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Extra Day in Belfast

At the end of RS Best of Ireland tour my wife and I have an extra 2 days before flying out of Dublin. Is there more than the Titanic Belfast visitor experience and a tour of historic Belfast and it's murals? I made my wife suffer through HBO's Game of Thrones (GOT) with me and we enjoyed seeing shooting locations in coastal Spain and Andalucia. Would it be worth it to do a GOT bus tour day trip from Belfast or has the RS tour already shown us the highlights? At the front end of our tour we spend a couple extra days before the RS tour in Dublin acclimating to the time change then 2 days in Dublin on tour, so if we left Belfast for a couple MORE days in Dublin after the tour, is there still stuff to explore in Dublin?

This is an EXTRA CREDIT part of of my ramblings. Soldiering on is completely optional. After the RS tour of THE three Italian cities, I rented a BMW GS1200 motorcycle and rode out of central Rome to the North with my wife seated behind keeping track of the swarms of Vespas. It was quite memorable. Also, in Florence I wanted to partake in a classic Fiat 500 driving tour through the Tuscan hills but the tour company was closed on that day. Outside Paris, I was able to drive a golf cart around the gardens of Versailles the SECOND time we visited because I brought my California driver's license. Anyway, does anyone have an adventurous suggestion or tips in that vein?

Posted by
2433 posts

If you want something different , visit the Ulster Folk Museum at Cultra - easily reached by train from Belfast). Old buildings from around Northern Ireland have been rebuilt here and there is a small town complete with shops, pub, bank etc as well as the rural area with farms. It is a wonderful walk back into a forgotton way of life. Across the road is the Transport sectrion.

Posted by
178 posts

When I stayed in Belfast and Downpatrick in the spring I saw offers for all sorts of tours out to the Giants Caueway, GOT locations and elsewhere. I stayed at the Titanic Hotel because my grandfather once worked there in the offices of HHarland and Wolff as a draughtsman. Worth every exorbitant penny for atmosphere and the story of the shipyard fro its original HQ. When a Draeing room full of natural light was exactly that. They have two, renovated to a bar and a restaurant. A unique place across from the Titanic Museum.

Downpatrick has Divir;s a class 1651 coaching inn renovated to house nurses etc during Covid. The two bars come to life every evening. St Patrick;s gravestone is a giant boulder up the hill meant to stop pilfering of soil as souvenirs. The view across to the mountains of Mourne is fine, as are they. reserved nw, I could not buy a piece of grey granite from their quarrel for my grandfather's headstone, but managed another source. Driving out of Downpatrick is into country full of rolling hills and small villages where my grandfather once travelled by pony and trap. A BMW might be available in Belfast but it is the wrong side of the narrow road.
Norma was written by CS Lewis, looking out at the Mountains of Mourne. Magic sti;;.

Belfast looked clean and full of developments, 'coming back' as my bus partner said with a smile. Lovely people.