Museum sights in Belfast
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Ulster Museum
Recently reopened after a major revamp, the Ulster Museum is now one of the North's don't-miss attractions. You could spend several hours browsing the beautifully designed displays, but if you're pressed for time don't miss the Armada Room; Takabuti, a 2500-year-old Egyptian mummy; the Bann Disc; and the Snapshot of an Ancient Sea Floor.
On the ground floor, a potted history of the Troubles leads up to the first-floor History Zone where the Armada Room houses a display of artefacts and jewellery recovered from the 1588 wreck of the Girona and other Spanish Armada vessels. Among its many treasures is a 16th-century ruby-encrusted golden salamander, bronze cannons, and perso…
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Odyssey Complex
The Odyssey Complex is a huge sporting and entertainment centre on the eastern side of the river across from Clarendon Dock. The complex features a hands-on science centre, a 10,000-seater sports arena (home to the Belfast Giants ice-hockey team), a multiplex cinema with an IMAX screen, a video-games centre and a dozen restaurants, cafés and bars. Kids will love W5, an interactive science centre aimed at children of all ages.
The Odyssey Complex is a five-minute walk across the weir from the Lagan Lookout. Metro bus 26 from Donegall Sq West to Holywood stops at the complex (around £1, 5 minutes, hourly Monday to Friday only); the rather inconspicuous bus stop is on Syden…
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Titanic Quarter
Belfast's former shipbuilding yards - the birthplace of the RMS Titanic - stretch along the east side of the River Lagan, dominated by the towering yellow cranes known as Samson and Goliath. The area is currently undergoing a €1 billion regeneration project known as Titanic Quarter, which plans to develop the long-derelict docklands over the next 15 to 20 years.
There are plans to build an 'iconic attraction' in the Titanic Quarter in time for the centenary of the Titanic's launch in 2012. In the meantime, the informative and entertaining commentary on the Lagan Boat Company's Titanic Tour is the best way to learn about the history of the shipyards.
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Fernhill House: The People’s Museum
Beyond Shankill Rd, about 500m up Glencairn Rd, is Fernhill House: The People’s Museum. Set in a wealthy Victorian merchant’s villa, the museum contains a recreation of a 1930s working-class terraced house, exhibitions detailing the history of the Shankill district and the Home Rule crisis, and the largest collection of Orange Order memorabilia in the world. To get there, take bus 11B, 11C or 11D from Wellington Pl, at the north-west corner of Donegall Sq.
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Ulster Folk & Transport Museums
Really two museums in one, and lying on either side of the A2 road to Bangor, just north of Holywood, the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum is one of Northern Ireland's finest.
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