I will be in Dublin for 7 days and wondered if taking a train from there to Belfast is possible for a long day trip. If so what must sees in Belfast for 8 hours

You can get a train from Connolly station which is in Amiens St. in Dublin city center.See details on www.irishrail.ie for Irish train timetables.

Yes trains go about hourly, taking about 2 hours. Dubbed the 'Peace Train' a few years ago when the line and service was improved, trains are operated by both Irish Rail and Northern Ireland Railways. Belfast is a blast! Well not as much as it was a few years ago when i visited and there were metal detectors to pass thru to get into the city center and many government buildings were draped in protective mesh. Things have quieted down and i don't know if these security things are still in place - but Belfast is a nice city, especially in the university district just south (?) of the town cenre. Take your passport for border formalities.

PALQ - it is a completely different place now - my other half is from Northern Ireland and we go over there at least once a month.

No security checks or troubles that I have ever seen and I have been going out with my other half for 5 yrs now.

So much to see in NI - not just Belfast - if poss try and add in another couple of days and tour the place - you will love it!

happy holiday

Marie

Marie: Nice to know that things have changed as i really enjoyed the city but the security checks were a bit unnerving. I think the troubles between the two communities will last for some time - it seems to be more of an economic thing that a Catholic-Protestant thing but things are much better than when i were there several years ago. My Dad always called his family "Shanty Irish" as before they came to Canada my ancestors once were in the Scottish Borders area then were shuttled off the Ireland, where they presumably lived in shanties until they emigrated to America. I take it that some of today's Protestants were similarly "Shanty Irish" who are really Scots?

Hope--the must sees in Belfast for one day:

Tour the City Hall

Take a Black Taxi Tour. You can get info on companies at the tourist office, which is just done the street from the front of the City Hall, on the left. You should be able to call in the morning and arrange a tour for the same day. Or you can try your luck with the black taxis behind Castlecourt Shopping Centre--continue down the same road, it's also on the left.

There's now a bus tour that runs from in front of the tourist office. The tourist office is a good source of info, and a huge improvement on the old one.

If it's a nice day, head up to Belfast Castle (need to take a taxi). You can walk up to the Cave Hill, which is where Wolfe Tone and the boys hid. There's also a zoo up there, but I haven't been in.

If you like art, the Ormeau Baths usually has an exhibit running. It's just off the Dublin Road (bear left at the Holiay Inn) and it's on your right.

The train is great for a day trip. Just make sure you don't have to be back at any certain time. After all, this is Ireland and train schedules are often just a suggestion.