World Class
Stan completes our build up to Vespa World Days with a look at Belfast itself, once troubled – now triumphant.
Straddling the River Langan, Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland and the second largest city on the island of Ireland. Once infamous as a hotbed of sectarian violence, Belfast has emerged from this brief period in its history as a vibrant, cosmopolitan city. So complete is the transformation that Lonely Planet guides list Belfast as one of its ‘must visit’ destinations for 2018, ranking it alongside Languedoc in France, Japan’s Kiri Peninsular and Bahia in Brazil. For scooterists making the journey to Vespa World Days, the problem isn’t what to do, but how to fit everything in!
Titanic Quarter
The Titanic dominates Belfast, literally in the case of Harland and Wolff’s iconic cranes. Opened in 2012, ‘Titanic Belfast’ is a £77 million attraction that commemorates Belfast’s most famous product, while telling the story of shipbuilding in the city. Although the museum has a policy of not displaying artefacts from the wreck site, Titanic fanatics won’t be disappointed at the large collection of memorabilia and faithful recreations. During VWDs the building will also host the Vespa museum, making it a ‘must see’ destination for visitors. The slipway where Titanic was constructed is directly outside the museum and it’s here that the Vespa Village will be based.
Although there’s an outline of the ship that gives some idea of its size, it’s worth taking a short walk to the dry dock where the ship was completed. The Dock and Pump House is one of the few Titanic themed locations to remain in largely original condition and the scale of it is simply staggering.
City living
Although there’s a variety of events planned at the Vespa Village including ride outs planned to Belfast’s Transport Museum, Folk Museum, and the Crumlin Road Victorian Gaol, at some point most will take the short walk into Belfast city. Here there’s a bar or restaurant to cater for every taste but one location not to be missed is The Crown on Great Victoria Street. First opened in 1826, its interior dates to 1885 and it was purchased by The National Trust in the 1970s. Visitors from Italy should feel particularly at home as most of the ceramics are Italian, being applied by craftsmen who’d travelled to Ireland to take advantage of a boom in church building. It’s an unmissable experience but don’t worry, this isn’t a stuffy museum, it’s a thriving bar with a fantastic atmosphere. In the unlikely event of Vespa overload, the nearby suburb of Hollywood has a good selection of coffee shops, several doubling as art galleries and bookshops.
However visitors choose to spend their time, a warm welcome is assured. Belfast is a city keen to show how much it’s changed and VWDs are seen as a fantastic opportunity to do just that. Whether it’s riding, culture or clubbing, Belfast has it all. The only question is whether one visit will be enough…