6 Things to do on a Sunday in Belfast

My mum likes to respond to childish whingeing of "I'm bored" with "only boring people get bored".

I was finally inclined to agree with her when Aoife, our lovely B&B owner, told  us that she often has guests complaining there's nothing to do in Belfast on a Sunday afternoon.

Anyone who has told you there's nothing to do in Belfast on a Sunday afternoon is just boring. We managed to do not one, but six awesome things in one afternoon!

1. St George's Markets

I was shocked at how few people were on the streets in Belfast. When I entered packed St George's Markets, I realised where they all were! This large market boasts some of the best market food I've ever encountered. I could have eaten four times over! I eventually settled on a perfect paella.

2. Ulster Museum

Part art gallery, part cultural museum, part natural history museum, there's something for everyone at the Ulster. Paul enjoyed the Lavery collection. I liked the triceratops.

3. Victoria Square

This modern shopping centre includes a glass lookout and a mexican place with great margaritas.

4. Go for a walk

Just walking around this city is a pleasure. Mind you, we were blessed with extraordinary weather.

5. The Crown Pub

One of the oldest and most loved landmarks in Belfast, the ornate Crown Pub is the best place in Belfast to enjoy your obligatory pint of Guiness. I happened to enjoy mine in a pie, which I'll add was delicious.

6. The Botanical Gardens

The grounds make for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon walk, and the Palm House is pretty impressive too.

5 Titanic Tributes in Belfast

When we booked a trip to Belfast for the weekend of the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic disaster, we had no idea just how much the city that birthed the ship of dreams would do to commemorate it.

The Grand Old Opera House had a performance of Titanic: The Musical that began at exactly 11:40pm - the time the ship struck the iceberg. We decided this was just a little too excessive and opted instead to watch the new 3D version of James Cameron's movie. Though on reflection it's hardly less excessive!

There was even a commemorative voyage that retraced the route - sans sinking.

The most publicised memorial is the new museum located on the dock where Titanic was built. The modern design based on the bow of Titanic echoes the Sydney Harbour House, while the texture resembles the high seas.

The experience is like the museum of the future - you can touch just about everything. The enormous space is separated into zone, and visitors can navigate through them freely. The first zone recreated Belfast as it was when Titanic was built, and the zones afterwards progress chronologically through the story of the fateful voyage. The sinking itself is treated tastefully - there are no tilting floors. 

The most interactive section sees you carried in lowering gondola cars through the shipyard learning about the techniques that were used to create the largest ship ever built - at the time. This includes the gondola actually passing through a replica of the piece that held the propellor; to illustrate the mammoth size.

The experience makes for a fantastic few hours, and it's not morbid at all. Belfast appears to have staked its hopes for regenerating the tourism industry on it, and though it was bound to be packed on the 100th anniversary, the reception I saw would indicate that it's going to be a roaring success.

Elsewhere in Belfast, you can't escape the Titanic:

Victoria Street shopping mall features an enormous Titanic suspended from the roof. It looked like it was made of balloons. Or stress balls. I'm still not quite sure!

About 100m from the Titanic Experience,  a guy shows off his impressive 6 foot long remote controlled model.

A modern art installation shows the Titanic as pieces of a model.

But among the interesting tributes, the award for tackiest piece of self promotion easily goes to Thompson's Family Teas for this enormous billboard. If I was the copywriter who came up with that awful, confusing, insensitive pun, I think I'd sack myself!

Giant's Causeway

Determined to see more than just Belfast on my first trip to Northern Ireland, I booked a day trip with Allen’s Tours to the country’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Giant’s Causeway.

The first stop of the day is barely an hour outside Belfast. The formidable Carrickfergus castle. Northern Ireland has produced uncharacteristically sublime weather for us, and we’re in good spirits.

After another quick stop at a small seaside village where we stock up on traditional hard boiled clove sweets, our third stop of the day is at Carrick-a-Rede with a rope bridge they brand 'death-defying'.

On such a beautiful day I would brand it more 'good fun' than bungy-level-terrifying.

On the other side of the rope-bridge, we found a comfy spot and read a few Walt Whitman poems aloud. It's hard not to celebrate nature on a glorious day like this one.

The views of beautiful Rathlin Island (with its homogeneous group of residents who apparently never leave) alone are worth the walk to the rope-bridge and steep-sounding £5 crossing fee.

Just a short distance later, the ruins of Dunluce Castle offer a glimpse at the centuries of history this part of the world possesses.

Then, a quick stop at the working Bushmills Distillery, where we gladly join a quick tour having a look at the whiskey making process. We promptly make complete fools of ourselves by mishearing '40' for '14'. A few minutes before the end of our 20 minute stop, we can tell the tour is nowhere near finishing. When we tell the tour guide, he looks mortified, then leads the entire group all the way back to the start, to drop us off at our coach. I spent the whole walk back trying to pretend I was invisible and avoiding all eye contact.

Thankfully, we're soon distracted from our embarrassment by our next stop, the highlight of the trip: The Giant's Causeway.

Nobody knows what caused these rocks to splinter into perfect hexagons. Just that it happened a really long time ago. In years gone by, the Irish knew it could only be the work of giants... hence the name.

The entire area is a marvel, and well worth a visit. No wonder they call it the missing eighth wonder of the world.

Sleepy Cedars

As someone who frequents hotels and hostels, it's a delight to stay in one of those elusive other types of accommodation: the B&B. It's often not an option for us further abroad for location reasons, but in Belfast we figured we'd at least have the advantage of language on our side.

And boy, am I glad we did! Sleepy Cedars is a comfy, family-style B&B with only a few, well kept rooms. The bed was as comfy as a large marshmallow. The sparkling clean bathroom had a great shower.

More than any other place I've stayed, Sleepy Cedars feels like a home away from home. This is probably because of the care that Aoife, who has solo responsibility for the B&B, takes of every guest. She was more than just a source of city information, but actually treated us like friends or family.

Mind you, I'm quite partial to anyone who can feed me as well as Aoife. Breakfast was a treat I can barely put words to. Nearly everything was home-made. As well as traditional Irish breads, preserves, cheese and ham, there were cheesy puffs, homemade yoghurt with blueberry compote and home roasted granola, and a delicious spiced rice served in cute little blue teacups.

Everything was delicious, and you couldn't wish for more.

I would highly recommend Sleepy Cedars to anyone visiting Belfast.