If you have one full day in Belfast, you can see the essential city on foot. Here is the route locals would suggest.

9.30, City Hall

Start at City Hall in Donegall Square. The free guided tour at ten is worth the time. After that, walk through the gardens and out the back to Linen Hall Library across the road. Even five minutes inside the library will give you a sense of the bookish, civic Belfast that gets overshadowed by other things.

10.30, Cathedral Quarter

Walk north up Donegall Place to Royal Avenue, then cut right into the Cathedral Quarter. This is the small, old, bohemian heart of the city. St Anne's Cathedral, the Duke of York pub yard, the Commercial Court and the Mac arts centre are all within five minutes of each other. The murals in Hill Street and Commercial Court are world-class.

11.30, the Titanic Quarter

From the Cathedral Quarter, walk down Donegall Quay along the river. You will pass the Big Fish (the salmon-shaped ceramic sculpture) and cross the Lagan Weir bridge. The walk to the Titanic Belfast museum takes about twenty minutes from the Cathedral Quarter.

Plan to spend two hours minimum in Titanic Belfast. The exhibition is excellent and the SS Nomadic, the only remaining White Star Line ship in the world, is moored beside the museum and is included in the ticket.

14.00, lunch in the docks

Aether and Echo, the Pocket and the Drawing Office No. 2 (in the Titanic Hotel) are all good lunch options. The Drawing Office is where the Titanic was actually designed. You can sit at the original drafting tables.

15.30, the Black Cab Tour

Pick up a Black Cab tour from the city centre or from your hotel. The standard route covers the Falls Road, the Shankill Road, the political murals and the peace walls, with a driver who lived through the period. It is the most powerful ninety minutes you can spend in any city in Europe. Cost about forty pounds for two people.

17.30, the Crown Liquor Saloon

End at the Crown Bar on Great Victoria Street. National Trust pub. The booths are private and the lamps are real gas. Order a Bushmills if you are willing.

Dinner

For first-timers: OX, on Oxford Street, has a Michelin star. Deanes Eipic is the long-running fine-dining choice. Mourne Seafood Bar in the Cathedral Quarter is the busy mid-priced option. James St South is reliable. Book a few days ahead in summer.

If you have a second day

Cave Hill is a half-day on its own, and the McArt's Fort viewpoint at the top gives you the city from a height. If the weather is poor, the Ulster Museum in the Botanic Gardens is excellent and free. If you have a car, the Causeway Coast and the Glens of Antrim are an hour and a half north.