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Belfast Urban Adventures
by fizzywizzy If you want to really get to know a place you need to do two things. The first is to see it through the eyes of a local, the other is to put on a pair of comfortable shoes and hit the pavements. I first visited Belfast about six years ago; my second visit was in May 2011 and in the interim the city seems to have gone tourism crazy. Spend ... two minutes around the City Hall and you'll be approached by at least half a dozen touts offering coach tours: it's hard to believe that there could be enough visitors to fill them. But really, what do you see from a tour bus? The outside of buildings as you whizz round the one-way system. And maybe not even that if you're sitting on the wrong side of the bus. The bus often lags behind the commentary and by the time you've heard the French and Spanish versions and get to the English, the building being described is but a dot on the horizon behind you. In the Tourist Information Office we set a challenge - what was the most unusual and exciting thing to do in Belfast? We weren't especially enamoured with the suggestions we got - clearly he rated Auntie Sandra's sweet factory more highly than we did - so we telephoned Arthur Magee. Arthur runs Belfast Urban Adventures (formerly Belfast Free Tours), daily walking tours with a difference - and that difference is Arthur. He's a born raconteur with a deep passion for his home city and he clearly loves to share that passion with others. On one of Arthur's tours you will see an alternative side to Belfast; you'll be able to access places that a double-decker bus can't get to and Arthur will point out to you the little details that say so much about Belfast's economic and social history. We had picked up a leaflet advertising the tour and wanted to make sure, because it was a public holiday, that the tour would be going ahead that day. We left a voicemail and Arthur called us back soon after. The tours start in front of City Hall and before you set off, Arthur gets everyone to introduce themselves (there were only four of us on our tour, I expect he doesn't do that for large groups). He's naturally friendly and seems genuinely interested in who people are and where they're from, and using what he's learned about you in that short time to pitch his tour. Although this is a walking tour it's primarily a looking and listening tour: yes there's walking but it's not miles and miles so you don't need to be super-fit. You may find that you're taken to streets you've already walked down but you can bet that Arthur will point out something you hadn't noticed before. With Arthur's help, small details in buildings become the doors to some fascinating aspect or other of the city. I promise no spoilers but I will say that, in connection with a charming little Presbyterian church, I learned the two most interesting things I have ever learned on a guided tour. What would be barely noticeable to most visitors turns out to be the location of one of the city gates - not an ancient structure, but ones that existed until only recently during "the Troubles" when shoppers had to be searched before they could enter the shopping area. Down by the river a striking fish sculpture tells more stories of Belfast and its history than you could possibly learn on that big red bus. Don't get me wrong, that bus tour will make sure you see the grand sights, but Arthur's tour helps you really get under the skin of the city. Our tour lasted about two and a half hours but Belfast Urban Adventures also offer full days tours that include a pub lunch and offers an opportunity to see at first hand some of the political murals of the residential areas. With Arthur's brilliant insights you're sure to learn a great deal but have fun into the bargain. It sounds like a great way to spend a day. The Urban Adventures walking tour costs £10 per person which is great value. I came away enlightened, educated and thoroughly entertained. I must have told ten people about the tour on my first day back at work and another ten the next. I'm still quoting facts I learned to anyone who'll listen. So if you want to see the real Belfast and actually learn something about the city other than the name of the buildings, give Arthur a ring or meet him in front of the City Hall at 11.00am (12 noon on Sundays). He'll be there with that umbrella - and say hi from me. http://www.belfasturbanadventures.com/Belfast-tours Read the complete review |
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Victoria Square (Belfast)
by tiaw Victoria Square opened to some critisism a number of years ago. The main gripe? "Why is it outdoors?", people said! Of course, it's not exactly outdoors - as the entire complex is covered over by a roof, but it isn't a conventional mall with an entrance and an exit. No, it's just open to walk through at pretty much anytime. ... This has led to other people, including reviewers, calling it a "wind tunnel". While it is not that bad in my opinion, it does suffer from the problem of being cold and windy during Northern Ireland's bleaker days - and because of the climate in these parts - that is sadly all too often. Besides the climatic considerations, Victoria Square is home to a plethora of shops and to a lesser extent restaurants and cafes. The prices are notoriously high, and this puts many people off. In truth though, it's probably not too much worse than a regular high street. People just have the perception that it is higher - although of course, in some cases it is! Other than plenty of (expensive) shops, there are a range of entertainment options. Coffee shops, restaurants and fast food joints exist on the upper floors. Meanwhile there are plenty of lifts and esculators for relatively easy access. The actual layout itself can be a little confusing. Figuring out how to get places isn't easy for a first (or even second) time visitor. There is also a cinema, and a lookout point at the top - from where you are supposed to be able to see all the way over Belfast (although this is usually obscured by the bright blue neon lights that border the glass. Overall it's an interesting new addition to Belfast City Centre. I don't personally visit it too much, but if I was taking a visitor shopping, it would definitely be my first choice. Read the complete review |
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Victoria Square (Belfast)
by Ghumphrey Victoria Square Belfast Victoria Square a new mixed used development located in the centre of Belfast. It opened in 2006 at a cost of around £400 million. The development includes is mainly a retail shopping area but it also includes a number of apartments and some leisure facilities such as a cinemas and restaurants. It's ... easily reached from all areas of Belfast either by foot, bus, train or car. The centre has 1000 car parking spaces which are available 24 hours a day seven days a week. Tenants Victoria Square has marketed itself as a shopping centre for the more well to do citizens of Belfast and beyond. The tenants tend to represent the higher end of the high street. The anchor tenant for the store is House of Frasier who I am led to believe received a hefty incentive to take up a position in the store. Other tenants include: * All Saints - Ladies fashion * Apple Store - Computers and I - pods * Billabong -surf and clothes * Build a bear - Toys * Car phone warehouse - mobiles * Chilli grill bar (announced this week is closing) * Coast - fashion * Costa Coffee - Coffee/ snacks * Cruise - Footwear /fashion * Calvin Klein Underwear - fashion * Crabtree and Evelyn - Health and beauty * Faith - Footwear * Firetrap - Footwear and fashion * French Connection - fashion * Frankie and Benny's - food/ice cream * Geox - fashion * Gerry Weber - ladies fashion * GameStop - video games * Hobbs - ladies fashion * House of Frasier - Fashion/ footwear/ home ware/ jewellery and more * Kitchen bar - Pub * La sensa - Food * Levis - Fashion * LK Bennet - fashion * Lunns - Jewellery * Maggianos - food * Monsoon - fashion * Mama and papas - fashion * Nandos- food (also announced closer this week) * Odeon - cinema * Optical express -opticians A full list of retailers can be found at www.victoriasquare.com Opening Hours Throughout the troubles the city's and in particular Belfast would have became an almost Ghost Town in the evenings for obvious reasons. This meant that all business and shops would close early and to some extent this legacy has remained particularly amongst retail operators. Until just a year or so ago late night shopping was only available on a Thursday night when shops remained open to 9. There has been attempts to change this for instance now shops are open Monday to Friday to seven o clock in an attempt to make the city centre more vibrant in the evening. Victoria Square is at the forefront of trying to regenerate the city with its mixture of retail and leisure. Its opening hours are : Mon - Tue 930am - 700pm Wed- Fri 930 am - 900pm Sat 930am - 600pm Sun 100pm - 600pm As mentioned before though the car park is opened 24 hour My opinion As a property student at the time of building I was inundated in lectures at how fantastic a development this would be. Externally and from a distance it is very impressive. One of the best features is a large observation dome that dominates the Belfast skyline and can be seen from miles around. At night the lights on the dome proceed through a number of colours from blue to red to green which looks visually stunning. Internally the layout of the shopping centre is different that most others. It focuses around a multi layered street layout which are linked to the glass dome. I was not impressed by this layout at all. It can be very confusing to follow. In some cases you can see the shop you want to go to but cant see a logical route to get to it. I have a friend who went with a pushchair and said that the shopping centre was a nightmare to navigate with all its multi - levels and a pram. One end of the centre is open to the elements. This means that the centre is not an indoor shopping experience. The last day I visited was a really warm day. The height of the shops/apartments means that the street level or retail area does not get any sun and with the breeze blowing through it proved to be a very cold experience and I regretted my choice of wearing a T shirt. It was a Wednesday afternoon and many if not all of the shops appeared deserted. House of Frasier reminded me of a recent trip to Turkey because every turn I made I had someone else ask me if I was ok or did I need any help. Obviously not the staffs fault but it was frustrating considering I didn't even want to buy anything. My other gripe with the shopping centre was the car parking. Once they opened the car park they decided to up the ante with car park prices. This has had a knock on effect in that neighbouring multi storeys have also now raised their prices to at least £2.50 per hour in this area of Belfast. I believe the shopping centre is £3.00 per hour and in these credit crunch times this is just far too much. Perhaps this is reflected by the almost deserted shops on the day of my visit. Overall Id would recommend the centre to a visitor if only for the viewing platform which is free. Although I have heard on sunny days this is now closed due to the greenhouse effect from the windows causing health and safety fears. There is a decent selection of shops but I found the over eagerness to make a sale off putting. The centre could not have opened at a worse time financially and aiming for a higher spending clientele it has alienated itself from the broader Belfast population and appears to be paying the price. A number of retailers have already cut their losses and left and just this week two restaurants announced they are also shutting up shop. I am not saying that I expect the centre to fail but I do think it has major work to do before the ordinary people of Belfast take it to their hearts. Thanks for reading. Read the complete review |
Northern Ireland Other UK / Ireland topic |
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1 review Other UK / Ireland topic / Belfast walking tours - book online at www.urbanadventures.com |
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4 reviews Other UK / Ireland topic / A commercial, residential and leisure development in Belfast, Northern Ireland. |
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1 review Other UK / Ireland topic / Donaghadee Community Festival Association was set up in September 2000 to promote Donaghadee as a tourist destination and also to promote the history and culture of the town. This will be done through the annual summer festival (27th July to 4th August 20 |
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