BELFAST
Belfast is a city with a recent history of violence and therefore until recently shunned by tourists. Fortunately all that is changing and during our holiday we spent a pleasant afternoon a couple of weeks ago, strolling around its centre.
Greeted by the delights of the Crown Liquor Saloon (a Victorian Gin Palace now in the hands of the National Trust), we moved on past the Opera House, City Hall and Albert Clock Tower (Belfast’s answer to the Leaning Tower of Pisa) to the River Lagan and views of the twin cranes named Samson and Goliath that dominate the skyline. The sights mentioned all contrasted with the new developments that are taking place including the recently completed Victoria Square Shopping Complex and around the dock area.
Tours are also offered to the slipway from which the Titanic was launched and around Harland & Wolff’s historic offices. “Going down like the Titanic,” is not however a phrase that you want to hear when you are sailing, so we shunned that option along with a black cab tour of the Shankill and Falls Roads area of the City.
I’m not convinced that we should ever be keen to promote ourselves by showing a pride in violence or troubles at home, though finding the strength of character to overcome such and being proud of that achievement is another matter. So it is that, akin to the regeneration that has been taking place in other northern industrial cities like Newcastle and Liverpool, Belfast is now quickly becoming an attractive place to live and visit.
Greeted by the delights of the Crown Liquor Saloon (a Victorian Gin Palace now in the hands of the National Trust), we moved on past the Opera House, City Hall and Albert Clock Tower (Belfast’s answer to the Leaning Tower of Pisa) to the River Lagan and views of the twin cranes named Samson and Goliath that dominate the skyline. The sights mentioned all contrasted with the new developments that are taking place including the recently completed Victoria Square Shopping Complex and around the dock area.
Tours are also offered to the slipway from which the Titanic was launched and around Harland & Wolff’s historic offices. “Going down like the Titanic,” is not however a phrase that you want to hear when you are sailing, so we shunned that option along with a black cab tour of the Shankill and Falls Roads area of the City.
I’m not convinced that we should ever be keen to promote ourselves by showing a pride in violence or troubles at home, though finding the strength of character to overcome such and being proud of that achievement is another matter. So it is that, akin to the regeneration that has been taking place in other northern industrial cities like Newcastle and Liverpool, Belfast is now quickly becoming an attractive place to live and visit.
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