PENNY PINCH
Grab excellent scrambled eggs and a coffee at Common Grounds, a cool charity fund-raising cafe at Belfast City Church ($13.45; commongrounds.co.uk). No matter the budget, the Titanic Experience Belfast is a must. The basic ticket gets you into all the displays ($28.50; titanicbelfast.com). Lunch time is for a serious hamburger at Rocket & Relish, where cheese isn't just cheese – it's brie, goats cheese or blue ($13.45; rocketandrelish.com ). Now fuelled up, do the moving, immersive and award-winning A History of Terror walking tour to fully understand the city's history of sectarian conflict ($29; deadcentretours.com). Mourne Seafood Bar is a Belfast icon. For dinner, go the fish and chips and a Belfast Ale ($28; mourneseafood.com). Have a nightcap pint and some proper traditional craic down a cobbled laneway at The Duke of York. Don't miss the murals and wall art ($7.75; dukeofyorkbelfast.com). Sleep soundly at the stylish yet very affordable Premier Inn Hotel on Alfred Street (from $68; premierinn.com).
TOTAL: $188.15
EASY DOES IT
See the caffeine experts at Established for big interesting breakfast dishes and the city's best coffee ($15.50; facebook.com/establishedcoffee). Your Titanic Belfast Experience includes a Segway tour of the Titanic Quarter. ($28.50; titanicbelfast.com; $58; segwayni.co.uk). By now you've earned a nice Irish seafood lunch at microbrewery, Molly's Yard in the University Quarter. Wash it down with a Belfast Blonde ($29; mollysyard.co.uk). Check out some of Belfast's great museums such as the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and the Ulster Museum for a look at Northern Ireland's national treasures and the surrounding botanic gardens. Michael Deane is Belfast's best known celebrity chef. Get stuck into a sublime steak at Deane's Meat Locker, one of several eponymous restaurants in the city ($58; michaeldeane.co.uk). Rest easy at the lovely boutique Ten Square Hotel, where some rooms in the Grade 1 Listed building have views of City Hall (from $155; tensquare.co.uk).
TOTAL: $344
SPLASH OUT
Voted the Best Breakfast in Northern Ireland, St George's Market Bar & Grill in historic St George's Market is your first stop for a coffee and spectacular fry up featuring Clonakilty black pudding ($21.30; stgeorgesbargrill.com). Stroll the popular Victorian covered market and other city sights. Lunch at OX, with beautiful views over the River Lagan and a much lauded menu based on "seasonal creativity" ($77.45; oxbelfast.com). Settle in for a great insight into the historic city with Paddy Campbell's Belfast Famous Black Cab Tours, visiting the Peaceline wall plus city sights such as the Crumlin Jail ($58; belfastblackcabtours.co.uk). Your Titanic Belfast Experience includes afternoon tea with a glass of Champagne at the replica Titanic Grand Staircase ($28.50 entry plus $65.85; titanicbelfast.com). Dine at the place named best restaurant in Northern Ireland three years running, Shu, which serves French-influenced seasonal fare ($116; shu-restaurant.com).
Your home for the evening is the hip Merchant Hotel. Make sure you have a nightcap in the cocktail bar ($20) before sliding into your opulent bed (from $310; www.themerchanthotel.com ).
TOTAL: $697.10
The writer was a guest of Tourism Ireland.
