Belfast or dublin?

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T K

Belfast Belfast Belfast Belfast. Less expensive. More architecturally beautiful than Dublin. It has to be one of the safest cities for tourists (any bit of trouble is usually in-fighting so they don't bother anyone else!). Better transport systems in the city itself. Dunno what the other contributor is thinking, Belfast also has a great social scene, and there's no mad wait for taxis like in Dublin.
Be sure to check out Galway, and Kilkenny as well. Two great places I'd visit over Dublin any day! (Sorry to all my mates in Dublin!!).

Knightsbridge9

Without a doubt - BELFAST! Dublin is like East Oakland, CA...not a place that you would want to spend any length of time. Belfast, however, is rich in history and culture. While in Ireland you must visit County Cork and the Ring of Kerry...you won't be disappointed!

haggesitze

Belfast is the nicer place to go to. It's less touristy, therefore cheaper, it has a lovely village atmosphere in most parts, and a very vibrant cultural life. Accommodation in Belfast is much cheaper still, although prices are starting to rise there now as well. The only drawback about Belfast is its being on the edge, so there are longer ways to go to nice places in the Republic.
I'm living in the Republic of Ireland, but I still prefer Belfast to Dublin by miles.

Edit: The same as Dublin, Belfast has some areas where tourists are warned to go, but as for prices - Dublin is one of the dearest places in Europe to live, worse than Paris, and any day trippers from the North are most certainly NOT going there for bargains.

Gina B

What do you want from the place you're living in? Do you need to work? What kind of social life do you want?
I don't live in Ireland but spent time in both cities and love them both for different reasons. If I had four months and I had to choose a place to live, I guess I may choose Belfast over Dublin. The people are friendlier; it's a little cozier - transport is easy. But it's a small city and if you want more anonymity, a more cosmopolitan social scene you should settle for Dublin.

And the wall murals in Belfast, I could take a year and not get enough of them.

2kool4u

Depends on what you mean by better. Dublin is way cooler for culture and nightlife. (It has a huge drink and drugs scene though.) It is somewhat more expensive than Belfast, though because of the strength of the UK pound against the Euro, maybe not that much.

There is great countryside near Belfast and the people aren't so materialistic as in Dublin. They also have a great sense of humor. If you stay away from the working-class ghettoes you should be able to avoid whatever sectarian tensions still exist.

Snowman1234

Some good tips here. Both have their good, subjective and personal points.

Why don't you look at the National Tourism websites via these links to reach some conclusions in conjunction with these tips:

Ireland/Dublin:http://www.tourismrankings.com/Ireland/
UK/Belfast:http://www.tourismrankings.com/United-Kingdom/

The only tip left that i have is - you can visit both from either City very easily, and this is the cost of staying a night or two in each place:

Ireland:http://www.cheaperthanhotels.co.uk/Ireland/
Dublin:http://www.cheaperthanhotels.co.uk/Ireland/Dublin/
Belfast:http://www.cheaperthanhotels.co.uk/United-Kingdom/Belfast/

Deskypoo

Dublin by a mile. Belfast is pretty nice though, and a bit smaller and easier to get around (much better public transport). There are some parts of Belfast I would not venture into though, so be careful.
Since its not in the euro zone, changing your money into sterling means you lose out (assuming you are in euro zone already).
Dublin is cheaper as evidenced by all the day trippers from northern ireland coming to shop here in Dublin.

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