My family plans wants to visit the Titanic Belfast in early November, on a Wednesday or Thursday. Our time will be limited to no more than half-a-day.
What time to you recommend we book, and how much time should we plan? Are there parts of it that are not as cool, that we should skip if time is not available to see it all? I'd appreciate your words of advice.
Many thanks!
Ron
Depends how much into Titanic lore you are. The museum itself is terrific - really world class - and focuses on the construction of the great ship at the Harland and Wolff shipyard. You could easily spend 3 or 4 hours there if you're really into this stuff.
There are attractions outside the museum too, including the original offices in a nearby building where Andrews and his design team did their work. Close by too is one of the tenders that serviced the ship from the port of Cherbourg - believe it was the one that took Molly Brown out to the ship before her date with the iceburg.
Best advice at any time of the year is to try to get there when it opens, and thus get in ahead of the crowds of day trippers arriving by bus a little later in the morning. It's a popular attraction all seasons of the year, though in November you should be spared the crush of the summertime crowds.
Thanks Robert!
Ron,
Although the museum is great (especially if you're a TITANIC novice and want to learn a lot), the real piece of TITANIC history is about a 10 minute walk down the street...the TITANIC Pump Room and Dry Dock. Originally build to hold the OLYMPIC Class liners, the Thompson Graving Dock (it's real name) was the largest dry dock in the world when it was finished in 1911. After TITANIC was launched, she was sent to a fitting out berth, and then towed to the dry dock for final preparations. There's a small admission fee, and you can actually walk down steps and walk along the bottom of the massive dry dock. It really gives you an idea of just how big the ship was. The original keel blocks on which the ship rested are still there.
Like I said, the museum is great...and well worth a visit. But the dry dock is a more tangent connection to the ship. It takes about an hour.
Hope this helps.
-Russ
