George Best’s childhood home in Belfast available to book for overnight stay

The house in east Belfast’s Cregagh estate has been retro-refurbished by Eastside Partnership and Eastside Tourism and will form a new tourist experience with overnight stays available.

With funding from Tourism NI’s Visitor Experience Development Grant, the entire house has been made over to look like it did when George left Belfast to follow his football dreams in Manchester.

Visitors can enjoy flicking through old school reports and letters a young George sent home to his parents, looking at personal family photos as well as iconic images from George’s illustrious career and exploring an illustrated timeline of George’s incredible achievements.

For ardent George Best fans, or those looking for a truly unique experience, the house is available to book for an overnight stay including the very bedroom slept in by George himself.

Over the next few weeks, EastSide Tourism will announce details of an exciting new audio tour developed in partnership with George’s sister Barbara McNarry which will include fond childhood memories and stories of the family home. This will be available for day visitors to enjoy.

Purchased from the Best family in 2011, EastSide Partnership has sought to preserve and celebrate the legacy of the area’s home-grown footballing legend.

Looking forward to opening the doors to the new George Best House visitor experience Chris Armstrong, EastSide Tourism said: “EastSide Partnership and EastSide Tourism are delighted to open the doors to this fantastic new visitor experience at the George Best House in Cregagh Estate, east Belfast.

“The retro-refurbishment of George Best House will transport visitors back to the 60s to a very special and important time in George’s life.

“This is a unique experience for fans of George Best. This project would not have been possible without the support of Tourism NI’s Visitor Experience Development Programme which has enabled us to enhance the visitor experience at the George Best House.”

Caroline Bell, Funding Manager, Tourism NI said: “Tourism NI is delighted to have provided funding from our Experience Development Programme for this very distinctive and engaging experience associated with one of Northern Ireland’s sporting legends.

“It will add to the range and quality of visitor experiences in the east of Belfast and meet the increasing demand for local and authentic tourism offerings”.

To book a stay in the George Best House visit www.GeorgeBestHouse.com and to find out more about upcoming tours visit www.VisitEastSide.com For more information on EastSide Partnership visit www.eastsidepartnership.com, www.facebook.com/EastSidePship

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