Went here on a Saturday and I have to say I really enjoyed it, much better than an evening at the…read moredogs A taxi from Belfast cost £20 and one from the taxi rank at the course itself on the way back was £25 The atmosphere was excellent from when we were greeted when entering by a life band to the last race. There are lots of types of packages but we just went with regular entry and paid our way when we got in. There were plenty of places to buy food (mainly burgers and chips, however the burger van outside serves the most delicious burgers I ever had and really good quality) there are also a number of bars with a great selection and even though the place was packed there are that many staff it only ever took a couple of minutes to get served. As for betting we just used the guys outside along the track but shop around as their odds can differ, myself and a friend backed the same horse and ended up winning £7.50 more as a result. All in all a fantastic day out, they do evening races too but I'm not sure I would have enjoyed that quite as much

Had a great day here yesterday with work colleagues, facilities were excellent and the craic was…read moregreat. Perfect place if you like a gamble just make sure you have plenty of cash with you. There is an ATM on site which makes it all too easy to blow cash on poor bets!

Overlooked by many visitors to Belfast, this is a great place to spend a day (or evening) out…read more There might not be a race meeting on when you're here, but if there is then it's well worth considering a trip to Down Royal. As racecourses go, this one is pretty small. But, if you enjoy horse-racing, you'll have a good time here. The day racing usually starts between 1 and 2pm, with evening meetings around 4pm until 7pm or so. Entry fee is usually around £10, and the 'Punter's Pack' is pretty good value, averaging about £20 and including a £5 bet, a pint, a race card, and a sandwich. There are plenty of bookmakers there to take your money, er, I mean take your bets (around 40 bookmakers there I'd guess - never really thought to count them!). You can also bet indoor at the tote (I won't bore non-punters with the details of the tote). The outdoor bookmakers are on the rails just near the finishing line. This is a great place to stand and watch the horses go thundering by, merely feet away from you. It's an exhilarating feeling as they go hammering by, and it's amazing how big the horses are in real life - they don't look quite that big on TV. You can go down to the paddock and watch the horses parading before the race. If it's a miserable day you can always sit in the bar and watch the racing with a pint and a bit of grub, but it's not the same as being out among it. It's pretty annoying get pints in plastic glasses, but what can you do? The racecourse isn't that far from Belfast, about 9 or 10 miles, so a taxi from a city centre depot shouldn't cost more than around £16 or so.

A worthwhile tourist trap. In no universe could I foresee myself 1) discovering that this venue…read moreexisted, nor 2) voluntarily visiting. The Ulster Folk Museum feels like the kind of place that an elementary school class might visit on a field trip. However, I will admit that it was exceedingly charming, informative, and deserving of an hour or two if happen to be in the area. We were warmly greeted by one of the performers (this one happened to be playing the role of a school teacher) and led up to the cinema for a briefing, due to the rain. We learned a bit of the history of the museum, which dates back more than a hundred years, and its purpose for capturing and maintaining the semblance of Irish village life back in the day. We were pointed toward certain artisans and actors that were on site during that day (e.g., the apothecary, printmaker, and blacksmith). Not all of the shops and attractions operate every day, so your mileage may vary. We were then handed maps to navigate the sprawling campus and invited to explore. The rain was pretty oppressive at first, so I ducked into a few of the nearby venues to stay out of the worst of the downpour. I recall visiting a church, some fishing lodges, and the print shop. Once the precipitation eased, I quickly jaunted off to the blacksmith's forge -- the spot that most interested me. It's a healthy ten-minute walk from the entrance of the museum up a hill. I'm so glad I did! I might have been the only one among my tour group to make it this far, because it was just me and the blacksmith in the smithy. When I arrived, he was pretty focused (with good reason!), so I just stood behind the stanchion and watched in rapt fascinating as he worked the bellows, heating a piece of iron until it glowed, then quenched the metal briefly before expertly hammering it into shape on the anvil. The rhythmic pattern of fanning the flames, sizzling water, and clanging anvil was entrancing. During a lull, we struck up a conversation, and I learned that 70-year old Gerald had been smithing for more than a decade, was training several apprentices, and had wrought several custom designs featured on Game of Thrones. So cool. He even invited me to try out the bellows and to beat the anvil a few times. I was surprised at how much effort it took to maintain the fire -- after pumping the bellows for less than a minute, my shoulder started to tire. I can't imagine the stamina it must take to operate the smithy for a full shift! Sadly, I had to hurry back to our tour bus before our group left without me. I could have happily stayed to gab with Gerald for longer, and I didn't have much of an opportunity to scope out the other exhibits of the museum. If you're into immersive historical experiences, I think you could easily spend a half-day or more bopping around. It's like a theme park, minus the thrill rides, and grounded in fact rather than imagination. This was an unexpectedly enjoyable stop on our tour of Ireland and, in the end, I'm grateful we got dragged here!

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!

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.

Recently visited w5 with a very hyperactive 1 year old godchild and she as well as i loved it! It…read moreis great for tiny people to explore and run away with their imagination! In particular the kids seemed to enjoy the discovery area which is for under 8's only. It is a great place for children to get into role play as it is set out in real life situations and allows children to learn about themselves and the world around them as well as encouraging them to experiment. There is a little water area which is particularly good for sensory and motor development and the little ones appeared to have a ball in here! One tip is to bring an extra set of clothes for them because if they are anything like this child they (and everyone else around them) will be soaked from head to toe!! Children under 3 years go free and £8.50 for an adult. They also do great family offers and all in all it is a great family day out for all ages :)

As far as facilities go these are right up there with the best in Northern Ireland. What used to be…read morethe old Spafield site has been transformed in to a synthetic pitch that compliments quick passing football. The pitch is, I believe, stone based rather than water based so that makes it a little harder, especially on the joints. The changing facilities are fantastic. This place has been kitted out specifically for football with two full size changing rooms including showers, a referees changing room and a small viewing area. Parking is also excellent. It gets extremely cold on this pitch as the wind sweeps in from the Irish Sea do if you're playing here get your thermals on. It's great to see the pitch being utilised in all weathers! Top marks from me.

Great venue, saw Mrs Brown Boys Live here and the costumer service was AMAZING! Decent sized venue…read moreand cheap drinks!

It really is in a people and disabled unfriendly location. We always opt to walk here now as we…read morerefuse to park in the adjacent car parks as once a concert is over it can take ages to escape. So we park in the city centre and take a 15 minute walk to get here. Once inside the main door and through the bag search we were processed quickly and the staff are always courteous and helpful. Our seats were upstairs and we were quite far back from the stage with a great view. As with most concert venues in this city the seats are barely comfortable, the space between the seats is almost non existent, so you are forced to be very near to total strangers and I'd rather not thanks very much. The food and drink pricing is more akin to airport charging. I noted that the price for a small Coca cola, from a drink dispenser into a paper cup, was £3.10 for an ungenerous portion, or put shortly daylight robbery. If it's comfort and relaxation you want to enjoy a concert I can assure you you're in the wrong place so it's as well Andrea Bocelli and friends were in top form.

This place has a lot of functions to do with different community projects. However, it's best known…read morefor being the ticket office for all events at the West Belfast Festival, a.k.a. Féile an Phobail, a.k.a. the "Fla". Every year, for about a week and a half, there's a festival organised which starts at the end of July. It's reputedly the biggest community festival in Europe, and attracts tourists from far and wide. It has a whole host of events - live music gigs; lectures; comedy nights; photographic/art exhibitions; debates... the list goes on, and the events are held in a huge variety of venues from schools and community centres to pubs and marquees. It's amazing how many visitors this attracts every year.

Amazing experience at the Ulster Museum . The experience was fantastic . A vat of information was…read morehad . The cafe was clean and tasty . The price was even better . I would highly recommend this place for all ages .

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.