Another one for all you shoppers out there. Once you've had your fill of shopping in the city…read morecentre (see my reviews on CastleCourt and Victoria Square), there's still a few places left to burn out the credit card. Just a five minute drive from the city centre, Boucher Road has quite a few shops in it, most of which are located in Boucher Crescent Retail Park or Shane Retail Park (see my review on Shane retail park). There are men and women's clothing shops (River Island, Next, Burton, the Jeanery...), a sports shop, HMV, Starbuck's, Boots... the list goes on. There's a hell of a lot of space dedicated to parking here, but it can still be very difficult to get a space on a Saturday or Sunday. It's not a mall type place where you can get lost in, it's one of those places where the shops are all lined up in a row and you come out of one shop and into the next one - good for methodical shoppers, or those who don't have a lot of time. The downside is that the traffic on the Boucher Road can be crazy between 4 and 6p.m. But, if you're a visitor and you're out for a day's shopping, get yourself a 'day ticket' (see my Translink review) and you can take a trip up here before/after shopping in the city centre.

Boucher Road Crescent Retail Park is a handy spot for shopping if you don't fancy going into the…read moreCity Centre. It has a huge variety of shops including River Island, Outfit, Lipsy, Newlook, Next, Boots and much much more. Oh and there's a few car manufacturers nearby if you fancy treating yourself to a new Audi TT

Made my first visit to the Kennedy Centre today after hearing a lot about it on Yelp. Seems to be…read moremore than just a shopping centre with an on site cinema, a food court and plenty of independent retail outlets. I was impressed by the Kennedy Centre, for a Sunday it was really busy but not cramped like some other shopping centers. There's plenty of parking with an underground car park making it an ideal place to do your big shop at Sainsbury's. As well as Siansbury's The Kennedy Centre also boasts an Argento, DV8, Blue Inc and many other chain stores. If you haven't been to The Kennedy Centre I suggest you pay it a visit. It's only a few minutes from the motorway making it unbelievably convenient.

A mini shopping centre on the Falls Road. The Centre seems to have gotten a lot quieter since 2009,…read morewhen the local supermarket there was sold to Salisbury's, but they're hoping to increase footfall to its former levels - the revamped cinema is open, they managed to get Poundland into the Centre (which has been expanding and opening shops at an impressive rate since the recession kicked in), and the global giant Burger King will take residence there around the end of the summer 2010. The Salisbury's store itself is huge. Aside from that, you also have the typical shops and services you'd expect - post-office, coffee shops, clothes shops, chemists, hairdressers, jewellers, etc., and it's a pleasant enough place to wile away an hour or two. There's ample parking, including an underground car-park at the back.

Shopped here recently in the evening and found it pretty poor. Alot of the shelves were bare and I…read morefound it impossible to find the fruit and veg I wanted or any chicken fillets. Prices are cheap and staff have always been friendly. It sells alcohol, clothes, homeware and cds/ Dvds etc which is handy. Parking is also good and it has recycling bins nearby if you wanna get rid of some old clothes etc. Anytime I've been it's was very busy and you really need to have patience as you weave through the abandoned trolleys, slow walkers and indecisive shoppers. For this reason and due to stock issues I prefer to shop elsewhere.

There are a few things to note about this Asda. Firstly, it's extremely busy, especially since a…read morelocal shopping retailer sold their premises to Sainsburys (see my Sainsburys Kennedy Centre review). The more expensive Sainsburys nearby drove even more people through Asda's doors. If you're in a rush of any kind, you do not want to get caught in here on a Saturday (some evenings are busy, too). The short space between the tills and aisles means that you end up queueing all over the place, and are constantly in someone's way, Secondly, you can also get clothing, electrical items, DVDs, etc. in here. It's a limited selection, but a big enough section for what is primarily a grocery store. Better value than Sainsburys.

We started doing our weekly shops online - I find I'd rather spend 20 minutes on the laptop at home…read morerather going on a Monday evening after work. I thought the website was simple and easy to use - you can add your shops to your favourites which is handy if you ended up getting the same sort of things every week. Sainsburys were doing £15 off your first shop over £60 and £10 off your next four shops over £50 - which was why we decided to shop with Sainsburys- I love a wee discount. You can amend your order before 11pm the night before your shopping is due to arrive. So If you notice you've run out of something you can just log on and update your order. Sainsburys do not process the payment until they've packed your order. You can also choose hourly slots for your shopping to be delivered - starting from as little as £1 ranging up to about £5. I also noticed that if your shopping costs less than £25 the delivery will cost £6 - ours would never cost less than £25 so we didn't have to worry about that. I would recommend shopping with Sainsburys online. I also find the quality of Sainsburys food slightly better than Tescos or Asda.

This is one of the larger Sainsburys I have been to and it has a few really great features. First…read moreup it has an underground car park meaning that if the Belfast weather is doing it's usual you don't even have to get wet while pushing your trolley to the car. There's a large alcohol, home and electrical section making this a real one stop shop. Hosed in the Kennedy thriving Kennedy centre there's not much to dislike about this supermarket. Although you can only buy your groceries at 1pm on a Sunday you are able to browse and fill your trolley much earlier and you'll avoid the queues when the tills eventually open.

School uniforms aplenty at this local retailer. They have a few shops around the place, and stock…read moreall the things you'll need for dressing your kids for school. If you're thinking "why is he writing a review on it", well I wouldn't want any shopaholic visitors looking up clothes shops, finding this place listed, and being very disappointed when they got there...or getting arrested.

Lidl is a German-owned discount store which seems to have done quite well here in the last eight or…read morenine years. No-frills discount stores are pretty well received in Belfast, and that's led to Lidl opening several stores over here. This is a pretty spacious shop, and is usually well-stocked. They're also trying to make a name for themselves for being inexpensive for fruit and vegetables. I'm convinced I kept one of their lines of stock in production - Moordale's 100% beef burgers. They have a great bite to them, and when they're on special offer they're only £2.39... a great addition to any barbeque. Lidl has a lot of special offers, many of which are detailed in their promotional leaflets, with offers on a weekly and fortnightly basis. And it's not just food that they do, they sell items like DIY tools, outdoor furniture, plants and flowers... I think it just depends on what they've managed to get a good bulk discount on. They also have a selection of beers and wines, and usually have special offers on selected lines. Worth checking out.

Going to an all girls' school meant that the hysteria of formal dress shopping was heightened to…read morethe absolute max, with every girl hoping that the delightful pink dress they had just purchased wasn't the same as their best friend's choice. Cue delirium. Unfortunately (I think), those mad days are long since gone for me, but it's nearly that time for my little sister, so I do kinda get to relive the dream again. Yippee! I told her (yes, she didn't have a choice) that Posh Frocks should be the first port of call for ideas, and she happily agreed to take a look. Posh Frocks was one of the stores many of the girls ventured to in search of the perfect formal dress, and there were definitely some beauties bought there. The shop had, and still has, a reputation for good-quality, stunning dresses, and is one of very few formal dress shops in Belfast, so it is completely inundated with formal requirements from as far as Magherafelt (I was reliably informed by the extremely helpful sales lady). We were also told that many of the dresses sell out within days of first appearing...so we'd better get our skates on! There isn't a huge range of dresses, but due to the fact that new designs are constantly coming in, this doesn't really prove a problem. The dresses vary in price from about £100 to £300, with the more embellished ones coming in at £295, whereas the plainer ones are around £165, and the cocktail length ones are obviously cheaper. Having had lots of really helpful tips and information, and a good nosey around, the two of left with plenty of food for thought. I think I'm actually more excited that the little sis...

On our never-ending quest to find bridesmaid dresses for my best friends wedding (no, not the…read moremovie) we ended up in here. They have a vast array of gowns and dresses for all sorts of events and occasions, be it a formal, a gala dinner type event, or a wedding as a guest or as a bridesmaid. The woman in charge that day was SO helpful, and really cheerful and pleasant, she seemed happy to help, and genuinely interested, which is what you want in a good shopping experience. They had every colour, shape and style of frock, but not, unfortunately, every size, and my size 18 frame was not really catered for. There were a couple of dresses that sort of fitted, but they weren't proper size 18s, and therefore were NOT flattering. The price tags weren't extortionate, but they weren't cheap either. If you're skinny and have a bit of cash, this is a good place to get a dress that isn't from the high street.