Belfast’s Christmas Market is renowned as one of the liveliest and most cosmopolitan in the UK, with over a hundred international and local traders bringing their wares to the extensive and colourful selection of stalls set up in the City Hall Gardens. There will be plenty of retail opportunities at all of our other visits too, providing no shortage of gift ideas for your family and friends.

We begin at the grand house of Mount Stewart, which will get us into the festive spirit straight away with its crackling log fires, twinkling lights and Christmas tree, before continuing to our hotel for a welcome drink. The next day begins with a visit to the aforementioned Christmas Market before we transfer to Belfast’s most popular visitor attraction, the Titanic Experience. We continue with visits to the Ulster Museum, Northern Ireland's treasure house of the past and the present; the Botanic Garden, where two indoor visits provide shelter from whatever the weather may throw at us, and the distinguished surroundings of Queen’s University Belfast. Finally we call in at the Ulster Folk Museum, which as this time of year provides a taste of Christmas past in the authentically recreated village of Ballycultra.

We are based at the Award-winning Dunadry Hotel and Gardens, located on the banks of the Six Mile River in rural Co Antrim. While the building can trace its roots to the 1600s when it housed the High Kings of Ireland and its rich traditional features are still on show, they are now complimented by modern and contemporary décor and luxurious bedrooms. With its roaring fire this is the perfect spot to relax after a hard day’s Christmas shopping!

Our tour manager is local resident, garden designer, writer and broadcaster Trevor Edwards, who likes nothing better than showing visitors around his home turf.