Belfast or Derry

Straight Talker

Im planning a trip up north and im just wondering which of these two cities i should visit?Belfast is the bigger city with more to do but from what i hear Derry is friendlier and has more character.Im thinking of opting for Derry but i'd like to hear other peoples opinions on the advantages and disadvantages both cities have over the other.

NIMAN

Depends on what you plan to do/want to do.

I'm from Derry btw, so will be slightly biased! Having said that, I have always enjoyed my trips to Belfast.

You'll get better value in Derry.

Straight Talker

NIMAN wrote: »

Depends on what you plan to do/want to do.

I'm from Derry btw, so will be slightly biased! Having said that, I have always enjoyed my trips to Belfast.

You'll get better value in Derry.

Browsing the shops sight seeing and riverside walks etc.I think in terms of sightseeing and history Derry is the winner seeing that it's an older city than Belfast.The fact that it apparently doesn't seem to get as much footfall as Belfast is another plus point for me.

gifted

Bring us back a rock....should be plenty on the roads...it's marching season ...boom boom...lol lol

NIMAN

Straight Talker wrote: »

Browsing the shops sight seeing and riverside walks etc.I think in terms of sightseeing and history Derry is the winner seeing that it's an older city than Belfast.The fact that it apparently doesn't seem to get as much footfall as Belfast is another plus point for me.

If this is what you're after, I'd plump for Derry.

Better value, nice people, decent quality restaurants and pubs, nice parks, ancient walls, couple nice museums, small, easily walked around.

Oh, and its closer to Donegal!

Conall Cernach

Belfast has stuff like "The Titanic Quarter" which, in my opinion, is a load of balls. There really isn't that much to do there that you couldn't do in Derry. Derry is a much more photogenic city too.

The Backwards Man

The winos in Derry drink Mundys, they drink Buckfast in Belfast.

Derry is a classier town

OldMrBrennan83

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biko

Spend a day in each and judge for yourself, Free Stater

OldMrBrennan83

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NIMAN

biko wrote: »

Spend a day in each and judge for yourself, Free Stater

Also an option.

Roddylarge

Id go Derry

As Niman has said, your money will go a hell of a lot further in Derry than it will in Belfast.
Plenty to see and do in both cities but Derry has a friendly vibe, and in my opinion not as much of the green/orange divide that you will find still exists in the North.
Id say the only thing Derry is lacking is niteclubs, although there are plenty of bars with live music/djs etc
Also Derry has its fair share of nice places to eat.

The Backwards Man

Patww79 wrote: »

In about 3-4 weeks time.

Just in time for the Apprentice Boys eh?

Southies, they know nothing!

Birneybau

Depending on where you're travelling from, Derry is a pain in the @rse to get to. 4 hours on a bus v less than half that on a train to Belfast (From Dublin). Go to Belfast, get the bus to Derry for a few hours, back to Belfast.

OldMrBrennan83

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timthumbni

Belfast by a country mile. If you actually want a city break then Belfast is the only option really in Norn Iron.

Doire is more of a town and the accent is extremely grating. Think of a thousand nadine coyles all whining at the same time. You will end up insane.

Belfast is far better for choice of bars, restaurants, museums, shops etc.

Spend an hour in doire, be bored, then move on to the big smoke in Belfast.

Straight Talker

Birneybau wrote: »

Depending on where you're travelling from, Derry is a pain in the @rse to get to. 4 hours on a bus v less than half that on a train to Belfast (From Dublin). Go to Belfast, get the bus to Derry for a few hours, back to Belfast.

I'll be traveling from Galway.There's only 1 bus direct to Belfast from Galway and you have to change buses twice in Athlone and Monaghan.So the best option for Belfast would be to get the train to Dublin and then get the hourly bus from Dublin to Belfast.Derry on the other hand has a more direct link to Galway with buses going every couple of hours with no changes.I suppose a few days in Derry and a day trip to Belfast is the most viable option.

Straight Talker

Derry really is a beautiful place.The people are so friendly there as well.I found Belfast a bit meh tbh.The people there are a lot weirder cold and more stand offish compared to the people in Derry.I just think Derry is a more unique city with more character than Belfast.I think it's a more scenic city as well.Belfast wasn't awful now but i just prefer Derry.

Are Am Eye

Weakening sterling. 1 euro = .903 GBP.
Groceries and alcohol between 20 and 50% cheaper in northern shops.
Even Lidl is cheaper up north.

So fill up the boot for the home journey.

JupiterKid

Belfast has much more to see and do - and that's hardly surprising as it's a much bigger city. The Titanic Quarter, Botanic Gardens, Belfast Castle and the Ulster Folk & Transport museum in Cultra are all well worth a visit. Belfast also has superb shopping choices these days and nightlife is good (drawback is that it ends too early).

Derry is pretty and has its own attractions. But Belfast would win hands down for a city break.

gordongekko

Its called Londonderry

OldMrBrennan83

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Rawr

gordongekko wrote: »

Its called Londonderry

A Battered Mars Bar

Durrry

gordongekko

gordongekko wrote: »

Its called Londonderry

Good luck with that one! I like Neil Delamere's quip on RTÉ's The Panel about the difference between the RTÉ & BBC pronunciations to the effect that in RTÉ it's the only name in the English language where the first six letters are silent.

topper75

Up there they greet each other by saying:

"how's about you?"
And then you are to say back to them "New srener. Saxtin neintah".

Cee-Jay-Cee

Are you going for the sights/culture or shopping?
Shopping = Belfast.
Sights/Culture = Derry.

Syphonax

There are good and bad sides to both Derry and Belfast, I cant really think of what they are, something about the horrible accent, the red post boxes, the signs that say "welcome to" followed by others with gas masks and guys with AK 47s. They are great places to just go out on a lovely evening stroll though, you can just randomly wander in any of the local bars without having worry about any of the local clientele and their predisposed attitudes to your southern accent. Yea its safe as houses walking the streets in both places

Straight Talker

JupiterKid wrote: »

Belfast has much more to see and do - and that's hardly surprising as it's a much bigger city. The Titanic Quarter, Botanic Gardens, Belfast Castle and the Ulster Folk & Transport museum in Cultra are all well worth a visit. Belfast also has superb shopping choices these days and nightlife is good (drawback is that it ends too early).

Derry is pretty and has its own attractions. But Belfast would win hands down for a city break.

I suppose maybe it's a bit rash to judge a place, after spending only a few hours in it.I really did love Derry, but i think should only give a proper judgement on Belfast after spending a few day's there.

Fanny Wank

Straight Talker wrote: »

I'll be traveling from Galway.There's only 1 bus direct to Belfast from Galway and you have to change buses twice in Athlone and Monaghan.

That's your definition of direct??

timthumbni

Fanny **** wrote: »

That's your definition of direct??

To add to this Belfast International airport is not actually in Belfast or anywhere near it. It's in the arse end of Antrim and actually about 20 miles from Belfast.

I'm from NI but have often wondered if the trade description act should be brought up when it comes to our largest airport.

There's a group called EPIC in Woodvale Road in the Shankill area of Belfast composed of ex-loyalist paramilitaries, this group. If you can, try and get a tour with them. I was part of a group and every one of us were moved by it.

Our tour guide was William 'Plum' Smith, whom many here will remember from tv in the 1990s. None of these guys have done nice things in their past. That's the first thing to be very clear about. Yet, there was a very deep sincerity about the tour (that he was ill and died shortly afterwards was undoubtedly related to his reflections). He brought us on a tour around the old factories and mills of the area to see the desolation of the place now and he gave a refreshing social history of the area, how the mills were erected along Abhainn na Feirste/River Farset (from which Béal Feirste/Belfast gets its name) and the rise and decline of the entire area. How the rise of industry led to rise in skills, trades and apprentices and how the decline of the same led to a community which remains uprooted and lacks an academic/professional tradition which would be more useful now. Some really insightful reflections. His discussion of the meaning of the placename in Irish smashed through many prejudices (he had learnt Irish in prison to understand the Unrepentant ones). The ruination of so much of that area two decades after the ceasefire really was shocking. How about a Regeneration West Belfast? He then brought us along the 'Peace Wall' and explained how it has got higher and higher since the 1994 ceasefire, and families have moved further and further back from it so that there's yet more wasteland. We went into a loyalist estate and he explained how he would never have entered it during the Troubles as it was ruled by a rival loyalist group (the UDA). He was passionately pissed off with establishment unionism for neglecting poorer areas. And so on. No gloating, no tribal bollocksology and an avoidance insofar as possible of the them versus us dichotomy. He was down-to-earth, straightforward yet funny at the same time and it was explicitly a very personal tour of the area. He had travelled a journey in life, and you could feel the sincerity of it. Well worth getting that perspective and humanising things.