One day three ways: Belfast

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This was published 9 years ago

One day three ways: Belfast

By Stephen Phelan
Belfast City Hall.

Belfast City Hall.Credit: Alamy

PENNY PINCH

A travel company recently analysed millions of location-tagged photographs on Instagram, and concluded from all the smiling faces that Belfast is now the happiest city in Britain - possibly because the city is so affordable. Start your day with low-cost, high-grade coffee and a bacon bap at Common Grounds, a cafe inside the Belfast City church ($5, commongrounds.co.uk). Take a Harper's Taxis tour up the Falls Road and down the Shankhill, where the famous sectarian murals provide a vivid visual aid to understanding the city's former troubles (from $50, harpertaxitours.com). Spend the afternoon in the Cathedral Quarter (www.thecathedralquarter.com) - a dead end recently revived with new art venues and galleries, then the evening in the tiny and fantastic Spaniard pub ($30). The Premier Inn is also near the cathedral, with rooms from $45 (premierinn.com/en/hotel/belbar/belfast-city-cathedral-quarter)

TOTAL: $130

EASY DOES IT

The great wee corner cafe Rhubarb does a full "Ulster fry"- the mightiest of breakfasts - for less than $10 (rhubarb-belfast.co.uk). If it's raining, browse St George's market, one of the last and best historic covered markets in Britain (budget $50 or so). Spend the rest of the day on the Titanic Experience and Titanic Discovery tour - a whole quarter of the city is now given over to the story of the doomed ship and its construction in Belfast (from $30 for both main tours, titanicbelfast.com). Then mix with the locals in the Crown Liquor Saloon, a Victorian drinking palace that also does decent pub food ($50 approx for drinks and dinner, nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thecrownliquorsaloonbelfast), before taking a room at the Europa. Famous as the most bombed hotel in the world during the Troubles, it has long since been expensively refurbished - double rooms from $250, with regular online discounts, hastingshotels.com/europa-belfast

TOTAL: $380

SPLASH OUT

Now that almost everyone in the world is watching the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones, you can book a luxury private tour of the show's filming locations near Belfast - including a visit to the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, both spectacular sites (from $160, viator.com/Belfast). Head back into town for fresh oysters and champagne at the Mourne Seafood Bar ($70 approx, mourneseafood.com), and if you're going high-end shopping your money is probably best spent on quality Aran knitwear that will last you a lifetime, as sold by local specialists EilisOg (items from $150, eilisog.com). Deane's Restaurant remains Belfast's finest dining option ($150 for the six-course tasting menu, plus wine, michaeldeane.co.uk), and the Merchant Hotel provides for exclusive clubbing and lounging, with five-star accommodation upstairs (double rooms from $330, plus drinks, themerchanthotel.com).

TOTAL: $1000

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