In November, Tourism Ireland sent me to Belfast to stay in the hotel Malmaison and explore Northern Ireland.
On the first day, we grabbed coffee and brunch at Established Coffee (nice but the service was sl-o-w), visited the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens - both of which were excellent - ate gigantic burritos at Boojum, and drunk mulled wine and beer at the Christmas Market.
Day two we explored St George's Market and enjoyed the music of the Ulster Orchestra, took a long stroll along the river and up to Titanic Belfast. We headed back to the market for lunch and on to The Crown Liquor Saloon, an authentic 1820's Northern Irish pub, famed for its ornate decor.
On our final day we visited Belfast Castle, which was tiny but pretty with an amazing cat garden. We spent the rest of the day walking around Belfast Zoo (small, quiet, and probably not best visited in winter), afterwards we revisited Boojum for pre-flight food and returned to Malmaison for coffee before catching our flight back to Birmingham.