United Kingdom
Belfast City Centre

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 4

      Myths and Legends

      June 5, 2022 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

      Another packed day. Sunshine has prevailed all day, so we have been taking advantage of that. A drive through the Catholic neighborhood in Belfast. Saw the Sinn Fein headquarters and a tribute to Bobbie Sands before heading out of town. The Dark Hedges were impressive beech trees with winding branches, made famous in The Game of Thrones. Next was Carrick a Rede Rope bridge. Long hike down to the bridge and long line to wait to cross but worth it - one of our bucket list items. Weather was perfect so no excuse! Rounded out the afternoon with a hike at Giant’s Causeway. Crazy crowded but our driver, Pat, got us in the parking area. Several hundred people joined us, learning the legend of Finn MacCool. Pictures can’t capture the beauty. Ended the day at our next stop in Donegal. The Mill Park Hotel after a drive around Derry and a walk across the Peace Bridge.Read more

    • Day 94

      98ème étape ~ Belfast

      November 4, 2022 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

      Retour à Belfast suite à un changement de planning.
      Nous allons visiter le musée gratuit Ulster Museum.
      Ce n’était pas une visite très passionnante.
      Nous avons ensuite profité de notre dernière journée en lrlande pour boire un cidre et une guiness. 🍻Read more

    • Day 23

      Belfast: Most importantly Lord Kelvin

      September 19, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

      Last week, our group took a day trip to Belfast. This is where the Titanic was built so we went to the Titanic Museum there. It was pretty cool. Sarah, Mitchell, and I enjoyed breakfast and coffee at a cute little place. We also went by Queens University and ended up going to a cookout with some of the students. That was super fun and gave us the chance to meet some local students our age. Glad we happened upon it! Most importantly, I saw a statue of Lord Kelvin who created the absolute temperature scale (ah chemistry hehehe). I sent a picture to all my chem professors, and they loved it. I’m in London now and will update soon!!Read more

    • Day 11

      First Day In Belfast

      July 4, 2022 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Today was explore Belfast day. And we figured the best thing to do was do one of those hop on hop off bus tours. So we stopped at a local grocer, got some muffins and chocolate milk, and headed down to city hall to catch our double decker tour bus. We decided to do the whole tour right of the bat (90 minutes long) and then use it for transportation when we want to get somewhere. The tour was great and the weather was great so we got to hang out on the open air top. The bus hits all the major sights including the university where they were having their grad. At the end of our tour we hoped on another bus and headed over to the titanic experience. It is so well done and everything is meaningful down to the benches outside that look like the distress signal the ship sent out. So so cool. I recommend using the audio guides as it gives you so much information.

      After that emotional experience, we caught the bus and headed back into downtown Belfast looking for lunch. We ended up at Grannie Annie's.

      By then it was late afternoon and we decided to head over to the Victoria Square Mall. It is a glass dome thing that has great free views of the city. While there, the kids saw a movie theatre and wanted to go see a movie. So we sent 3 of them to Jurassic World while Jen, Evan and I continued our Belfast wanderings. We finally got to the top viewing platform of the mall, kissed the "Salmon of Knowledge", visited Tim Hortons, walked around city hall and just meandered wherever our hearts took us. Then it was back to the mall to get the kids and head back to our place.

      All in all, it was a great day. Tomorrow we are off to the Giants Causeway so better get to bed.

      And... just to keep things consistent, I will close off with the step counter. We clocked in at 17,723 steps. So a more laid back day. We will try and do better tomorrow.
      Read more

    • Day 20

      Belfast

      September 19, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

      *queue Van Morrison*

      This past Tuesday the gang drove up to Belfast! During our visit, Halle, Joel, and I were in change of giving a report on the Civil Rights Movement. This movement was led by students at Queens university in the 1960’s, and advocated for the rights of the Catholic population who were being discriminated against.

      Belfast has been the site for many historic and gruesome conflict, but much of that would not be apparent in the way the city has continued to develop and progress. When walking by the school back ti the coach, a few of us were invited by students to a church BBQ, where we got to talk to many Christian students from Queen’s about their mission to build community.

      We also visited the titanic museum, as it was built and docked in the Belfast lochs.
      Read more

    • Day 2 - Walking Tour - Belfast, Northern

      July 11, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Today we have a 3 hour walking tour of Belfast booked with local guide, Arthur, who is a Belfast native, co-author of “The Little Book of Belfast” and a once member of an unpopular 1980s Manchester pop group.

      Starting at Belfast City Hall, we walked to the Peace Walls with detailed commentary provided by Arthur, giving us the historical and political background to “The Troubles”.

      The Troubles was a conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. The conflict began in the late 1960s and is deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

      The conflict was primarily political and nationality fuelled by historical events. It also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension, yet despite the use of terms Protestant and Catholic to refer to the 2 sides, it was not a religious conflict. A key issue was the status of Northern Ireland.

      Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join a United Ireland.

      Peace Walls were built in some areas to keep the 2 communities apart. We walked through several huge gates of the Peace Walled area, which are still locked shut every evening.

      The Peace Walls are adorned with murals depicting scenes related to the Troubles.

      Arthur presented the information in a personally informative and sometimes gruesome manner. We all agreed that we had learnt was informative and, at times, emotionally confronting. Arthur’s tour explained the Troubles in great detail, and added to the reality by Arthur’s own personal account of his own experiences at the time. He also looked forward and placed Belfast within the context of a fast changing, post industrial world.

      He also took us to the City Centre and the Cathedral Quarter, where we were last night, and to the Albert Memorial Clock in Queen’s Square in Belfast. Completed in 1869, it is one of Belfast’s best known landmarks. It has a 4 degree lean caused by it being built on soft soil.

      Today’s lunch consisted of a buffet style meal at a pub, it was interesting as they kept saying there was to be a top up of the buffet coming, it never seemed to come through. Though the meal was nice in a nice traditional pub with some cheery locals.

      The pint today for Dad and I was a beer brewed for English Heritage, which I bought at Stonehenge, called Wassail, a strong chestnut ruby premium ale with an oaky aroma containing sherry and mature fruit. Drinkable but probably won’t rush to purchase another. Desma resorted to a blood orange gin and tonic, along with Katie.
      Read more

    • Day 65

      Belfast

      July 9, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Nach bequemer Autobahnfahrt erreichten wir bald Belfast. Achtung! Geschwindigkeiten und Entfernung wieder umrechnen von Meilen auf km und Euro wegstecken, Pfund ist wieder angesagt! Wir sind nämlich wieder auf britischem Terrain.
      Relativ nahe am Stadtzentrum fanden wir eine ruhige Stelle, unternahmen von dort wieder zu Fuß unsere Erkundungstour und nach der Rückkehr konnten wir völlig ungestört schlafen. Doch nun zur Stadt:
      Wie in Reiseberichten empfohlen steuerten wir als Erstes die Cityhall, das Rathaus an. Hier zeigt sich, dass Belfast mal eine sehr reiche Stadt mit florierender Wirtschaft war. Nicht weit davon entdeckten wir das Grand Opera House, heute leider sehr eingekeilt zwischen Glas- und Betonriesen. Sehr schön empfanden wir das Shoppingcenter Victoria Square mit seiner Glaskuppel und darin der Aussichtsplattform mit Blick über die gesamte Innenstadt (leider geschlossen). Wir besichtigten die Stadt weiter und fanden so manches highlight wie Albert Memorial, St. Anne's Cathedral, aber auch hübsche Kunst- und Fotomotive.
      Aber heute zum Sonntag wollten wir noch das bunte Nachtleben in den Pubs mit Musik erleben und in "the Entries" dem Kneipenviertel wurden wir fündig. Als Erstes suchten wir den (offiziell) ältesten Pub der Stad auf, die legendäre White's Tavern (seit 1630), in der wir lange dem erstklassigen Musiker lauschten, bis wir in seiner gewerkschaflich zustehenden Pause weiter zogen zur "Dirty Onion" (heißt wohl so was wie "dreckige Zwiebel"?). Auch hier wieder live music und ein herrliches Ambiente. Hochzufrieden machten wir uns auf den Heimweg, dabei schwelgten wir noch bei einer köstlichen Pizza auf rustikal genietetem Tisch, um dann satt, müde und zufrieden in die Federn zu fallen.
      Read more

    • Day 95

      Belfast

      April 12, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

      Belfast, Nordirland

      Unser Stellplatz in Belfast lag in einer schönen Parkgegend ausserhalb der Stadt. Wir hatten eine schöne Aussicht auf das Hafengelände und wurden wie schon in Dublin mit einem wunderschönen Regenbogen empfangen.

      Leider war der erste Tag in Belfast nicht ganz so schön, da es durchgehend regnete. Dies nutzten wir zu einem entspannten Tag im Camper mit Serien schauen und der Vorbereitung für den nächsten Tag. Dies hat sich gelohnt, am Mittwoch wachten wir bei Sonnenschein auf und gingen zum frühstmöglichen Zeitpunkt ins Titanic Museum. Somit konnten wir die tolle Ausstellung über den Bau des Schiffs und vielen weiteren Details beinahe alleine bestaunen. Das Museum ist sehr interaktiv gestaltet und wir waren beide sowohl begeistert als auch beeindruckt.

      Nach einem kurzen Stadtspaziergang gingen wir in ein Kaffee, welches Marion am Vortag entdeckt hatte und genossen ein hervorragendes Frühstück. Danach gönnte ich mir die volle Museumsdröhnung und ging ins Irish Republican History Museum, während Marion weiter in der Altstadt verweilte. Leider konnten wir die Verabredung mit Joe Biden nicht einhalten (er hatte einen "wichtigeren" Termin) und gingen zurück zum Stellplatz.

      Am Donnerstag ging es um 6:00 Uhr weiter auf die Fähre nach Schottland, wo uns der noch höhere Besuch erwartet, da die Shitheads (Steffi, Carmen, Silvano und Jonathan) für ein Wochenende nach Edinburgh kommen. Wir freuen uns schon sehr darauf 🎉🍾

      Auch wenn wir nur 5 Tage in Nordirland waren und gerade einmal 224 Strassenkilometer zurücklegten, gefiel es uns hier sehr gut.
      Read more

    • Day 27

      Belfast ‘troubles’ averted

      May 23, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      It was an early start this morning, with the alarm sounding at 5.30am- although as often happens (or it does to me at least) when you know you have a deadline to meet, I woke just a couple of minutes before it sounded thinking ‘Is it time to get up?’

      We got to the ferry check-in with a few minutes to spare and eventually drove the car deep into the bowels of the boat, parking alongside semi trailers and vehicles of all descriptions.
      We exited the car and started heading upstairs to the seating areas.
      Once again, I had been slightly neglectful in providing Loriene with full details of our journey, meaning that I had only booked ‘cattle class’ tickets to cross the Irish Sea and hadn’t disclosed this fact.

      However, in full expectation of better arrangements than that, Loss keeps climbing the stairs beyond cattle class, beyond business class, up to the top level ‘first class’ lounge.
      Before she speaks with the concierge guarding the door, I quietly manage to steer her away before any undue embarrassment occurs.
      As I coax her down a few staircases back towards steerage class, I have no choice but to explain the situation to her. She puts on a brave face.

      I speak to a lady at the reception desk who happens to be right near us at this awkward moment, explaining that I have been stingy with our tickets and ask her for guidance as to where we should be sitting. She politely tells us where the allocated seating areas are for cheapskates like me.

      There is an uncomfortable silence as we trudge off toward the doorway marked ‘Boiler Room’, with Loss still maintaining the bravest face she can.
      It could be a long, long sea voyage to Belfast.

      Then quite unexpectedly the lovely Scottish lady comes running after us, discretely presses an access code pass into Loriene’s hand and says to her quietly ‘Here you go- I think you look like you should be in first class’.
      I thank her profusely for saving my life and we climb the stairs again to the top deck….
      A pleasant voyage was then had by all.

      On arriving in Belfast and after eventually prising Loss out of her seat, we drove straight from the ferry into the CBD of Belfast and within 20 minutes of departing the ferry we were parked and walking to board our ‘Hop on / off’ bus from the city centre. We did a full lap of the route, listening as carefully as possible to the broad-accented Irish commentary before getting off.

      We then walked to the Titanic memorial, which lists the name of every individual who perished on that ill-fated maiden voyage. We also looked up the Christadelphian Magazine for details about Bro and Sis Henry Sulley, who were travelling on another vessel in the Atlantic at the same time the Titanic sunk. Here is a little snippet of his account:

      “Sister Sulley had been unwell for three weeks before we left England. Upon advice of the doctor the journey was delayed a week, and I began to fear I might require to take the journey alone (not to be thought of unless imperatively impelled). Towards the end of the week the prospect brightened. The question then arose, shall we delay our journey four more days, and take passage on what proved to be the ill-fated Titanic? Sister Sulley said “No; we have delayed a week, I think we ought to start as soon as possible.” So, the doctor having given permission to make the journey, providing sister S. kept in her room till the day she travelled to Liverpool, we took not the ill-fated Titanic, but the safer, and, I think, the more carefully managed Cunarder called Carmania, whose commander, under the hand of God, conveyed us safely to our destination.”

      Next we moved on to Belfast’s premier attraction which is the relatively new, multi million pound Titanic Exhibition. It has everything in it to do with things Titanic but as we had seen quite a few of these in recent years (including in Sydney) we skipped the exorbitant entry fee and just toured the ‘Nomadic’ which was the tender for the Titanic. The Nomadic delivered passengers from the White Star Line’s French port onboard the Titanic before it then set sail for New York.

      We then did another lap on The Big Red Bus, understanding much better the second time around the various sections of the city, the incredibly violent past from 1969 until 1998 and the political and religious divisions that caused such harm and bloodshed for so many years.
      A key issue was the status of Northern Ireland. Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. We saw absolute evidence of this division as we drove around.

      After finishing our second lap of the city, we sought out a few points of interest on foot, returned to the car then made the short drive to our apartment for the evening. Loriene has managed to whip up an amazing roast chicken dinner (using some more ingredients brought from home - but not the chicken, thankfully) in less time than it has taken to type this out.
      Read more

    • Day 22

      Day 20 Belfast, Ireland

      August 21, 2019 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Really interesting day today. We arrived in Belfast quite early and wanted to go to the Titanic Centre which is (unsurprisingly) in Belfast’s Titanic quarter and was back at the turn of the last century, the world centre of shipbuilding. The centre itself stands on the site of the slipway that launched many ships including the Titanic.

      It is a huge building and the number one tourist destination in Ireland (or Europe if you believe their publicity). We left the ship early to try and beat the masses arriving just after it opened at 8.30. That proved a good decision as when we left about 11 am it was getting pretty packed. It’s very well done and well worth a couple of hours of your time if you are ever here (see some of the photos). There is also a smaller White Star Line Ship, the Normadic, in one of the adjacent slipways that you can walk through, although we didn’t take up that part of the tour as we only had one day in Belfast and many things to do.

      We had been hoping to speak to one of the curators as we had been given copies of letters written by the Titanic’s Quartermaster in the aftermath of the sinking to have looked at with a view to donating the originals (owned by a friend of Christine’s who is his grand daughter). However they were all off site, so the best we could do was get the email address of one of the lead curators and put Dee in direct touch with her.

      After a quick trip back to the ship to drop off the enormous amount of shopping and souvenirs that had been purchased (Christine is mad for the Titanic) we took a couple of hour trip with the taxi driver that had dropped us back there into the Shankhill/Falls Road area of Belfast. Like many drivers in Belfast he specialises in providing independent tours of the area to see and learn about the areas and people that shaped this very divided city.

      He grew up and still lives in Shankhill but nevertheless gave us a rounded overview of both the Protestant (Shankhill) and Catholic (Falls Road) perspectives of the history and key events that still dominate the areas today. It is pretty confronting to see and learn about the atrocities that have been committed by both sides in pursuit of their particular view of how Ireland/Northern Ireland should exist.

      After that we were dropped into the centre of Belfast and that co-incided with the weather packing in. It had been mild and overcast to that point but from about 1 pm it started to rain and get colder and that got progressively worse as the day wore on. After a walk through through the centre of the city we went to the nearby Robinsons Pub for a drink and lunch. Reputationally it is the site of the most bombed pub (it’s actually two pubs joined together) in Belfast and that’s saying something considering the amount of trouble that city has seen over the years.

      We bumped into Dave and Lesley two friends from the ship at the pub (surprising as we were the only non locals there) and had lunch with them before walking to take a look at the Belfast City Hall which is a really impressive building with lots of stained glass marking various Belfast events and information about the many famous people that were born in or lived in the city. By now it was about 3.30, raining and pretty cold so we decided to call it a day and head back to the ship on the double decker buses they had put on to ferry us from the port to the ship and back.

      Photos show... The Titanic Slipway (with our ship in the background...); the main staircase of the ship as depicted in a virtual walk through; a replica Titanic lifeboat; the Titanic Centre; the Normadic; a Protestant memorial wall; our driver and me looking at the exterior of a Shankill house; one of the 47 walls that still separate the Protestant and Catholic areas; Robinsons Pub, downtown Belfast; Belfast city hall
      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Belfast City Centre

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android