One of the most iconic images of Belfast is the Harland and Wolff cranes in the dock.  Known as Samson and Goliath, they have their own history.

Samson and Goliath however, did not build the Titanic.  They came many years later in 1969 and 1974.  The Titanic was built in 1909.

The area around the docks in Belfast is known as the Titanic Quarter.  There is a special museum all about the Titanic and you can get a really cool interactive tour. Click on the photo to go into the website.

You might like to browse the site and read the history, or you might prefer to watch some videos below. 

This final video is actual footage from 1911.  See how huge the ship is.  Imagine how difficult it was to set it off from Belfast without the cranes and machinery we have today!

The Belfast Giants were the first ice hockey team on the island of Ireland.  They formed in 2000 and are based in the SSE Arena Belfast. 
Ice hockey is an interesting game and a very exciting one to watch!
First of all, lets learn how to play!

When I was going to Belfast last week for midterm, I realised that the Belfast Giants were playing on Wednesday in the Challenge Cup semi-final against the Nottingham Panthers.  Tickets were only £10 and there were plenty of seats available on Ticketmaster. 

Ice hockey is a very fast paced game. There is no "line" and players are regularly bashed into the wall.  Sometimes they even bounced the puck off the wall!

Any time that there was a foul or a player injured, the clock stopped. Then music would blast out through the speakers! It was very entertaining.  
​Here are the match highlights:

Along with the game there was plenty of other entertainment.  At the first interval there was bubble soccer.  It was very funny to watch some people in the bubble soccer outfits try to play football on ice!
On the second interval there were raffles and a throw the puck competition as well.  There were hot dogs, nachos, sweets and drinks sold in the stand and everyone got plenty of refreshments throughout the game. 
It was great fun as a spectator and I was very pleased to hear that the Belfast Giants also won their next game on Sunday and are second in the league after the Sheffield Steelers.

Easter holidays and I was lucky enough to be a delegate at the INTO national congress in Belfast. The Irish National Teachers Organisation is an all-Ireland union so this year the venue for the 700 delegates was the Waterfront Conference Centre in the heart of Belfast city. I made the most of the trip and fitted in as much sightseeing and socialising as possible. Read on for some recommendations and inspiration for a very enjoyable stay in Belfast. 

We decided on a bit of luxury and we weren't disappointed in the Ten Square Hotel . It's right at the back of City Hall within walking distance of everywhere. You can avail of free tours of City Hall, check this link
Most of the city tours leave each day from City Hall. There's a wide range of group tours, hop on and hop off buses and private tours. These can be arranged from your hotel or the tourist information office opposite City Hall. We opted for the Free Walking Tour.  It leaves from City Hall at 11am and 1pm each day. The tour lasts about 3 hours and you decide at the end how much the tour is worth and pay accordingly. I first tried this type of tour in Copenhagen and I really find them to be very engaging tours. This one didn't disappoint and we had plenty of local knowledge to inform the rest of our stay in Belfast.  
Part of that tour visited the top of the Victoria Square shopping centre. Every hour Gerry gives a free guided tour of the skyline of Belfast. If you haven't time for a full tour of the city, this is a great alternative. Find details here

 The Cathedral Quarter is the area to head to for the best nightlife and restaurants. Most of the murals above are at the back of The Dark Horse pub. You can just wander around and figure out the meaning. All tours of the city stop here too. 
The first night of our stay we ate in our hotel and it was excellent. On the other two nights we ate in the Cathedral Quarter. 
Made in Belfast is a chain of three restaurants in Belfast city. We ate in their Cathedral Quarter restaurant. Very retro, great decor and very hipster! Food was great, really tasty and a wide selection. 
​Hadskis is right beside the Dark Horse and the Duke of York pubs and right in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter. You need some  translation to understand their fancy menu but food was delicious and it wasn't any more expensive than the other restaurants we tried. 
​Just around the corner is The Harp Bar. We were lucky enough to score a window seat but it's a huge bar with plenty of seating and excellent music.
The Northern Whig was the official pub for the teachers conference so we visited it at the end of the night. Lovely bar, great music and a wide range of cocktails. Unfortunately the service was awful but they probably hadn't factored in the thirst of teachers on tour! 

Outside of the Cathedral Quarter there are plenty of excellent restaurants. I had visited Belfast three weeks previously for a waterpolo match. We stayed in the  Europa Hotel, famous for being the most bombed hotel in the world. Today it is an exquisite hotel and well worth a visit. 
Across from the Europa is The Crown bar.  It was bombed nearly as many times as the Europa during the troubles and has a very interesting history. Have a drink in one of its snugs and find out why they were needed all those years ago. 
Rita's is a very cool retro cocktail bar. I visited it on the waterpolo trip on a Saturday night and it was a dance on the tables type of place. We also got free entry to the nightclub upstairs. On a Monday night it was a bit quieter but a lovely place for a cosy drink or a few cocktails. 
​We ate at The Bar and Grill on the waterpolo trip. Excellent food at great value and a dedicated cocktail bar. 
Just before we left Belfast we ate in Granny Annies. We found it to be the cheapest place we ate in but the decor was unreal. Difficult to get a table at weekends, we were told there was a 45 minute wait when we tried it on the bank holiday Monday.  

 Of course a visit to Belfast would not be complete without the Titanic Experience. It is amazing! You need to leave yourself at least 3 hours to do it properly (thanks Gerry of Victoria Square!) and also check the closing times. It was closing at 5pm on the day we visited. 
There is so much to read, see and listen to. It's very interactive. My favourite part was getting into the cable car which brought us through the making of the ship. You could even feel the heat of the fires!
As there is a lot of reading, under 10s might be a little young and might get bored. It does take at least 3 hours to take it all in so make sure you're well fed before you check in!

There was lots more we would have liked visit properly: The SS Nomadic, Crumlin Road Goal, City Hall tour, Black taxi tour and The Peace Wall to name a few. There is also great shopping, all within walking distance. 
Overall it was an excellent break in a very welcoming city. We didn't find it very expensive considering we were eating and socialising in the city centre every night. Belfast is just over an hour and a half drive on the motorway from Dublin so there really is no excuse!