Guidebook for Ormeau

Ormeau Road is a great road with everything at your fingertips. Ormeau is a French word meaning 'young elm' reflective of the many, now mature elms and other trees in the area. Here is a list of things to do within easy walking distance of the Ormeau Road. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/AttractionsNear-g186470-d565163-Ormeau_Park-Belfast_Northern_Ireland.html There is a 'Centra' market a few minutes away where you can get a wide range of supplies or if you want to walk down the road (quarter of a mile) there is a Tesco which sells most things including ready meals. Further up the road is a well stocked Co-op and at the top of the road is Forestside Shopping Centre which has a large Sainsbury, Dunnes Store, Marks and Spencer, Next, Monsoon etc. There is an excellent bakery called ‘Bread and Banjos’ and award winning butchers as well as the best off-license in Belfast, called the Vineyard which has wonderful, well trained and informed staff who can direct you in the purchase of all kinds of wines craft beers, Irish whiskey and gins etc. For ice-cream lovers, Al’s Gelato is a must. Al went off to Italy to learn how to make ice creams and his parlour is impossible to pass. Here is a list of places to eat within minutes of the house. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/RestaurantsNear-g186470-d565163-Ormeau_Park-Belfast_Northern_Ireland.html 'The Shed' and the Bengal Brasserie are the closest eateries only minutes away and are my favourite. You can get a nice fresh two course meal for about £19 at the Shed. The Northern Lights, further down the road is nice too and they have loads of craft beers. They do a basic café style fare and I will leave you a vouchers for 20% off. I also like Kaffe O for breakfast and Graffitti also do a nice breakfast. One of the guys from the band, 'Snow Patrol' owns the Mexican restaurant across the road and although it is always busy, I was very disappointed with the food. The guide is pretty accurate and of course all the pubs do pub grub. They are cheap and cheerful, decent and very safe. Within easy walking distance, there is a French restaurant -L'Etoile, an Italian - Ambrosia , a very good Chinese - Macau, a little Vegan cafe and of course various Fish and Chip shops and take-aways. St. George's market is great on Friday, Sat and Sunday. It opens around 8.30 and they start packing up around 2pm. Friday is bric-a-brac, Saturday is arts and organic and Sunday is a mixture of everything. There are always a good variety of foodstuffs to either take away or eat at the market. Take the number 7 bus to the City Hall,(which is the last stop and everyone gets out there), go right and you will come to the St. George's market. Enjoy the music and lovely atmosphere, and then walk over to the Titanic exhibition which people enjoy. To get to the Titanic Museum, come out of the door at the bottom end where the fish stalls are, go right, cross the road to the Waterfront Hall and walk along the river to the walking bridge across the river Lagan, pass the Big Fish and sea lion sculptures and you will see the Titanic Museum which looks like a great big liner (surprise, surprise). There are lots of things to do in and around the Titanic https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=things+to+do+in+the+titanic+quarter+belfast&oq=things+to+do+i&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j35i39l2j0l3.4879j1j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 When you come out of the Titanic exhibit, head back across the bridge and over to the lively pubs (Duke of York, Spaniard, John Hewitt (which is a workers' collective...... etc) into the Cathedral Quarter and try Coppi for dinner, next to the Mac - Metropolitan Arts Centre. If you want something more up market then head for Hadski’s in Commercial Court which is one of my favourite restaurants and is beside the Duke of York pub.) And of course, James St South, which offers fine dining is superb with a reasonably priced lunch menu. Avoca in Arthur Street, opposite Cath Kidson, does lovely food and excellent ready meals. Fresh and of the highest quality. There is something for everyone in Cornmarket. Just down from the house is Sunnyside Street and it is an easy walk to the Lyric Theatre, Botanic Gardens and the Ulster Museum/Queens University, going down Sunnyside Street, crossing the river and walking through the park to get to QUB. The Museum is closed on a Monday as are all the museums. It has good exhibits and coffee bar. Across the street on Stranmillis Road is another favourite café called ‘Connors’ which I often go to on a Sunday morning for a tasty breakfast – Irish fry. You might enjoy the guided tour with two local musicians who take you to some of Belfast’s oldest bars for a ‘session’ of music. The tour is every Saturday at 4pm from the Dirty Onion pub in the Cathedral Quarter. To book, go to http://www.belfasttradtrail.com/about/ You might also like to do the political walking tour along the murals and the Peace Wall in West Belfast. The tour is with a Republican ex-prisoner and is a great experience. Look at www.coiste.ie and you want the Falls Road Mural Tour. Anyone who has done it feels it has been the highlight of their holiday. For other tours, Paul Donnelly is superb and highly recommended. See TripAdvisor https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186470-d3830673-Reviews-DC_Tours_A_History_of_Terror-Belfast_Northern_Ireland.html You can also do a free tour of the Belfast City Hall which has wonderful exhibits reflecting the history and culture of NI/Belfast. Along with other women in the Women's Sector in Belfast, we successfully achieved a 'Women's Window' - a beautiful stained glass window highlighting some of the achievements of women in NI. There are also windows to the Trades Union Movements and No Passaran window celebrates the Spanish Civil War in which a number of people from Belfast fought. If you fancy learning how to make your own Irish bread, then I recommend a lovely few hours spent in a delightful rural environment in Killinchy in the Strangford Lough area. You would need a car to get there but it is only 40 minutes/17 miles up the road. They also offer food tours in the area/ Mourne Mountains where you can gather oysters and meet local cider makers etc. A nice day out for ‘foodies’. Or there is the Belfast Food Tour which, although pricey, is said to be a great 4 hours https://tasteandtour.co.uk/our-tours/ https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1477825-d12291104-Reviews-NI_Food_Tours-Killinchy_County_Down_Northern_Ireland.html You can take a taxi to the Belfast Castle for a coffee and lovely views of belfast. There is a bus which goes up the Antrim Road but then it is a walk to the castle so a taxi is easier for older folk like myself. If you like the sea, go out to Holywood or Bangor and walk along the coast or take a bus to Newcastle or a day trip to the Giants Causeway/Game of Thrones sites. Terese Cullen does a wonderful monastic tour . Her website is http://www.irishmonastictours.com/WordPress/ To get to Holywood or Bangor, you can take the train from either Botanic Station or Great Victoria Street Station (Europa). The journey is lovely and takes about 10-15 minutes and the coastal walk is divine. Look on Groupon Belfast for reduced tickets for the Giants Causeway/Game of Thrones tours. Both are excellent. There are lots of things to do and see. The Visit Belfast, Visitors Centre - Welcome Centre is opposite the City Hall and they will give you all kinds of information as to what is on. You can also look at the Visit Belfast website http://visitbelfast.com/ For taxi's, I use ValueCabs which are very reliable 0044 2890 809080. The number 7 buses go up and down the Ormeau Road regularly. The journey on the bus takes 8 minutes. The bus also stops at the University and Botanic Gardens. All buses start and stop at the City Hall. You can catch the number 7 bus at various stops on the Ormeau Road. To go into town you are heading down hill. Belfast is a very walkable city. You can walk into Belfast from the house by walking down the hill, past the Ormeau Park (where the Suffragetes used to hold mass rallies ), cross over the River Lagan and take a right along the tow path which will take you to a sculpture of a bottle top (to commemorate the Lemonade factory which used to be there) where you turn left, go past the old Gas Works on the left and the Radisson on the right, go straight ahead and up Ormeau Avenue and right up Linen Hall Street to the back of the City Hall which is the centre of the city. If you walk straight on instead of turning left at the big stopper, you will pass the train station for Dublin etc which is also the turnoff for the market. If you ignore all these turnoffs and keep going along the river, you will eventually come to the Titanic Museum. There are city bikes to hire which you can get at the bike park which is located outside the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, just up the street. https://www.belfastbikes.co.uk/en/belfast/ Please ring me or text me if you have any problems, questions, or need any assistance, information or advice.