Overview
Harland & Wolff stands on Queen’s Island in Belfast Harbour, where the city meets Belfast Lough. This is not a museum. It is a working industrial site, and you cannot go in. What you can do is view the two yellow gantry cranes from public areas of Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, the cranes that have stood over the Belfast skyline for half a century. Keep clear of working entrances and fenced areas.
If you have one photograph to take here, take it of the cranes from the public waterfront.
The cranes and the docks
The twin gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, are the yard’s signature. Goliath was finished in 1969 and stands 96m; the taller Samson followed in 1974 at 106m. Each spans 140m and can lift 840 tonnes, and together they became a symbol of the city in their own right, long after most people forgot what they were for.
Navantia UK announced work in August 2026 to restore the cranes to working strength. Samson and Goliath remain landmarks on the skyline. Check waterfront access and follow any signs around works.
Beneath them lie the dry docks, built to take the biggest vessels afloat. Along the waterfront you can read the span of the place in the stonework and the fabrication halls: weathered brick from the age of rivets and steam beside the buildings where the work is done now.
A yard that built the Titanic
Harland & Wolff was founded on 11 April 1861 by Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff, and it grew into one of Belfast’s great employers.
The most famous ship built here is the RMS Titanic, one of the Olympic-class liners, launched on 31 May 1911 after months of fitting-out and millions of hand-driven rivets. The old slipways where she and her sisters were built were later filled in, and shipbuilding on that scale ended, though the yard never fully stopped work. The area’s fortunes turned again with Titanic Belfast, opened in 2012 on the edge of those original slips, which pulled visitors back to a waterfront that had spent decades in decline.
Walking the Maritime Mile
Follow the Maritime Mile to Titanic Belfast, where the old slipways are part of the visitor setting. Painted outlines on the ground are associated with where the Titanic and Olympic once stood. The route runs on to SS Nomadic and the quarter’s cafés and shops, and on a clear day the views reach across the water to the Belfast Hills.
Check separate admission and booking arrangements for SS Nomadic and the Thompson Dock tour. Use designated public routes and parking.
Practical information
Harland & Wolff is a secure, working industrial site. There is no public entry to the production areas.
- Getting there: the yard is in the Titanic Quarter, a short distance from Belfast city centre. Check current bus and rail options before you travel.
- Parking: use signed public Titanic Quarter parking.
- Safety: stay on public walkways and respect the barriers.
- Best light: come in low morning or late-afternoon light, when the sun catches the cranes.