Belfast has now recovered from ‘The Troubles’ and offers visitors a fantastic city break

No holiday has ever excited me as much as the thought of returning to Belfast.

I used to work here years ago as a journalist and had hoped it still retained the same charm and friendliness.

Within five minutes of our arrival, it all came back to me. We got a huge greeting from a professional guide called Barbara Cornett, who does day trips for visiting groups.

“How about ya?” is the standard Belfast greeting. It’s accompanied by a nice big hug, not the usual over-professional greeting you find in some many tourist spots.

Now 15 years, more or less, since the end of ‘The Troubles’, Belfast has bounced back with a new self-confidence, great restaurants and a cosmopolitan feel without losing any of its friendliness and unique style. I was glad to see new hotels in the city but just as happy to see there wasn’t a Starbucks on every corner.

We booked into the Merchant Hotel, a refurbished 5-Star hotel and one of the great triumphs of the new Belfast.

A former 19th Century bank headquarters and located at the very heart of the city, the Merchant’s relaxed style and old-world feel caused such a stir in Belfast that shoppers used to stroll into its splendid dining room just to have a look. Now, the city has got used to a luxury undreamed of the 1970s or 80s and, even in the economic downturn, the hotel is adding another 30 bedrooms this year to meet demand.

If the elegance of the Merchant was a highlight of the trip, so too was our guide, Barbara, who seems to know just about everybody in Belfast and what they grow in their front gardens.

At one point, she told our coach driver to slow down so she could check what type of roses one woman was growing.

She also took us to Belfast docks, where the Titanic was built.

The docks supervisor wasn’t too keen on buses, so she peered her head out the coach door to see if he was there. And then, on discovering the man in question wasn’t there, she directed our busload straight in for a good nosey around.

That’s Belfast for you. Rather informal, but all the better for it.

No matter how much the city centre has been refurbished, with new pubs and restaurants, there is no escaping the ethnic divide of the city.

Irish Catholics live in the west, British Protestants on the east.

A quick walk in any direction will soon bring you to the famous murals on the side of houses that announce which of the city’s many paramilitary groups control that district.

The paramilitaries have almost all disbanded under the 1998 peace agreement, but the colourful murals remain as a fascinating look into the politics of Northern Ireland.

There are many tours that will take visitors around the city, explaining the background of many of these giant paintings (there are hundreds) and also an explanation of the ethnic violence that was for so long known euphemistically as ‘The Troubles’.

There is also the giant ‘peace line’, a metal and concrete wall dividing Catholic and Protestant parts of the city that many tour guides will take you to.

The two sides are getting along so well now that there is now serious talk of taking down the peace line, which would be the first time neighbours had seen each other in decades.

Overall, I fell in love with Belfast again: the friendliness of its people, and the complicated history.

With the weather, it couldn’t really be more different to Dubai. Just be certain to bring a raincoat and an ear for storytelling.

Take the coast road for a real spa treatment
Outside Belfast, along the famous scenic coast of Antrim, we came to Dunluce Castle, a beautiful, sprawling medieval ruin right on the cliff face that offers a panoramic view across the sea.

After so long living with the heat of Dubai, the year-round mist that blows in from the coast was like a natural spa. I closed my eyes and just let it roll over me.

It turned out to be one of the greatest joys of the trip and its available for free, almost 24 hours a day along the north coast of Antrim.

Down the hill from Dunluce Castle is Carrick-A-Rede, a wooden rope bridge that sways 24 metres about the churning sea.

Crossing the bridge is an adventure that should not be missed, no matter how frightening.

The crossing leads to a small peninsula with a stunning view over both the sea and castle, and is worth the effort.  

We had, of course, a stop off at the famous Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site  - spectacular hexagonally-shaped basalt columns, some up to 160 metres high, formed 60 million years ago from volcanic lava.

Walking out to the very end of this natural walkway and feeling the cold waves crash around me was unforgettable.

It’s worth a visit but because it’s such a tourist haunt, I preferred Dunluce Castle and the rope bridge and would strongly recommend them as an alternative.