Belfast
Unlike New York or London, we are a city that sleeps. Belfast wakes up at 8am and goes back to sleep again at about 1am. We are well rested, which means we have no excuse not to party. In the morning we usually find ourselves, fuzzy-eyed in our fave coffee shop (for us it has to be Sinnamon on Botanic Avenue) armed with the latest copy of our local music mag, Alternative Ulster, and faced with a problem: what are we going to do tonight? If nothing catches our eye in AU, we turn to the internet, hit up BBC Across The Line and head straight to their amazing gig guide.
Lunchtime means one thing, Boojum (Botanic Avenue, boojummex.com) is a highly addictive, surprisingly healthy Mexican burrito bar and has easily the best food in Belfast. Or try Little Wing Pizzeria (10 Ann Street, 028-9024 7000; 322 Lisburn Road, 028-9066 6000, littlewingpizzeria.com), Villa Italia (37/41 University Road, 028-9032 8356, villaitaliarestaurant.co.uk) and Hakka Noodles (51 Adelaide Street, 028-9031 3270, hakkabelfast.co.uk). If you're feeling like a delicious defeat, China China's all-you-can-eat will take you down (1 University Street, 028-9032 0100).
If you fancy hitting the shops, Victoria Square and Castlecourt shopping centres have more than 100 stores between them.
When night falls, there are a handful of places to unleash the party beast. At Lavery's (12–18 Bradbury Place, laverysbelfast.com), you're sure to see the Panic Dots team, out in full force as resident DJs, playing alternative and pop rock and a bit of punk in Mister Tom's, a recently refurbished part of Lav's. It sure looks striking, with its sexy crushed velvet and outrageous gold leather interior. If rock and punk aren't your thing, head to Thompsons Garage (3 Patterson Place, clubthompsons.com) for a rave, M Club (23-31 Bradbury Place, mclub.co.uk) to hear what the chart has to offer, the Menagerie (130 University Street) or Black Box (18-22 Hill Street, blackboxbelfast.com) to mingle with the hipsters. Another venue you'll find us is Stiff Kitten (1 Bankmore Square, Dublin Rd, shine.net).
If we're just too tired to dance, there's always comedy at The Empire (42 Botanic Avenue, thebelfastempire.com, tickets £8) every Tuesday, which showcases Irish comedy talent and is hosted hilariously by Irish stand-up legends Jake O'Kane and Colin Murphy. Once a month, local funny folk Colin Geddis (aka Barry the Blender – YouTube it – seriously), Micky Bartlett, Sean Hegarty and many more hit up Victoria's (81–85 Chichester Street, victoriasbelfast.com), Belfast's newest and sexiest boutique bar.
If we find ourselves awake and functioning in Belfast on a Sunday, there's only one place to be for truly mouth-watering food: St George's Market. The stalls contain a marvellous mix of local, continental and speciality foods. We are huge fans of the cupcakes: these delectable badboys paired with a Kinder Bueno milkshake (from Jenz on the Lisburn Road) are a match made in heaven.
Work off the calories by taking the massive but totally worth it climb to the top of Victoria Square, to the glass dome, where you can see the whole of Belfast city centre, then chillax in the City Hall Garden.
Jessica Lester is editor of lifestyle and entertainment website panicdots.com
