Belfast adventure travel guide

  

Belfast Highlights (Edit)

Belfast is a city with an almost incomprehensible past.  Before you visit, I would suggest to try and read at least one book on "The Troubles" in Ireland to give you some slight understanding.
When you get there, take either a Black Taxi Tour or jump on the double decker red city-sights bus.  Both give you a brief overview of the main areas and also have some great stories to tell, however are only one to one and a half hours long and just drive past all the sights without really stopping.  Keep a map with you and mark places off so that you can walk back on your own to absorb the whole experience.  It's not a huge area, so all the main points of interest can be covered easily on foot.

I didn't do it, but just as I was leaving Belfast I heard about walking tours which are guided by actual IRA members from the area (maybe ex-IRA), that walk you around the sights and tell you some of the stories they are not allowed to mention on the bus or taxi tours.

The International Youth Hostel is 10 minutes walk from town, close to cafes, is brand new and has comfy beds.  Great place to stay in Belfast.