Today is mainly a travel day. In order to get to Belfast, I need to hop on the bus to get back to Dublin before boarding a train to Belfast. Unfortunately there isn’t a very convenient way to get from Galway to Northern Ireland. So I need to loop back through Dublin.
Train to Belfast
After the early morning bus ride returning to Dublin, I make the short 10 minute walk from the bus stop to Dublin’s Connolly Station. I originally pre-booked a ticket that would see me depart Dublin at 1Pm and arrive in Belfast around 3PM. I originally gave myself a buffer to transition between the bus and train. But since everything went smoothly, I ended up changing my ticket to an earlier train. While I’m more of an airplane guy, I really enjoy train rides too. And the trip between Dublin and Belfast is a really pretty one since a chunk of it is right along the Irish East Coast. Along with some coastal views, there are parts that go through calm Irish countryside which just adds to the charm of this picturesque country!
Belfast
After arriving in Belfast, I make my way to my hotel for check in. One useful thing to keep in mind is the train ticket also gives you free transit into the City Centre. So hang onto your ticket when you disembark and show the bus driver for an easy way into the city.
Since I’m staying in Belfast for only two days, I book a fairly central hotel called The Flint. The rooms are surprisingly spacious and quite well appointed. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them and return for future travel.
After settling in, I set out to walk around and get my bearings. Belfast has a pretty walkable core and is also quite busy so there’s a bit of hustle and bustle. While I’d like to say its a super interesting and unique city, I can’t. It’s like a lot of other European cities I’ve visited in my past. There are parts that are ultra modern and parts that have hints of deep history. While this isn’t a bad thing, I think its just not ultra unique that makes it a stand out city.
Titanic Belfast
One of the reasons I changed train tickets to get here earlier is the opportunity to visit Titanic Belfast. Belfast is where this infamous ship was built. So there is a very big and exhaustive “museum” dedicated to it! The museum is built on the old slipways where the ship is constructed and is an eye catching building itself! Walking around the grounds, you get a good sense of the scale and size of the ship along with getting the admire the building!
Once inside there are multiple floors to explore. The museum does well to talk about the conditions prior to building the ship. The shipping industry and the drive to build bigger and bigger ships. And the advances in ship design and construction required to build what we know today as the Titanic. There is even an exhibit about modern media representations of the disaster and current day expeditions to survey the ship on the seabed.
All in all, It’s a GREAT exhibit if you have any interest in the Titanic and well worth the price of admission. I highly recommend it!
Flame Restaurant
I spend the afternoon at the exhibit and only leave because it closes. The next thing on my list is to find a place for dinner. Thankfully, I don’t need to travel far. After a bit of internet sleuthing and polling the front desk, I settle on going to the Flame Restaurant which is right beside my hotel. From the outside, it kind of looks like a pub, but upon closer inspection, its actually a pretty nice restaurant inside! I end up ordering the olive starter (I’m a sucker for olives) and the fish as a main. Everything came out delicious. While the food is very good, it does get a bit pricey, so I would say if you’re looking for something a bit more affordable, you may need to give this one a pass. If not, its got a great vibe, great food and great atmosphere.
With a long day of travelling and a full belly, I retire back to my hotel to prepare for the next day. Tomorrow I will be doing another full day tour and will be heading to the Giant’s Causeway, another must see on my list.