Belfast - Titanic Centre
I stayed at the Hilton in Lanyon Place which is set in a really great location, its a 5 min walk to the town and sits on the Waterfront so it has some great views, especially at breakfast with the large glass windows looking out onto the river.
The staff are friendly, the hotel is clean and has some great facilities, such as a bar, restaurant, and gym.
The concierge is willing to offer suggestions of things to see and do and one of them was to take a Black Cab Tour of the city.
As it was a quiet time of year we rang them on the day and they turned up at our hotel after breakfast. Many of the drivers have lived through the troubles of the segregation and the IRA so they have the first-hand experience of what is was like to live through the turmoil.
I would definitely recommend this tour, we were out for 2 hours in our own cab and it only cost £30. We were given a full history, shown around all the places where events took place which are now etched in history and we saw so many murals which depict the conflict that used to exist. It was definitely an eye-opener.
Our main purpose of travelling to Belfast though was to visit the Titanic Centre, what an amazing building! The architecture, the materials the building is made of, the internal workings, just everything about it is based on the ship. Even the benches outside are arranged in the morse code used on the ship.
They said to allow 2-3 hours for the visit but somehow we spent 7 hours there. I would recommend pre-booking the White Star Premium Pass at £25. This gives you a guided tour, access to the SS Nomadic (the tender boat for the Titanic), free souvenir photo and the self-guided tour of the history of the ship. It also gives you discounts in the Titanic Shop and restaurant. It was well worth the £25.
The city has some lovely walkways around the waterfront, it is easy to walk to the Titanic Building, there is a cinema and entertainment complex just in front of this. They are building up the Titanic Quarter with cafes, shops etc and it is an on-going development, which looks great.
The town has plenty of shops, cafes, bars and restaurants which surround the city hall.
The people are really friendly and helpful and it is well worth a quick hop across from the UK, next time we shall visit the Giants Causeway during the summer months, the flight is only just over an hour from the UK so you don't spend too long travelling. A taxi from the International Airport to the city takes around 30 minutes and costs approx. £30. You can also fly into the City Airport which is only 10 mins away from the City itself.
I am already looking forward to returning someday soon.