25 MAY 2026 - BELFAST & TITANIC
EUROPA HOTEL, BELFAST
We started our day with a tour of the Belfast City Hall. Our guide was a Canadian who came to Ireland as a student, and married a fellow student here so she never left!
A view down the gorgeous staircase.
The Lord Mayor's Chain of Office. This dates to 1874. The medallion displays the coat of arms of Belfast, surrounded by the symbols of the four provinces of Ulster - a red hand for Ulster, a round tower for Munster, a harp for Leinster and a wolfhound for Connaught. The inscription reads "Erinn Go Bra" which means "Ireland Forever". The chain is made up of 38 tablets with the crests in enamel. The links are made up of the arms of the Mayors and Lord Mayors from 1842 to 1928. It is solid 18ct gold, and weighs 14 pounds!
These chairs were owned by Sir Crawford McCullagh. He lent them to Belfast City Hall to use when King George V and Queen Mary arrive in 1921 to open the first Northern Ireland Parliament session, and City Hall later purchased them for 150 pounds. When the chairs were restored, a piece of paper was found in the lining and it was discovered that they were two of a set of eight that belonged to the Portuguese Royal Family, who had been exiled following the Portuguese Rebellion of 1910. It is unknown how Sir Crawford managed to acquire these two, but Portugal has assured Belfast they will not ask for their return.
This is the embroidered coat of arms of Belfast, featuring a chained wolf and a seahorse. The Latin motto reads "Pro tanto quid retribuamus" translating to "For so much, what shall we give in return?" This carpet is on the floor in front of the Lord Mayor's chair in Belfast City Hall.
"The Famine Window". This stained glass window was commissioned to commemorate the plight of all those citizens of Belfast who died as a result of typhus and cholera in the years 1846-48 and who were laid to rest in the mass common graves in the Shankill, Friar's Bush, Clifton Street and Donegall Road graveyards.
The Garden of Remembrance is dedicated to members of the IRA who were killed during the Troubles, as well as civilians and deceased ex-prisoners. The Irish flag flies in this garden, and in 2024 the Palestinian flag began flying there as well.
A mural honouring Bobby Sands, the first IRA member to die during the 1981 Hunger Strike protesting the removal of Special Category Status (an agreement between the IRA and the government whereby IRA prisoners did not have to wear prison uniforms and were granted some special privileges).
The Belfast Peace Walls are a series of separation barriers that divide the predominantly Catholic/Nationist neighbourhoods from the predominantly Protestant/Unionist areas. Build in 1969 at the start of the Troubles as temporary structures, they are now permanent and 60 walls cover more than 34 km across the city.
People are still writing notes of encouragement and peace on the walls. Some of these walls are 8 feet high, with an additional 4-6 feet of corrugated iron and another 4 feet of wire above that.
Another example of a Peace Wall.
This is "Pandora's Jar", located on a building near our hotel. Created by street artist StarFighterA, it features a variation of the fable Pandora's Box. Many of the buildings in Belfast have artwork on them.
The Belfast Giants are a professional hockey team in Belfast. I loved the logo on their puck outside the SSE Arena - "In the land of giants, everyone is equal".
The Titanic Shipyard Museum. It is built to represent the Titanic with her sails flying. Eight stories tall. We enjoyed the historic aspect of the museum even though we're very familiar with the Titanic story and have visited several museums on the Titanic, but Shipyard Dark Ride was new and quite unique.
We got our tickets for the tour. Our guide was from New Brunswick! She said she was browsing a dating site on her computer in 2019 and a fellow chose her. She read that he was from Ireland and said "WTF?" Turned out he was working in Digby NS. They talked, and met, and then COVID hit and he had to go back to Ireland. They spent a year in a long distance relationship, and once the COVID restrictions lifted she came to Ireland to visit him - and got married!
The Titanic was built in this shipyard (Harland & Wolff) which was founded in 1861 and at it's peak employed 35,000 people. There were 3,000 workers for the Titanic alone. The last remaining White Star Line vessel in the world is docked here, the SS Nomadic, and is in the process of being restored. You can see one of the "Samson & Goliath" cranes in the background. These cranes have a span of 459 feet and can lift 840 tonnes up to 230 feet in the air. In testing, they have lifted 1,000 tonnes but the gantry bent 12 inches so they don't recommend trying this!
Following our visit to the Titanic Museum, we returned to our hotel for a free evening and decided to check out the famous pub across the road for dinner.
The interior of "The Crown Liquor Saloon", one of the oldest pubs in Belfast. It was opened in 1826. The bar is red granite with polished brass fittings and the footrest for the stools is heated!
The saloon has "snugs" which require a reservation as they're quite popular. You can enjoy the pub social events while being semi-private for dates or conversation.
There is a lot of stained glass in this saloon!
I really enjoyed this cider, while Gord indulged in a Kilkenny red beer. We ordered nachos but were severely disappointed - dumping a handful of tortilla chips on a plate and pouring Old El Paso cheese dip on top was NOT what we expected!
Following our visit to The Crown, we wandered back to the Belfast City Hall where the Belfast International Food Spring Market was happening. Over 70 vendors selling street food and artisan craft products. We enjoyed our time here, and everyone talked about the marvelous unseasonable weather they were enjoying which was perfect for a weekend with outdoor events!
Back to the hotel for a quiet night. Gord went for a walk and got lost!
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