RING OF BELFAST – PART III

“Some cities are known for kings. Others for castles. Belfast became famous because of a ship that was supposed to be unsinkable.”

After exploring Belfast’s hills, gardens and historic centre, it was finally time to visit the place known around the world.

Titanic Quarter.

More than a century ago this was a landscape of shipyards, cranes and thousands of workers. Today it is one of Northern Ireland’s most visited attractions.

Yet Belfast is not famous because Titanic sank.

Belfast is famous because Titanic was built here.

The story begins with Harland & Wolff, one of the world’s greatest shipbuilding companies.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, White Star Line ordered three extraordinary ships:

• Olympic
• Titanic
• Britannic

Titanic was launched from Belfast in 1911 and immediately became a symbol of engineering ambition.

Today visitors can walk across the original slipways where the ship once stood.

The centrepiece of the district is Titanic Belfast, an award-winning museum built on the very site where the ship was designed and constructed.

Nearby stands another remarkable survivor of the era.

SS Nomadic.

This small vessel carried passengers to Titanic at Cherbourg and remains the last surviving ship of the White Star Line.

Above everything tower Samson and Goliath, the giant yellow cranes that have become symbols of modern Belfast.

Titanic Quarter is more than a tribute to a famous ship.

It is the story of a city that transformed its industrial past into one of Europe’s most successful waterfront redevelopments.

And our Belfast journey is far from over.

Next stop: murals, Peace Lines and the stories that still shape the city’s identity today.