Belfast has made number 2 on Condé Nast Traveller’s list of the 12 best city breaks to take in the UK in 2021.
With fantastic restaurants and pubs, and a lively arts and cultural music scene, it’s a well deserved recognition for Northern Ireland.
Here’s what the magazine had to say about Belfast:
Where once bright young things absconded to bigger cities, those same locals are now driving a wave of indie restaurants, pop-ups and creative ventures. A relatively small city, Belfast is becoming increasingly cosmopolitan while retaining its soul. To get a sense of it, a Black Taxi Tour will give you the lay of the land, while climbing the mighty Cavehill in the country park just outside town will give you a different slant on the city – as will cocktails at the rooftop Babel bar. The Cathedral Quarter has been the scene for many a bar crawl – try The John Hewitt, named for the much-loved local poet, The Duke of York with its mural walls or the Sunflower, its security-cage door a relic from the Troubles – but there are other reasons to wander the streets. Hill Street Hatch is a new space for pop-ups such as the Toast Office, and Rollerboy for elevated sausage rolls, while eclectic deli Sawers is known for its cheese counter and traybakes.
Outside the centre, Belfast’s suburbs have blossomed. In East, Boundary Brewery ferments its own craft beers on-site, while Freight serves brunch and themed dinner menus with a view of CS Lewis Square, which a local market and skaters call home. Along South Belfast’s Ormeau Road, there are bulbous bomboloni at Bread and Banjo bakery and vegan goodies at the 387 cafe. Fruit Shop café is a not-so-secret gem – seeded by local eco-artists intent on grassroots growing initiatives, its menu includes local lovelies such as fermented rhubarb tonics, Bara Bakehouse sourdough and aubergine galettes made with Cavehill wild garlic. The Dublin Road and Botanic areas traverse a global palate: The Chilli House, Cuban Sandwich Factory, Madame Pho and the recently refurbished Nora’s Palace with falafel the size of your head. Award-winning chef Marty Murphy’s latest venture, tapas restaurant Ora, has natural wines and plates such as pickled chilli crab and Manchego Caesar tacos.
With the local film and TV industry booming – there were whispers of Nicole Kidman ’gramming her morning coffee outside the City Hall – Belfast draws in location-hunters seeking a Netflix or Hollywood fix. Catch the best independent films at the Queen’s Film Theatre, contemporary art at the Golden Thread Gallery, photography at Belfast Exposed, comedy and improv at Accidental Theatre and The Black Box, poetry readings at the No Alibis bookshop – and annual gatherings such as the electronic music and arts AVA Festival in September and the Belfast International Arts Festival in October. Above all, Belfast has kept its counter-culture spirit, rooted in punk and a thriving techno scene. Dress the part by browsing Young Savage and The Rusty Zip vintage shops, and stop in at Voodoo Soup for vinyl, before heading to dancefloor dives such as The Menagerie or LGBTQ+ haven Kremlin. Belfast is a city moving to its own beat.
