Titanic Belfast, a Visitor Guide
Titanic Belfast stands on the slipways where the ship was built, in what was the Harland and Wolff yard, and the building is shaped like four ship’s prows standing on end. Inside, nine galleries take you from the Belfast of 1900 through the design, the building and the launch, out onto the Atlantic, down to the night she sank, and on to the finding of the wreck seventy three years later.
It opened in 2012, a hundred years after Titanic sailed, and it is the reason most visitors come to this side of the river. The standard ticket also takes you aboard SS Nomadic, the tender that carried first class passengers out to Titanic at Cherbourg, and the last White Star Line ship still afloat.
The thing to sort out before you travel is the ticket. Entry is by timed slot, the online price is lower than the walk-up price, and through the summer the good slots go days ahead. Allow more time than you think as well, because very few people get round it in an hour.
This guide covers what is in the galleries, what the tickets cost, what the opening hours actually are through the year, how long to allow, where to park, and what else is worth your time in the Titanic Quarter while you are down there.
What Is in This Guide
What You See Inside Titanic Belfast
The exhibition runs over nine galleries and you work your way down through the building rather than round it.
It starts in Boomtown Belfast, the city at the turn of the century, when linen, rope and shipbuilding were all going at once. The Shipyard comes next, and that is where the Shipyard Ride is. Then The Launch, which puts you on the slipway on 31 May 1911, The Fit-Out, The Maiden Voyage, The Sinking on the night of 14 April 1912, Never Again on the inquiries that followed, Ballard’s Quest on the finding of the wreck, and The Ship of Dreams. You come out through The Lasting Legacy on the ground floor.
The slipways themselves are outside the door. Titanic and Olympic were built on the two long aprons of concrete running down towards the water, and you can walk on them for nothing.
A word on the names. The ticket is called the Titanic Experience, Belfast has only one, so if you have been looking at Titanic Experience Belfast online, this is the same place. Plenty of people call it the Titanic Belfast museum, although the staff would say experience rather than museum, because most of what you walk through is recreated rather than salvaged. It is the Titanic exhibition Belfast is known for, and of all the Belfast attractions it is the one that explains the city itself.
Visitor information
Opening times. They move with the season. January to March and November to December, 9.45am to 5pm. April, May and October, 8.50am to 6pm. June, 8.30am to 7pm. July and August, 8.30am to 7.30pm. September, 8.30am to 6pm. Closed 24, 25 and 26 December.
Last admission. One hour forty minutes before closing for the Titanic Experience, thirty minutes before closing for SS Nomadic.
Tickets. Adult £24.95 online, £26.95 on the door. Child aged 5 to 15, £11 online. Under 5s free. Family pass £62 online. Student or over 60, £21.95 online, Monday to Friday. SS Nomadic is included.
How long to allow. Titanic Belfast puts an average visit at an hour and a half to two and a half hours including SS Nomadic, and three to four hours with the optional tours.
Where it is. 1 Olympic Way, Queen’s Road, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9EP. About a mile and a half from the city centre, a 25 to 30 minute walk.
Parking. 520 paid spaces underneath the building, height limit 6 feet 10 inches. Pay and display car parks on Queen’s Road take anything taller.
Titanic Belfast Tickets and Opening Hours
Book online before you travel. It is cheaper than the walk-up price, entry is by timed slot, and in summer the good slots go days ahead.
Online prices. Adult £24.95, child aged 5 to 15 £11, under 5s free, family pass £62, student or over 60 £21.95 Monday to Friday. On the door those become £26.95, £13, £68 and £23.95. Standard admission includes SS Nomadic.
Opening hours. They change through the year. The building opens at 8.30am in June, July and August and closes at 7.30pm at the height of the summer, while in the winter months it is 9.45am to 5pm. Last admission to the galleries is one hour forty minutes before closing, so an afternoon arrival needs watching.
Check the hours on the Titanic Belfast website the week you travel, because the dates move and there are a few early closes.
The Shipyard Ride
The Shipyard Ride sits inside the second gallery and it is the part children talk about afterwards. You sit into a car that climbs through a full size recreation of the gantries, with the noise of the yard around you, and it gives you the scale of the ship better than any model.
It is included in the standard ticket. There can be a queue at busy times, which is one more reason to take an early slot.
SS Nomadic, the Last White Star Line Ship Afloat
SS Nomadic is berthed in Hamilton Dock, a few minutes walk from the main building, and she is included in your ticket.
She was built at Harland and Wolff alongside Titanic, and she was the tender that carried first class passengers out to the ship at Cherbourg, where the harbour was too shallow for Titanic to come alongside. She is the last White Star Line vessel still afloat.
Her hours are shorter than the main building, usually from 10am or 11am, and last entry is thirty minutes before she closes. Do not leave her to the end of the day.
Visitor information
Tickets. Included in the standard Titanic Belfast ticket, so there is nothing extra to buy.
How long to allow. An hour to an hour and a half on board.
Facilities. Audio tours in English, French, Italian and Spanish. Hamilton Dock has step free access, but the Flying Bridge deck and the crew areas cannot be reached by wheelchair, and there are uneven surfaces and low steps on board.
Where it is. Hamilton Dock, Queen’s Road, Titanic Quarter, a few minutes walk from the main Titanic Belfast building.
How Long to Allow and When to Go
Titanic Belfast puts an average visit at an hour and a half to two and a half hours including SS Nomadic, and three to four hours if you add the optional tours. Most people take longer than they planned.
The quietest slots are the first of the day and the last couple of hours. Midday in July and August is the busiest the building gets, and it backs up in the upper galleries where everybody starts.
If you are pairing it with the Causeway Coast, take an early slot and drive north afterwards. Leaving it until the way back rarely works, because the last admission is earlier than people expect.
Getting to Titanic Belfast and Parking
Titanic Belfast is about a mile and a half from the city centre, a 25 to 30 minute walk along the river, and the walk is flat the whole way.
There are 520 paid spaces in the car park underneath the building, with a height limit of 6 feet 10 inches. Anything taller, a campervan or a car with a roof box, needs one of the pay and display car parks on Queen’s Road.
On public transport, Metro services 26, 26A, 26B and 26C run from the city centre, the Glider has a halt at the door, and Titanic Quarter railway station is about 15 minutes walk away.
What Else Is in the Titanic Quarter
The slipways run down to the water right outside the building and cost nothing to walk.
A few minutes further on is Thompson Dock, the dry dock where Titanic was fitted out and where she last rested on dry land. The pump house beside it is now Titanic Distillers, the first working whiskey distillery in Belfast in around ninety years, and their Dock Tour takes you down to the floor of the dock itself. Standing at the bottom of it does more for the scale of her than anything indoors.
The old Harland and Wolff drawing offices, where she was designed, are now the Titanic Hotel, and HMS Caroline, the First World War cruiser that fought at Jutland in 1916, is berthed in Alexandra Dock a short walk away.
If you have half a day down here rather than two hours, that is how to fill it.
Visitor information
Titanic Slipways. Right outside Titanic Belfast, 1 Olympic Way, BT3 9EP. Open ground, free and open at any time.
Thompson Dock and Titanic Distillers. Queen’s Road, Belfast BT3 9DT. Tours are booked online on the Titanic Distillers website: the Dock Tour from £10 per adult for an hour in the dock, the Signature Tour of the distillery with a tasting from £20, and the two hour Premium Tour of both from £35.
HMS Caroline. Alexandra Dock, Queen’s Road, Belfast BT3 9DT. Open Friday to Sunday with guided tours from 10am to 3:15pm, and free flow visits in Northern Ireland school holidays. Adult £9.95, child £7.95, over 65 £8.95, under fives and carers free.
Titanic Hotel Belfast. In the former Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices on Queen’s Road, a short walk from Titanic Belfast.
Titanic Belfast FAQ
How Much Are Titanic Belfast Tickets?
Booked online, an adult is £24.95, a child aged 5 to 15 is £11, under 5s are free, and a family pass is £62. A student or over 60 ticket is £21.95 Monday to Friday. On the door those prices rise to £26.95, £13, £68 and £23.95. SS Nomadic is included either way.
Do You Need to Book Titanic Belfast in Advance?
Yes, book online. Entry is by timed slot, the online price is lower than the walk-up price, and through the summer the good slots go days ahead.
How Long Does Titanic Belfast Take?
Titanic Belfast puts an average visit at an hour and a half to two and a half hours including SS Nomadic, and three to four hours with the optional tours. Most people take longer than they planned.
What Are the Titanic Belfast Opening Hours?
They move with the season. January to March and November to December, 9.45am to 5pm. April, May and October, 8.50am to 6pm. June, 8.30am to 7pm. July and August, 8.30am to 7.30pm. September, 8.30am to 6pm. Closed 24, 25 and 26 December.
Is SS Nomadic Included in the Titanic Belfast Ticket?
Yes. Standard admission to the Titanic Experience includes entry to SS Nomadic, which is berthed a few minutes walk away in Hamilton Dock. Her hours are shorter, so see her before the end of the day.
Is There Parking at Titanic Belfast?
Yes, 520 paid spaces in the car park underneath the building, with a height limit of 6 feet 10 inches. Anything taller needs one of the pay and display car parks on Queen’s Road.
Where Is Titanic Belfast?
1 Olympic Way, Queen’s Road, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9EP. It is about a mile and a half from the city centre, a 25 to 30 minute walk along the river.
How Many Galleries Are There at Titanic Belfast?
Nine. You work your way down through the building, starting with Boomtown Belfast and finishing in The Lasting Legacy on the ground floor.
What Is the Shipyard Ride at Titanic Belfast?
A ride inside the second gallery that carries you up through a full size recreation of the gantries while the yard is built around you. It is included in the standard ticket and there can be a queue at busy times.
Is Titanic Belfast Worth Visiting?
If you have any interest in how the ship was built, or in Belfast itself, yes. It is on the ground where she was designed, built and launched, and the slipways are outside the door. If you want to see wreck artefacts, be aware this is a story told through the city and the yard rather than a hall full of salvaged objects.
When Did Titanic Belfast Open?
In 2012, a hundred years after Titanic sailed.
Is Titanic Belfast Good for Children?
Yes. The Shipyard Ride is the part younger children remember, under 5s go free, and a family pass covers two adults and two children, or one adult and up to four children.