Went to the Crumlin road jail as it's the top ranked attraction on trip advisor. It was…read moreinteresting that the site is owned by the Govt but run by a private company. It cost £6.50 (had a £2 discount coupon). The last tour of the day is at 4:30pm but it's also cool that the main building is open till late because of the restaurant located inside. Hearing about what went on was truly horrific but overall this was an okay experience for me. I think I was expecting more info about the troubles and the political prisoners but that wasn't really our tour guide's focus. He also started the tour by asking for volunteers but nothing was done involving a volunteer! It's an hour's tour and the visit to the tunnel plus the hangman info was the most interesting bits of the tour for me. Another tip - Don't miss checking out the beautiful but now derelict courthouse opposite the street. The govt sold it for £1 but it's going to take a fair bit of bob to put it back to rights! So overall it was interesting tour but maybe Note: #222 of Yelp 100 challenge for 2016

I had been meaning to come here for absolutely years, and just never got around to it…read more I am a huge fan of anything of historical interest, however my first visit, surprisingly, was for the Ghost tour this Halloween! I booked the tickets online and came along this October hoping for a spooky experience. We were greeted at the gates by security who explained how to get around into the car park, and got parked up with no issues. We waited in the coffee shop 'The Crum' - and had a wine and beer each prior to the tour. When the tour started, we were initially taken into a holding area, and then began by being taken into the tunnel linking the jail to the courthouse, where allegedly, paranormal activity has taken place! Unfortunately (or thankfully, maybe) we experienced no such activity on our trip. We were then taken into a side room where an employee was said to have met a grisly end, and we were instructed to record audio on our phones. Next, we were taken to one of the wings where we could see the cells (and inside the cells) and last but not least, we were shown to the condemned man's cell, and behind the book case to the gallows, before being taken down into the basement. We didn't experience any ghostly going's on in our trip, but I would definitely come back again, this time during the day, so I can get a proper look at the inside of the jail, since the tour I did was in the dark or low light. Recommended!

We visited the Ulster Museum after we had done quite a few other attractions and decided to only…read morefocus on one of the displays, namely the section dedicated to the Troubles. Extremely informative and well-presented.

Great museum with a wide variety of things- like a national museum. So many genres, and we got…read moreextra lucky that there was an exhibit of current artists with art for sale. That exhibit was gigantic and impressive. Only downside of the museum was no acoustical/ absorption to buffer the screeching children. It was well worth a visit if you have spare time in Belfast.

Before planning our trip here, I was unaware that the Titanic originated in Belfast. This museum…read moredid an incredible job of detailing all that went into the ship as well as all that went wrong after they were at sea. The place is very large and the tour takes a couple hours. You're taken through the processes that occurred during the massive undertaking it was to construct the ship, to the setup onboard and ultimately the voltage itself. The place flows very nicely, there's a delightful ride and the pictures/audio tell quite the story. It's a very powerful place. The SS Nomadic outside is the last surviving ferry ship in the fleet was great to walk on and around. This is a must see spot when you're up in Belfast!

I was blown away by this museum! Sure it's an extremely popular historic event with a huge movie…read moreto gather even more attention, but Belfast had done it right. I enjoyed every aspect to the gigantic museum, from the surrounding area , before you enter, to each and every floor full of displays, movies and interactive activities. Masses of people will be there, yet I never felt rushed or overwhelmed as I worked my way through. So many thumbs up to this iconic museum. Must see!

We walked through the Botanical Gardens which are located adjacent to the university. As like…read moreeverything else in Ireland, the whole grounds were bright green and full of different plant species and lots and lots of flowers. I particularly liked their greenhouse. The beautiful white medal perfectly balanced the contrast between nature and industrial features while complementing the space and giving these particular plants a specific place to grow, such as succulents. The rose gardens reminded me of something from Alice in Wind with how the grass paths were weaved between the rose bushes and some of the flowers looked fake because they were so healthy and vibrant.  There are two newer greenhouses that were built specifically for tropical plants. Inside of each of these greenhouses, the temperature and humidity was set to stay at the perfect settings for these tropical plants to thrive. They were multiple stories so that the trees could grow tall and the vines could grow long and even go all the way up to the rafters. A great place to see and spend time on a sunny or partly cloudy day!!

Beautiful grounds near Queen's College in Belfast. So peaceful and sprawling. The grounds…read moremeticulously kept. The grounds included some magnificently lush green lawn for taking in the nice weather being experienced during our stay. The Ferris Wheel was well worth the nominal expense. The rose garden was beautifully laid out.

I love browsing through art galleries and the Engine Room is the latest small gallery in Belfast I…read morehave stumbled upon. Run by East Belfast Arts Collective, this Gallery has moved from its original location in a mill Engine Room to a street-level showroom just a little further east on the Newtownards Road. Since the Engine Room opened in the mid 1990s it has been according to the gallery "an engine at the core of the development of contemporary art in Belfast." The range of works on show include everything from oils and acrylics to prints, video, sculpture, arte povere, installation art and new technology. The gallery also aim to showcase lesser known local artists alongside more well known artists with international profiles. There are new exhibitions every month.

This is a great Gallery space in the heart of East Belfast. It hosts local, national and…read moreInternational exhibition. The latest exhibition from 1st April 2010 is a solo show by Deirdre Robb. works on display are paintings, installations and expeimental prints

Anyone who restored any old machine back to its former glory immediately has my respect. This…read moreorganization is actively restoring and preserving local history and a small section of the railway line up to the old abbey on the outskirts of Downpatrick, on some occasions you can get a ride on the steam engines which is great for kids and adults too. Its living history not from a textbook or stuck in a museum, these are working engines and preserving skills that would otherwise not be needed and be lost. Worth checking when trains are running for a visit.

W5 is officially described as 'an interactive discovery centre' which doesn't sound half as much…read morefun as it really is. It is an educational place, but boy is it fun! The first time we went, my kids were absolutely blown away - there is nothing else in Belfast in this league. There are 4 separate areas - START, GO, SEE and DO and each has loads of fun stuff for kids and the adults with them to do. START is best for younger children - although my 9 year old still secretly loves it. You can't imagine some of the exhibits and best of all, you are allowed to touch and get involved with everything. First thing you'll see is the fully functioning mini branch of Tesco - shelves, fruit, veg, packets and a chilled counter with fake lobsters and mussels and even a till which beeps as you put each item through. Genius. Then there's the real Mini car which you can tinker around with, a mini building site with crane and foam bricks and roof tiles, a huge water play area (they even provide waterproof aprons), and how great is this - a recording studio where you can watch yourself on screen as you play a wooden guitar. I mean the children can watch themselves, obviously I haven't done that. GO is all about space so will appeal to junior astronauts. You can sit on pulley chairs which you have to use your own body strength to lift, join in a massive tug of war, experiment with magnets, and build and race K'Nex cars. SEE - I love this bit. You can create cartoons and add sound effects. I think I missed my vocation in life. Even better, you can make music with lights and your movements. This section is quite 'laboratory' like and will appeal to even too cool for skool pre and early teens. Finally there is DO, where you can get stuck in building robots and learning all about our weather systems. Like anything you make in W5, you have to respect the rules and leave your model behind for someone else to dismantle and use the materials. There is a café but it sells a limited selection of scones and sandwiches. But the good news is that there are picnic areas so you can bring your own food, saving money and ensuring that your kids will have something they like. There's also a shop which sells reasonably priced gadgets and toys. A stroke of genius is that there are lockers on the ground floor so don't have to carry bags and coats etc which I think is fab, especially in winter when you'll have hats, scarves etc too. A ticket for 2 adults and 2 children will cost £22. That might seem off putting at first glance but bear in mind that your ticket is valid for the full day and you can leave for something to eat in one of the nearby restaurants and go back in. You could easily spend 3 -4 hours at W5, especially on your first visit. I cannot recommend W5 highly enough for a family day out , just one word of caution, wet days in the summer holidays can be crazy busy in W5, so go first thing or later on in the day.

Great place haven't been in years and didn't really fancy it as I thought my son would be to young…read morebut brought him anyway and it was amazing he's 2 and loved every second of it lots of stuff to do and was kept very entertained

The new town hall is a very welcome addition to ballymena. The centre offers lots of various…read moreperformances usually at very reasonable prices. The centre is really well decorated with some excellent art work. The acoustics are really good as well. In my opinion this is a really positive change for ballymena and improves the image of the area.

I first went to the Folk Museum when I was at school and now I love taking my own kids there. If…read moreyou're planning to go, wait for a dry day as you'll spend a lot of the time outside and trudging about in the rain is no fun for anyone. First things first and parking is easy as there is a large car park. Then buy your tickets - a family ticket for both Folk and Transport Museums will set you back £20 which is fantastic value as visiting both with lunch in between will take a full day. You can bring your own snacks and lunch to keep costs down too and there are plenty of places to stop for a picnic. The folk museum is totally fascinating and is based around a full size village with a school, a pub, a bank, church, shop, a cinema, town and rural buildings, all of which have been painstakingly taken down brick by brick and moved from their original site, moved to the museum and rebuilt brick by brick. You can look round inside all the buildings which have been furnished with the appropriate furniture etc and even go upstairs in some. Most days there are museum guides on duty who are dressed in period costume and on school holidays and Bank Holidays, there are activities to join in with like basket weaving, butter making and traditional street games. Kids and adults will really enjoy the Folk Museum as its so interactive - history will suddenly get interesting!

We went to the Folk Museum on Halloween. What a great time. There were kids everywhere. What a…read moregreat pleasure. The park was full of visitors and the staff was up for the day. They were having as much fun as the children and their parents. The only downside, do not have a reason to call over the weekend, because they do not answer the phone. This is the problem having government officials. They can make rules that are not helpful and do not see us as customers that deserve service. They think of themselves first.