Come to Belfast!
The time of ‘The Troubles’ has passed, and Belfast no longer tops the Travel Advisory List where it was once lumped with Beirut, Baghdad, and Bosnia. This Northern Ireland city is busy redefining itself and here are eight reasons to witness Belfast’s dynamic comeback now:
One of the famous Belfast ‘Troubles’ murals
1. The Troubles Tour
‘The Troubles’ refers to thirty years of conflict between Protestants who wanted to continue allegiance to the United Kingdom and Catholics who preferred to become part of the Republic of Ireland. Cab driver tours roam neighborhoods once racked by violence and include stops to see the famous Belfast murals that often commemorate key events in the struggle.
A highlight of the tours is the infamous fence called the Peace Wall that separates Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. Surprisingly, the gated openings in the wall are still locked every night. Belfast has come a long way since The Troubles officially ended in 1998, but the backyards of many homes right along the Peace Wall remain covered with metal mesh to protect them from rocks being thrown over the fence.
The Circle at Crumlin Road Gaol
2. Crumlin Road Gaol
An entertaining guided tour divulges tales from the 150-year history (1845 – 1996) of this infamous prison fondly referred to as ‘The Crum.’ The Victorian architecture of the jail is quite striking with fancy wrought iron and spiral staircases decorating a multi-story central area known as The Circle. Four individual wings fan out from The Circle allowing less dangerous prisoners, such as children and suffragettes, to be isolated from the hardcore prison population. In later years, these wings were indispensible for separating warring political prisoners. At that time, a suicide net was added to The Circle — not to prevent suicides, but to stop prisoners from throwing each other over the railings.
Seventeen men were executed by hanging here, and the most disquieting part of the tour is a visit to the Condemned Man’s Cell where a secret door in the bathroom opens to reveal the hangman’s noose. This was considered a merciful arrangement since the prisoner would be so stunned, the hanging could be completed in no time!
The Titanic Belfast Museum
3. Titanic Belfast
The Titanic was built in Belfast, and her birthplace rightly celebrates the history of her birth (as the locals like to say, ‘She was alright when she left here!’). The brilliant exhibition called Titanic Belfast is no ordinary museum but a true Titanic experience. Located right next to the spot where Titanic was built, the museum uses reconstructions and impressive interactive audio and video features to recreate the brief life of the iconic ship.
Nine large galleries tell the story of the ship of dreams, beginning with her construction by the remarkable ship builders of Belfast and ending with an image of the underwater wreck viewed through a glass floor beneath your feet. High tech displays include recreations of the three different classes of staterooms (complete with holographic images of their occupants), and for a full immersion effect, a 3-sided surround screen allows visitors to take a ‘virtual walk’ through the ship from the Engine Room right up to Captain Smith’s bridge.
Titanic’s Dock and Pump-house
4. Titanic’s Dock and Pump-house
This may be the most authentic of all Titanic sites: the actual dry dock where Titanic was outfitted for her first and final voyage. This dry dock was built long before Titanic was even a blueprint, thanks to far-sighted Belfast industrialists who constructed the largest dock in the world to prepare for the new megaships to come.
When the exterior of the Titanic was completed, the dock was filled with water from the river and the ship was floated into place on keel blocks. Then, all the water was pumped out, allowing workers easy access to complete the finishing work. The Pump-house still holds the original 1911 pumps that once emptied 21 million gallons of water from the dock in a mere 100 minutes. A walk inside the dock provides a whole new appreciation for Titanic’s size – and she just barely fit!
SS Nomadic, Titanic’s ‘little sister’
5. SS Nomadic
The SS Nomadic was the tender ship for Titanic, and she is the world’s only remaining White Star Line ship. Like a living microcosm of her tragic ‘sister,’ the SS Nomadic was designed by the same architect as the Titanic (Thomas Andrews), constructed by the same workers, and built with the same materials – right down to the same rivets.
Even on this simple tender ship, the three classes were strictly segregated with separate gangways and distinctive service levels. First class passengers were treated to a well-stocked open bar while steerage passengers had to make do with a single water fountain. Much of the SS Nomadic is original and strolling her decks is the closest any one of us can get to setting foot on the Titanic!
Northern Ireland’s scenic Antrim Coast
6. Game of Thrones and the Antrim Coast
The television show Game of Thrones is filmed at Titanic Studios in Belfast, and fans of the series can visit many nearby filming locations. Recognizable sights from the show include castles, glens, and the ‘Dothraki sea.’
Most of the filming locations line the spectacularly scenic Antrim Coast, hyped as one of the five best coastal drives in the world. The coast road hugs the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean with stunning views, including an excellent glimpse of Scotland just eleven miles away at its closest point. Veering inland, the scenery is dominated by surprisingly colorful sheep that are splashed with pastel colors to easily identify their owners.
Strange rock formations of the Giant’s Causeway
7. Giant’s Causeway and Carrick Rope Bridge
Two other memorable experiences just outside of Belfast involve crossing the scary Carrick Rope Bridge (don’t worry no one has fallen off the bridge, yet) and climbing over the strange, basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway. The Carrick Rope Bridge was originally erected each year by fishermen who needed to cross the chasm (75-ft. deep and 65-ft. wide) to check their salmon nets. Now, adventurous visitors can stroll across the permanent rope bridge suspended high above the waves.
According to legend, the Giant’s Causeway was created when a giant ran across the sea from Scotland. A more scientific explanation suggests that the oddly shaped rocks were formed 60 million years ago during intense volcanic eruptions. In any case, the 40,000 stones and columns create a dramatic landscape of multifaceted shapes against the crashing sea.
Belfast restaurant street
8. Food and Drink
No visit to the Antrim Coast is complete without a stop at Old Bushmill’s Distillery, which claims to be the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world. And of course, the whole vicinity has a good selection of pubs for traditional fare. But in recent years, the Belfast restaurant and bar scene has been stealing all the attention. The Mourne Seafood Bar serves up top-quality, locally caught fish, and there are a wide range of trendy restaurants and bars with quirky names like ‘The Dirty Onion’ and ‘Filthy McNasties.’
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