Belfast

The Titanic was designed, built, and launched in Belfast. The Harland & Wolff shipyard where this happened closed in 2019; the two yellow cranes that built the ship, Samson and Goliath, are still standing at the edge of the harbour and visible from most of east Belfast. The Titanic Belfast museum, which opened in 2012 on the centenary of the sinking, is the most visited tourist attraction in Northern Ireland and by most accounts worth the GBP 20 or so it costs. Plan two to three hours; the interactive galleries covering the ship’s design, construction, launch, and sinking are genuinely well done, and the upper floors, which most visitors miss when their energy flags mid-afternoon, cover ocean exploration and the discovery of the wreck.

The Titanic Quarter

The shimmering star-shaped museum anchors a regeneration area on the former shipyard. Adjacent is SS Nomadic, the last surviving White Star Line ship, which tendered passengers to Titanic from Cherbourg. HMS Caroline, a World War I light cruiser and the last surviving ship from the Battle of Jutland (1916), is moored nearby and has an excellent below-deck experience.

The Glider bus G2 runs from the city centre to the Titanic Quarter every 10 to 15 minutes for GBP 2.50; a taxi from the centre is around GBP 8 to 10.

The Murals

The political murals on the Falls Road (predominantly Republican) and Shankill Road (predominantly Unionist) are among the most significant pieces of public political art in Europe: large-scale, sophisticated, and still being updated as the political context of Northern Ireland continues to evolve. Black taxi tours run by local drivers from both communities are the most honest way to understand what you’re looking at; the drivers have personal histories with the Troubles, and the context they provide is different from what any museum gives you.

Eating

Ox on Oxford Street is the city’s most acclaimed restaurant: seasonal modern cooking built on local Northern Irish produce. Worth booking ahead for dinner. For something more casual, the Cathedral Quarter around Hill Street has the best concentration of independent restaurants. St George’s Market (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays) is the right place for a Saturday morning: street food vendors, local produce, and a covered Victorian market hall.

Getting There

Belfast has two airports: Belfast International (Aldergrove, for most charter and European airlines) and George Best City Airport, which handles UK domestic and some short-haul European routes and is closer to the city centre. From the ferry, Stena and P&O run services from Cairnryan in Scotland and Liverpool.