Big List for general info about pubs and bars etc. GoToBelfast is the offcial tourist site. If you give the Welcome Centre a ring I'm sure they could advise you, depending on your interests...

One final recommendation - try St George's Market on Saturday morning. There's local grown food, and crafts and sometimes music. Fun to have a browse round.
posted by Tapioca at 4:22 AM on August 18

On the pub front:
The Crown - good Guinness, good real ale, gas-lit and National Trust owned, bit touristy. Also a good place to get lunch, either in one of the snugs (which you can book free) or in the dining rooms upstairs. Last time I was there it was about £5 for a bowl of Irish stew with wheaten bread, lovely.
The John Hewitt - great beer (real ale and a number of foreign beers). Situated in "the Cathedral quarter" too, a nice enough area to walk around.
The Duke of York - immense collection of whiskey/whisky. They have one list for Scotch, one for Irish. Large price range to choose from. Also, apparently Gerry Adams used to work here years ago. (Flickr 1, 2)
Otherwise, I second St. George's market, and the black cab tours are good too. Pop into a Clements coffee shop for a good coffee. Maybe even take a look and see what the visitor policy is at the Linen Hall Library (Oldest library in Belfast, fantastic political book collection, and lovely place to get away from it all in the city centre).

Oh, and wander up from City Hall along Botanic Avenue to see Queen's University. Botanic's a pretty nice street with nice looking restaurants, coffee shops, and even a specialised crime fiction shop - No Alibis.

Enjoy yourself.
posted by knapah at 5:17 AM on August 18

thank you for the suggestions, I'm certainly going to get a Black Cab Tour.
posted by nam3d at 10:16 AM on August 18