A Day In Belfast: The PERFECT One Day Belfast Itinerary

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Have you got a trip to Ireland coming up and want to know the perfect way to spend a day in Belfast?

We lived in Belfast for several years and have loved seeing the cities development over the last decade. With our local knowledge of Belfast, we will provide you with everything you need to enjoy a day in Belfast.

This one day Belfast itinerary will include everything from hotels in Belfast, where to eat & drink, the best tours/activities and things to do as a family if you are visiting with kids. We will also include some lesser know options to help you get an authentic feel for the city.

Is a day in Belfast enough time?

If you only have a day to spend in Belfast, it won’t give you enough time to see everything but unlike many cities, a day will be enough time feel familiar with the city. The one day Belfast itinerary we provide will focus on giving you a sense of the culture and history of the city, as well as fitting in some time to mix with the locals.

If you only have a day in Belfast, the things that we would definitely recommend doing are a Belfast Taxi Tour; a trip to the Titanic Exhibition Centre and exploring the food drink scene around the Cathedral Quarter. For first time visitors to Belfast who want to minimize logistical nightmares, the Belfast hop on/hop off tour is the easiest way to see Belfast in a day.

If you are planning to spend more than a day in Belfast, there are a number of things we would recommend doing. The main thing we would suggest in this area is to visit the Causeway Coastal Route. This stunning drive runs from Belfast to Derry and has incredible scenery along the way. For Game of Thrones fans, you can take this tour which includes stop offs at iconic filming spots such as the Dark Hedges.

We would also recommend combining your time in Belfast with a trip to Dublin. We have put together a complete guide to spending two days in Dublin, which you can read here. You can get from Belfast to Dublin by train, which runs hourly and costs around £30 return.

Where to stay in Belfast

The advantage of being a small city means you have more scope when it comes to finding a hotel in Belfast. You don’t necessarily need to stay in the heart of the city centre to have easy access to it. Ideally, you will want to be within walking distance of the centre but some of the recommendations below are just a 10 minute taxi journey as well.

How to spend a day in Belfast

Morning – Neighbourhood & Belfast Taxi Tour

For breakfast, we are going to give you a coupe of options based on your preferences. Belfast has got a a fast growing food & drink scene and if you ask a local where to go for breakfast, you will almost certainly be pointed to one place – Neighbourhood.

Neighbourhood has queues running out on to the street almost every da of the week so get here early to avoid disappointment. We would really recommend their French Toast or Turkish eggs for a great breakfast.

For coffee lovers, we would really recommend visiting Nine Squared – a brand new coffee shop in the Printworks area. This place does great coffee and has a really nice atmosphere to get your day started.

However, if you’re feeling really immersive and want the full Belfast breakfast experience, you have two alternative options. Head over to St. George’s Market where you can get the artery clogging (but delicious) ‘Belfast Bap’ – a Brioche bun filled with bacon and sauce of your choice.

Or in a similar vain, the local delicacy of the ‘Ulster Fry’ – complete with egg, bacon, pork sausage, more variations of bread than you can count on one hand, beans, mushrooms and a cup of tea to wash it all down.

Okay, breakfast is over and if you did go for the Ulster Fry, the good news is the next part involves a lot of sitting down. To really understand Belfast, its history and remarkable progress as a city, a Belfast Taxi Tour is a great way to get perspective on the city. Belfast has a unique history, filled with division, conflict and ultimately, reconciliation.

The Peace Agreement that is only 25 years old is held up as a benchmark for post conflict resolution the world over. A Belfast Taxi Tour will give you a great insight into the history of this city from uniquely positioned hosts and is a truly eye opening experience.

Afternoon – Titanic Exhibition & Stormont Estate

For your afternoon, we have two alternative approaches depending on the nature of your visit. Option 2 is geared more towards families visiting with young kids. As we have a toddler ourselves, it would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the difficulty we often have in finding options to suit our child as well on city trips.

Option 1 – Titanic Exhibition Centre

Belfast is famous for its involvement in the construction of the world’s most renowned ship – the Titanic. The Titanic Tour allows you to get a unique insight into the history of the famous vessel – including stories from the Harland & Wolff shipyard, where the ship was designed and built in the early 1900’s.

After the Titanic Centre, head to Trademarket for a great casual lunch. Trademarket is an outdoor street food spot with flavours from all over the world meaning it caters well for every taste. Our personal recommendation would be either Bodega Bagels or else Pi Guy but you really can’t go wrong with anything here, especially for a more casual vibe.

Option 2 – Stormont Estate

Another place we would recommend is mainly geared towards visits in Autumn or if you are looking for something to do for families with young children. Stormont Estate is the political centre of N Ireland and while that may not fill you with excitement, if you are visiting during autumn, it is a beautiful place to go for a walk.

The tree lined drive up to the Government buildings are filled with fallen leaves during Autumn, making it a great place for a photo shoot. There is also a great play park here for children so this suggestion is centred around family days out in Belfast.

While you are in this area, we would highly recommend trying to get a slice of pizza from Flout! Flout has become globally renowned in recent years as producing one of Europe’s best pizzas and while the queue might be long, it is worth the wait. They don’t open for very long so make sure to plan ahead of time but the pizza here is AMAZING!!

Evening – Cathedral Quarter

For your evening, it’s time to experience the Belfast nightlife. The Cathedral Quarter is the night time entertainment hub of Belfast so your evening will finish here. Filled with great bars and restaurants, this place comes alive in the evenings and because it is so compact, everything is within short walking distance of each other.

To start your evening off, you have a few great options for dinner in Belfast. For fans of Italian food we would recommend Coppi; if you would prefer Asian fusion style try out the House of Zen and for a more classic feel try James Street South. One alternative suggestion we would also make is Jumon, an Asian fusion vegetarian restaurant that is absolutely packed with flavour.

For some traditional Irish music, we would suggest stopping off at either Kelly’s Cellars or Fibber Magee’s before taking a whistle stop tour of the bars in the Cathedral Quarter. In this area you will find The National, The Spaniard, The Dirty Onion, The Harp Bar, Thirsty Goat and The Duke of York so you will not be short of a great evening of entertainment to close out your day in Belfast.

After all that, if you are still a bit hungry or you skipped a meal, you could always grab a quick burger at Bunsen Burger. This place is in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter and does a great smash burger if you decided a sit down meal wasn’t for you.

And that’s it, the perfect way to spend a day in Belfast, taking in cafes, coffees, sites, history, politics and a famous ship. After all that you will need a good rest!