TRAVELING IN STYLE : CORRESPONDENTS’ CHOICE : HISTORICAL HANGOUTS

Five Times correspondents from around the world offer thumbnail sketches, from cities they have covered, of places where people gather and memorable things happen.

THE EUROPA HOTEL, Belfast

ALMOST SINCE THE “TROUBLES” BEGAN IN NORTHern Ireland more than two decades ago, the Europa has been a Belfast institution--a place where you can get a decent room, but more important, a place where Protestants and Catholics, Unionists and Republicans alike can meet with journalists over lunch, dinner or drinks without fear of harm.

At one time, the Europa’s staff boasted that it was the most-bombed building in Belfast. When windows in guest rooms were shattered, wooden boards were placed over them, and the hotel offered a much-reduced “hardboard rate” for those quarters. These days, the Europa is no longer targeted by bombers--though, like the refurbished Belfast Opera House next door, it sometimes loses windows from a random blast.

Belfast is enjoying a revival. Tourism officials rightly stress the beauty of the surrounding countryside, and ordinary citizens are helpful. Meanwhile, at the Europa, the staff remains of good cheer, and the lobby bar remains a welcoming perch from which to observe one of the more intractable quarrels in Europe.