The full Titanic experience is a mixture of several locations which all connect to this fascinating and intriguing story, Sites which can be considered key in the story are:   Titanic Building on Queens Island, this covers the whole story within its cavernous interior and is promoted as the main 'Titanic' attraction in Belfast though there are several other sites which have authentic physical connections to the liner which we shall touch on here. The building has several experiences which you can purchase online as well as tickets for three other sites. The drawing rooms of Harland & Wolff have now been renovated into a boutique hotel and are used for events and functions as is the main Titanic building.

The slipways in front of the Titanic building are very impressive and spacious, once you figure out that the rust-covered girders with lights on represent the stanchions of the Arrol Gantry which carried the overhead cranes. The slipways are free to access and enjoy, you can walk here from the city centre passing the SSE Stadium, the Nomadic, the slipways and on to the Great Light. The blue illuminated hulls give a real sense of scale for these liners especially as daylight fades. The Thompson Dock and Pumphouse are another must-see experience, this is where the Titanic was fitted out and again the depth of it gives you a real sense of scale, the pumphouse houses the famous Gwynne marine pumps which at the time were the largest and most powerful pumps in the world, they emptied the dock where Titanic and many other ships were fitted out or repaired. Here you can buy a self-guided tour or join a guided one, there is also a cafe inside the pumphouse.

Close to the Titanic building is the 'Nomadic' which was a service ship for the great liners at Cherbourg, this ship was fitted out in the Hamilton Graving Dock which she now occupies. A fabulous connection to the Titanic and a fascinating vessel to visit which carries many unique stories including those of famous people who were ferried on her. If you were ever in a floating restaurant in Paris near the Eiffel Tower then this might have been that restaurant as she was rescued from there, brought back to Belfast and was fully restored. These are the key sites on Queens Island, also there is HMS Caroline, a unique Royal Navy cruiser built by the Cammell Laird shipyard at Birkenhead in 1914, she is in the Alexandra Dock adjacent to the Thompson Dock and Pumphouse. The other site which is part of this story is the Thane Sculpture and Titanic Memorial Garden in the grounds of City Hall and free to access. This is well worth seeing and poignant reminder of the huge loss of life which the story includes.