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Belfast Christmas Market Private Day Tour from Dublin
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From €1050 per person
Belfast hosts Ireland’s largest Christmas market, spread out in front of City Hall with over 100 traders - a mix of local artisans and international stalls representing more than 30 nationalities. The smells of mulled wine and hot chocolate hit you as soon as you arrive. You’ll find hog roast, Italian chocolates, beer tents, a vintage carousel, Santa’s Grotto and the Santa train all in one place.
This is a private day trip from Dublin, so the vehicle is yours for the day. You’ll also have time to explore Belfast’s Christmas shopping district and soak up the atmosphere in the city centre.
The trip runs for approximately 8 hours in total.
The market runs in front of City Hall - arrive with a plan. Over 100 stalls spread across the grounds and the side streets, so it’s worth one circuit first before you buy. The hog roast and mulled wine stalls are on the City Hall side; the artisan and gift traders tend to cluster toward the edges. The vintage carousel is at the north end near the Donegall Square North entrance.
Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter is five minutes on foot from City Hall. If you want a proper lunch or a drink away from the market crowds, walk north up Donegall Place and into the side streets around Hill Street and Commercial Court. Kelly’s Cellars on Bank Street has been there since 1720, does a decent pint, and is considerably quieter than anything next to the carousel. The Crown Liquor Saloon on Great Victoria Street is the National Trust gin palace worth seeing - tilework, snugs, gas-lit feel - ten minutes’ walk south from City Hall.
St George’s Market is worth a separate look. On May Street, a five-minute walk from City Hall, St George’s Market (Friday 8am-2pm, Saturday 9am-3pm, Sunday 10am-3pm) is a Victorian covered market with local food traders, coffee and live music on Sundays. In December the Saturday market overlaps with the Christmas Market week, so you can do both in one morning.
Allow for the drive time. Dublin to Belfast is just over 100 miles - about 1 hour 50 minutes at the speed limit, with no border infrastructure. The 8-hour tour day means you’re getting a solid 4 to 5 hours in Belfast itself. Your private vehicle means you’re not tied to a group schedule, but the driver still needs to start back in time for Dublin.