Insight Guides - Insight Guides Great Breaks Belfast

How To Use This E-Book

This Great Break has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Walks and Tours

The clearly laid-out walks and tours in this book feature options for walking or using public transport wherever possible. The emphasis is on family fun, wholesome outdoorsey activities, local festivals, and food and drink. There are loads of great holiday ideas: kids stuff, best beaches, historic pubs, literary connections, unique shops, and crucially with our Great British weather what to do on a rainy day.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Eating Out box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink.

Directory

Also supporting the walks and tours is a Travel Tips section, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information. There is a comprehensive round up of sports and activities in the destination, recommendations for themed holidays, plus our pick of the best places to stay.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

2017 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Belfasts Top 10

From imposing architecture, a Victorian legacy and a proud industrial heritage, to a diverse, spectacular landscape, here at a glance are just a few of the attractions Belfast and Northern Ireland have to offer.

Botanic Gardens. Popular since Victorian times, this colourful park features a classic 1839 Palm House. For more information, .

Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

Crown Liquor Saloon. A Victorian bar that is so ornate the National Trust bought it. For more information, .

Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

Causeway Coastal Route. A spectacular route along Antrims coast taking in such alluring fishing villages as Cushenden. For more information, .

Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

Giants Causeway. One of the wonders of the world, an astonishing array of basalt columns formed by the cooling of molten lava. For more information, .

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City Hall. This shameless imitation of St Pauls Cathedral dominates the city centre. For more information, .

Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

Titanic heritage. The doomed liner was built here and Titanic Belfast commemorates the legacy. For more information, .

Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

Grand Opera House. This oriental fantasy hosts all manner of events, from West End musicals to Shakespeare. For more information, .

Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

Derry. Europes last walled city, besieged in 1689 and now the centre of an exhilarating social and cultural scene. For more information, .

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Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. Step back in time for a living history experience. For more information, .

Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

Parliament Buildings. Stormont is the setting for Northern Irelands devolved government. For more information, .

Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

Overview: A vibrant city

Belfast and Northern Ireland have emerged triumphant from the Troubles, rebuilding communities and promoting their urban vitality and spectacular landscapes.

Without its baggage of troubles, and the resultant 30 years of media coverage that sent its flames around the globe, Belfast could have been seen in another light: as an extravagance of pubs and churches; as a seaport rich in Victorian buildings, where the ill-fated Titanic was built ; as a hub for the manufacture of Irish linen; as host to a fine university; as home to the late George Best, a footballing legend.