Its most prestigious courses are all less than 15 minutes by car from the city center. It takes a little break in the city combining golf, sightseeing while soaking up the sounds of local culture, nightlife and the culinary scene which offers many attractive proposals. Add in world-class attractions like the award-winning Titanic Belfast and it becomes a no-brainer.

You don't even need to rent a car. Stay in the heart of the city and take taxis to the fairways, as the golf course is so close. The proximity to its courses and airports also means that visiting golfers can play on the same day they arrive and leave, maximizing fairway time.

And once the golf is over, enjoy the nightlife of a once troubled city that was transformed in just over a decade and is today one of the most welcoming, vibrant and cosmopolitan cities. Europe, just as lively during the week as at the weekend.

Belfast Golf is very close to the heart of the city. Just five kilometers from its center, the Belvoir Park Golf Club is the closest course to town. Still, golfers feel a bit removed from the metropolis, both on its fairways, lined with tall trees, and The View's aptly named bar and restaurant, which overlooks the Black Mountains.

Malone Golf Club, just three miles from the town center, sits in a 330-acre wooded park on the Ballydrain Estate and its lodge, the 200-year-old former mansion, is accessible via a road lined with 'trees. Comprised of three nine-hole courses, two of which form its 18-hole championship course, including junior tees, its centerpiece is a 27-acre lake that comes into play on four of its closing holes. The club hosted the Irish Senior Championship in 2017.

Northern Ireland's oldest royal club, the Royal Belfast Golf Club, is located along Belfast Lough, the city's main seaport. Seven holes look over the lough, the 9th green and the 10th fairway playing alongside. The course is popular with cruise ship golf passengers who regularly visit Belfast Port and hosted the 2017 British Open Senior Women's Amateur Championship.

The modern Shandon Park clubhouse has one of the liveliest vibes in Belfast golf clubs, thanks in part to its many non-golfing social members, as the leafy suburb of Shandon Park has no other establishments catering. Its course is known for its narrow fairways lined with trees and shrubs.

The course of the Holywood Golf Club is short but it has produced a mercurial champion in Rory McIlroy, the young McIlroy sharpening his skills on the fairways and hilly greens of Holywood. Belfast Lough can be seen from its tallest holes, with the city and its iconic, yellow Harland and Wolff cranes visible from the 11th tee. In the club, a sanctuary for the club's favorite son includes photographs of his early years there and replicas of the US Open and US PGA trophies. Rory is still a member, as is his father, and he often makes friends with old friends when he returns to Northern Ireland.

Belfast, Malone, Royal Belfast, Shandon Park and Holywood have come together to organize an annual tournament open to invited golfers to present the city's golf, in collaboration with Tourism Northern Ireland, Visit Belfast and Tourism Ireland. The 2018 Belfast Parkland International Tournament will take place from May 23 to 25 at Shandon Park, Belvoir Park and Royal Belfast golf courses. It costs £ 99 per person and places can be reserved on the dedicated site: www.belfastparklandtournament.com

As Belfast Courts are also private clubs, club competitions are often held on weekends, and visitor departure times are not available until late in the day. A midweek vacation makes golfers much more likely to get their desired tee times on the days they want to play.

Away from the fairways, the £ 77million Titanic Belfast attraction, which opened in 2012, a century after the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank, was named a global tourist attraction at the World Travel Awards in December 2016 Its nine interactive galleries tell the story of the famous ocean liner alongside the quay where it was built. Belfast's Titanic Quarter also contains a restored version of the ocean liner, the SS Nomadic, and the recently reopened WWI museum ship, HMS Caroline.

Belfast City Hall is another opportunity to learn about the city's history, visiting the famous Crumlin Road Gaol, now a tourist attraction documenting its 150-year history, and a tour of the mighty political murals and historic buildings, some of which are framed by the towering porticoes of the Harland and Wolff shipyard, known as Samson and Goliath.

The city offers excellent shopping, too. And the decline in the value of the British Pound against currencies such as the Euro and the Dollar makes a visit even more interesting for foreign visitors.

At night, Belfast city center, the Cathedral Quarter, is the liveliest area and is eminently within walking distance, as is the adjacent Linen district, considered one of its most exciting areas.

There are pubs and bars across town. Among the most noteworthy, the historic Crown Liquor Saloon in the Linen Quarter, owned by the National Trust, features a tiled exterior and interior, an ornate carved ceiling, fabrics, and gas lighting. Many pubs and bars offer traditional live music, such as the always crowded Fibber Magee bar at the back of the Robinson pub, next to the Crown, where musicians play violins, pipes and bodhrans every night. Directly opposite is the four-star Europa Hotel, one of the city's best hotels for golfers and the most awarded hotel in Europe. Visitors can also try out traditional ceili dancing in several places.

The city enjoys an excellent reputation for its gastronomy and now offers a great choice of places to eat, from bistros and cafes to gourmet pubs, restaurants serving a wide range of international cuisines and quality restaurants. At the Titanic Quarter's Dock Café, customers can even choose what to pay for, as they have an honesty box instead of a fixed price list.

Besides being perfect for a city break, Belfast can also be a base for playing golf in other parts of Northern Ireland. Royal County Down is less than an hour's drive and the host of the Royal Portrush Open Championship is just over an hour's drive, with other courses also on hand.

One thing is certain: a golf stay in Belfast will leave you with lasting memories.

To find out more about Irish tourism: www.tourisme-irlande.fr