Titanic Belfast Museum
The Story of Great Irish Shipbuilders and the Huge Disaster
Day 13 – Visit to the Six Story Modern Museum
Built next to Belfast's once booming dry dock, the museum is a magnificent architectural wonder. Its four aluminum-clad projecting corners represent some of the many ships once built when Belfast was a thriving industrial center.
The shipbuilding industry was dominated by Belfast's Harland and Wolff Company, and their huge yellow cranes (Samson and Goliath) still stand today.
Harland & Wolf built the Titanic, Olympic and Britannic for the White Star Line, a major shipping company which operated ships out of England. They were designed to be the largest luxury liners carrying passengers across the Atlantic.
Our self-guided tour started with an elevator ride up to the sixth floor. There was much to see and interact with as we made our way to the ground floor.
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The museum includes exhibits detailing the ship's construction, historic photographs, displays of the opulent first class accommodations and the basic provisions in the third class quarters, as well as a retelling of the tragic disaster.
When we reached the ground floor, we stood in front of the large windows, looking out toward the old shipyard, and imagined standing on the ship's bow.
Final Walk through Belfast
Our last daily itinerary posted in the hotel.
After the Titanic tour, Mark dropped us off near the docks, on the city side of the river that separates the city center and the Titanic quarter. On our walk back to the hotel, Paul pointed out landmarks including the Big Fish and Albert Clock Tower.
Albert Clock was built in 1857 as a memorial to Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert. The tower sits on soft ground; thus the tilt!
Scales on the 1999 33-foot fish are each decorated with historic images, newspaper headlines and drawings submitted by school children.
