Belfast, verdict by verdict

Belfast sells its story better than almost any city its size: the Titanic shipyard turned into a landmark museum, political murals explained properly on a black taxi tour, Victorian pubs in the Cathedral Quarter and St George's Market doing a famous breakfast. The Giant's Causeway and the Antrim coast sit an hour away, which turns a city break into a coast trip.

The caveat is scope and sky: Belfast is still a city recovering, the fabric outside the centre is patchy, and rain is a year-round fact that two straight days of it will test anyone's mood. The headline sights are mostly about the Troubles and the ship, which is the draw, but travelers wanting a polished, walk-everywhere Georgian core should pick Dublin and fly up for the Causeway instead.

Two days covers the city, plus one full day for the Causeway coast; May to September brings the longest days and driest odds, December pubs are excellent and January is cheapest and quietest. It suits history-and-atmosphere travelers, pub and live-music people, and anyone using the city as a base for the Antrim coast.