A new cultural guide to Belfast produced by Belfast City Council entitled ’72 Hours in Belfast, A Cultural Guide, was launched at the Black Box, Hill Street on June 7 by novelist Glenn Patterson. It encourages visitors to explore the city’s galleries, music venues and theatres.
Although Belfast’s recent political history continues to attract inquisitive travellers from across the globe, more and more visitors are being drawn by its rich literary, musical and artistic traditions, witnessed by the record 6.8 million visitors who travelled there last year. This has been further endorsed by the 2007 Lonely Planet Guide which encourages visitors to “meet the new Belfast – hip, historical, happening.”
As a new dawn breaks over Northern Ireland’s political landscape, visitors to the city of Belfast will see it has undergone a dramatic metamorphosis in recent years. With hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in tourism infrastructure, increased air routes, award-winning hotels and a vibrant cultural scene, Belfast is now firmly established as a popular European short-break destination.
Belfast City Council is launching the new guide as part of its Cultural Tourism Strategy which seeks to make specific areas of culture, heritage and entertainment more accessible to visitors – this runs alongside evening economy, visitor management signage and skills development initiatives.
The free guide includes a series of eight practical itineraries to make a visit to Belfast easy to plan, so whether visitors have an afternoon or 72 hours, the handy guide will allow them to uncover the best of Belfast at their own pace. It also details Belfast’s theatre, literature, galleries, live music, parks, film and sport and includes self-guided walking tours such as the Van Morrison trail.
The guide is available free of charge from the Belfast Welcome Centre by calling 028 9024 6609 or can be downloaded from gotobelfast.com.
Report by Chitra Mogul
