Have you ever travelled to Northern Ireland?
This is why you should add Belfast to your bucket list!

Let’s be honest, most of the time when we talk about visiting the UK we mean England, right? And whenever someone tells you they have been to Ireland, they probably mean the Republic of Ireland! But what is it that we are missing there, in the north-western part of Europe?

 

Located on the northern part of the island of Ireland, you can find Northern Ireland, with its capital Belfast on the east coast.

Take a look at this beautiful map right here if you’re not sure where Belfast is. 🙂

 

Belfast on the map of Europe from Google Maps
Belfast on European Map, Google Maps

 

Before the self study week in spring 2022 I had not been there myself yet, but from the very first moment of arriving to Belfast until the end of my stay my expectations even got exceeded!
I was travelling over the island of Ireland for about one week with a small group of friends and Belfast was the final destination of our trip.

 

What makes Belfast so special?

In Belfast you can experience a lot of things!

Numberrr One

Peace Wall in Belfast from left angle
Peace Wall in Belfast, Northern Ireland, photo 2

 

Firstly, the peace wall in Belfast is a perfect reflection of Northern Ireland’s troublesome history, which is still noticeable in their society even today. It was built due to too much violence between Catholics and Protestants, and terroristic organisations like the IRA.

 

Peace Wall in Belfast from right angle
Peace Wall in Belfast, Northern Ireland, photo 1

 

 

 

 

Today, it is possible to take taxi tours – as we did – along the wall on both sides and get a very thorough inside to the bloody history and current situation.

 

 

 

 

 

For the music lovers amongst you, I recommend listening to the song “Belfast child” by Simple Minds. It captures the past happenings perfectly and even sounds pretty good. 🙂

 

 

Numberrr Two

Secondly, the Titanic Museum!

This definitely is a must on your to-do-list when visiting Belfast. Even for me as someone who usually avoids museums at all costs, it was more than worth a visit!

the titanic museum in belfast from the outside during the day
Titanic Museum in Belfast; Northern Ireland
A tangible sea route map in the Titanic Museum in Belfast
Tangible Sea Route Map in Titanic Museum, Belfast

 

The museum includes a lot of tangible elements like maps with buttons to press, which show different routes of ships (as in the picture on the left), a ride through history on something like a small gondola, ship ropes to touch/feel or even video games that allow the visitor to explore the sea area in Northern Ireland and educate themselves about ships that had sunk there.

 


What to see during night?

Both the City Hall and the Victoria Square shopping centre offer very beautiful visuals during the night. Walking past the City Hall in a purple light and strolling through the shopping centre with its blue light coloured ceiling are truly experiences you wouldn’t expect when thinking about a night in Belfast.

The city hall in belfast during night
City Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Outside of Victoria Square in Belfast during day
Victoria Square in Belfast during day
Inside of Victoria Square in Belfast during night
Inside of Victoria Square in Belfast during night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope this wee blog has given you a short but good insight to Belfast and has at least made you a tiny bit interested in the Northern Irish capital, from where you can also take day tours to the Giant’s Causeway, by the way, just saying…!

No niin, I guess I’ll see you there then, or you can simply join me on my next visit there, which will be asap 😉

 

2 Replies

  1. Great job! Interesting and entertaining. I especially liked the links at the end (wee and No niin)!
    The heading styles in the beginning were used a bit confusingly.

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