When you have children of varying ages, holiday planning becomes that bit trickier. After all, what suits one, might not suit another, and is there anything worse than hearing the plaintive cry of “I’m bored”, when you’ve put so much time, energy – and money – into planning a trip?With three boys, aged six, 15 and 17, city breaks that please everyone aren’t always a given. But Belfast, with its past on display at the Titanic and tours of the Troubles, and its present evident in its shopping streets, markets and restaurants, promised to deliver a welcome break for our family. So did this city break satisfy the trio of different interests? Depending on where you travel from on the island of Ireland, Belfast can be a quick hop, or a five hour plus slog. Travelling from Dublin gave us the option of the train, which takes about two hours door-to-door, so the plan was that I would get a morning train, along with the six and 15-year-old, with the others driving up later that day. So, on a bright spring morning, we strolled down the platform at Connolly Station to find our seats in the F carriage. But, having passed all the carriages from A-D, we found that after E came G; the F carriage, and our seats in it, were in “maintenance”. Luckily, packed carriages aside, we found some new seats, and were soon on our way. It’s a pleasant, scenic route, as you pass the Irish Sea and windmill in Skerries. Fares are keen too, and given the price of petrol, might be a cheaper option – you can expect adult fares from €13.99 one-way, and kids from €8.You also arrive into the shiny new Grand Central Station, more like an airport than a train station, just a handy 10-minute walk from the city centre. We ended up getting there much faster than the other half of our group, whose rush-hour drive up from Dublin took a painful three hours.From the large yellow Harland and Wolff gantry cranes seen from our hotel window, to the memorial garden at City Hall, the presence of the Titanic in Belfast is hard to miss. And so, the unsinkable ship, which hit that fateful iceberg 114 years ago, was our first destination.[ ‘Belfast is perfectly positioned for excursions in almost any direction’Opens in new window ]It’s an impressive museum, bringing you through boomtime Belfast; to the dangers involved in building the ship; to the fit-out and luxury of the first-class cabins; to its launch and subsequent sinking. The Never Again gallery is one of four new galleries in the newly refurbished Titanic Belfast. Photo: Titanic Belfast/PA Best perhaps for kids aged 8 and over, younger children will nonetheless enjoy aspects such as the shipyard ride, in which you sit in a rotating car and are taken through the history of the ship being built. The special effects will also be a hit, such as the glass-floor Ship of Dreams, which allows you to look down on to a recreation of the wreck on the sea floor.A big hit for our six-year old was the Nomadic SS, a mini Titanic if you will, included in the price of your ticket. It’s the ship that brought passengers to the Titanic when it docked at Cherbourg, and is now located in a dry dock outside the museum where you can explore its four decks at your leisure.Also on view was the life jacket worn by survivor Laura Mabel Francatelli, a first-class passenger who was travelling to Chicago as the secretary of British fashion designer Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon, wife of Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, who was also on board. Since our visit, it sold for £670,000 at auction, and so is no longer part of the exhibition.Any visit also serves to reinforce the futility of what happened the boat on a calm night in April 1912. A memorable aspect is the “never again” section, which deals with everything that went wrong on-board, from the lack of binoculars, to the speed at which the ship was travelling. You’ll also find yourself stopping to read the board with the names of the more than 1,500 victims.You’ll pay £62 for a family of four at the Titanic Experience, and under-fives go free. You can expect to spend two hours visiting the exhibits – although there can be a queue for the shipyard ride at busier times. The Titanic Experience: The Shipyard Ride will likely be a hit with younger children For movie lovers, a lighthearted way to finish the museum trip – which carries an emotional punch – is to recreate the famous “I’m flying” scene, with a specially created bow of the ship. Perfect for those Insta snaps.The nearby W5 science museum (from £10.50 for adults/£9 per child) was a hit with the youngest member of the family. Not unlike Dublin’s Explorium, W5 is primarily aimed at children aged three to 11, so we divided and conquered here, by sending the older boys to check out the shops. Historical BelfastBelfast's distinctive Harland and Wolff gantry cranes could be seen from our hotel window If the Titanic Museum delivered much about turn of the century Belfast, what about its more recent history?While black cab tours of the city’s conflict are a popular option in Belfast, we decided on a walking tour.Given the torrential rain on the morning of our tour, it at first appeared to be a bad choice – and our six-year old soon gave up, opting for the safe haven of Waterstones – but the falling rain soon felt inconsequential, and splitting up once more proved to be the best decision to keep everyone happy. Our History of Terror tour, booked with DC Tours (10.30am daily, tickets £24), took us through an overview of the origins of strife in the north, and then focused on locations that were of significance to the conflict, including Victoria’s Secret on Donegall Place, a former nightclub bombed in the 1970s, and the Beacon of Hope, a 15m metal sculpture which extends high over the river Lagan.Delivered by an American guide, with a very deep – and neutral – knowledge of the Troubles, she made it sound like the historical events were happening right in front of us, keeping the teenagers walking and interested for two a half hours.Informed by the tour, we then drove through Shankill Road and the Falls’ Road – the murals, flags and memorials were an experience for the teenagers. Hitting the shopsSephora in Belfast is still packing in the crowds since it opened earlier this year. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire From the past, back to the present. While Belfast typically may offer much of the same shops as any other Irish city, lately it has begun to get some new names – and we found something for everyone. Like the Apple store, where teenagers will happily while away an hour or so. Check ahead for free workshops, such as an hour-long session on capturing better video with an iPhone, or drawing with an Apple pencil on an iPad. In the nearby Victoria Square, Sephora is still packing in the crowds since it opened earlier this year. While I may have been shopping in the French beauty chain since before most of the tween and teen girls in the queue were even born, I nonetheless braved the crowds and took my place. It’s bigger than expected, with exclusive brands like Rhode and Merit you can’t try on anywhere else. And, it’s conveniently located beside a Lego shop, so you can send the kids in there, while you take your time browsing.Another shopping highlight for the six-year-old (and me) was the large Waterstones bookshop (which closed its Dublin branches back in 2011). It has an excellent kids section, and we fortuitously happened upon a story time and arts session there. [ How to get to shopping heaven in Belfast: great shops you won’t find down southOpens in new window ]The older boys loved browsing for CDs at HMV, which was deemed to have a much better selection than anywhere in Dublin (and a surprisingly good book selection). Finally, a quick dash into Anthropologie for me, where you’ll find fabulous – but not cheap – clothes and homewares.On the drive back to Dublin, we stopped off at The Boulevard, an outlet shopping centre in Banbridge. A bit like Kildare Village, it has many of the same names – Nike, Adidas, Joules, Kate Spade etc – as well some new ones, like Next and Marks & Spencer. So did the trip hit the mark?Well, perhaps the best judge of a holiday is how much you want to go back; and with St George’s Market still to visit, as well as a trip north of the city to the Giant’s Causeway, there’s still a lot to do.Belfast, we’ll be back.Fiona and her family were guests of the Voco Belfast, and Titanic Belfast.Where to stayVoco is an easy 10-minute walk or so from the city centre We stayed in the Voco, a four-star hotel (formerly a Radisson) along the river Lagan. It’s an easy 10-minute walk from the city centre. With a double room adjoining a room with three single beds, there was more than enough room for a family of five, with child-friendly treats included, like activity books, and a voucher for milk and cookies at the bar.Its location also meant we almost never used the car – we walked along the Lagan towpath all the way to the Titanic Experience, for example.If you’d rather cycle, there is a Belfast Bikes hire point at the side of the hotel, just sign up before you go. The city has a wealth of other accommodation options, most within a stone’s throw of the centre. If heading to Belfast this summer for the Fleadh, from August 2nd to 9th, some cheaper options include the Premier Inn, Travelodge and Ibis.For a treat, the Bedford Hotel, a boutique five-star hotel, has just opened in the historic Scottish Mutual Building on Donegall Square.Family-friendly diningA local friend recommended Sawers, for a casual lunch. There was something for everyone – with sandwiches like the Belfast Black Taxi (black buttered Irish pulled beef, with streaky bacon and cheese, £9.95) enough to sate the biggest of teenage appetites.We also tried Fifteens, a local no-bake traybake made with condensed milk, and 15 each of the following: marshmallows, digestive biscuits and cherries, topped with desiccated coconut. Dinner one evening was in the excellent Italian restaurant Pomo in the Voco hotel. Pizza, burgers and hake, finished off with brownies and ice cream. It also offers a very keenly priced midweek menu, the Taste of Ulster (three courses for £37), with options including home-made Fermanagh boxty, and Guinness sticky toffee pudding.Breakfast in the hotel is a buffet, but you can order freshly cooked eggs to your table. There’s a kid’s corner to keep the smallies happy, replete with pancakes, Nutella, marshmallows and little plastic goblets and straws.Another evening we went to Orto, a 10-minute walk away from our hotel on Bedford Street. Recommended by friends, we sensibly booked in advance, as it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. Delicious pizza on crispy light bases, for about £16, its own branded beer and delicious desserts like an orange and almond cake. It also has a great kids menu, with a sizeable pizza and ice cream for £9.50.If you’re looking for a budget lunch option, Greggs on Donegall Square was a hit with the teenagers – you can get a sandwich, drink and its famed sausage roll for £5.