Seven Places on Earth that were Touched by the Titanic.

Do you need a little more Titanic in your life? Are you looking for a new vacation that will feed your appetite for Titanic? From Great Britain to Canada to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, here are some of the places in Titanic history that are worth a visit.

The Belfast shipyard of Harland & Wolff

The largest ship in the world was built in the Harland & Wolff shipyard, with her sister ship the Olympic being built alongside. Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911 and during the next year she completed sea trials in the Belfast Lough. In Belfast's "Titanic Quarter" you can visit the Thompson Dock where the Titanic was launched, the buildings where her parts were constructed, and the Harland and Wolff Headquarters and Drawing Offices. Under construction is a museum called the Titanic Signature Project, due to be completed by the centennial of the launch in 2012.

For a water-side view you can explore the shipyard on the Titanic Boat Tour. You can also be chauffered around many of the cities Titanic sites by Titanic Tours Belfast, or take the cities Titanic Walking Tour. You can buy a T-shirt reflecting the Belfast view of the disaster that reads "She was alright when she left here."

Southampton, England
Ocean Dock, Maritime Museum and other Titanic Sites

The Titanic sailed from it's Belfast shipyard and arrived in Southampton dock on Friday, April 5, 1912. She spent the next five days in Dock Gate 4 while a crew was hired, coal and other supplies were loaded and eventually the passengers came on board. At around noon on April 10 she was guided out of the dock by tugboats and, after a near collision with the liner New York, began her journey across the English channel to Cherbourg, France. She picked up passengers in Cherbourg and then in Queenstown, Ireland before setting out on the open ocean.

Dock Gate 4, which was built to house the three great White Star liners, is now called Ocean Dock. The Titanic sailed from Berth 44. There is a memorial in the Ocean Dock, which you can see after going through a security check. However you can not see Berth 44 without making special arrangements with the British Port.

While you are in Southampton there are several other Titanic memorials and places of interest. Some first class passengers, among them Bruce Ismay and Thomas Andrews, stayed at The Southwestern Hotel on Canute Street the night before the Titanic sailed. There is a Titanic memorial at the Hollyrood Church on High Street dedicated to the firemen, stewards and crew from Southampton who died on the Titanic. The Grapes is a popular pub on Oxford Street where ship's crews were known to have a last drink or two before departure. The three Slade brothers, scheduled to work on the Titanic, were having just such a drink and left the pub a little too late on April 10. They just missed the gangplank and the Titanic sailed without them, which turned out to be a good thing for them!

The Southampton Maritime Museum on Town Quay Road has an interesting history, having been a wool warehouse, housed prisoners of war, and been an aircraft factory. Titanic enthusiasts will be interested in the exhibit called "Titanic - Southampton Remembers". The exhibition includes film footage, survivor interviews and artifacts. Many of the Titanic's crew were from Southampton. The wooden panel "Honor and Glory Crowning Time" from the Olympic is on exhibit here as well. It is a replica of the panel at the top of the grand staircase on the Titanic.

Cobh, Ireland (Queenstown)

Queenstown, as the town was known then, was the Titanic's last port of call where many Irish passengers boarded. She arrived at 11:30am on April 11, and stopped at Roches Point while the passengers were ferried out in tenders. Of the 123 new passengers, 3 were first class, 7 were second class and the rest were steerage. While the Titanic was in this harbor a lot of small vessels carried vendors out to the ship where they sold Irish lace and other local crafts to the wealthy passengers. Titanic weighed anchor again at 1:30pm and set out to sea with a total of 2206 people on board.

Cobh was this town's original Irish name. At some point it was changed to Queenstown, no doubt by the British, and kept that name for several decades before being renamed Cobh in 1922. In 1998 the The Titanic Historical Society and the Irish Titanic Historical Society erected a stone monument in Pearse Square with a plaque commemerating the Titanic. You can also see the building that housed the White Star Line Offices, and the pier where passengers boarded the tenders to be ferried out to the ship.

The Atlantic Ocean: Site of the Titanic's Sinking

A northern transatlantic cruise will often sail over the spot where the Titanic went down, and you can spend a chilling moment on deck looking over the cold Atlantic and thinking about the souls that slipped beneath those waves. The Titanic's last known position was 41°46' N, 50°14' W. This was where she broadcast her last distress call, however she was actually found 13½ miles southeast of that location. For a point of reference, she was a thousand miles east of Boston, Massachusetts, and 375 miles southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland when she sank. The Cunard ship Queen Mary 2 makes regular transatlantic crossings. Other ships such as Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises have advertised crossings of the northern atlantic.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Among the ships that set out to recover bodies after the Titanic disaster were two Halifax-based ships. These were the Mackay-Bennett and the Minia. Altogether, 328 bodies were recovered from the Atlantic. Of these victims of the disaster, 209 were returned to Halifax. The rest were either unrecognizable or too badly decomposed, and were buried at sea.

Once in Halifax, a temporary morgue was set up in a Halifax Curling Rink. Bodies were identified, families notified, and they were either shipped to the families or buried in a Halifax cemetery. Three cemeteries in Halifax recieved a total of 150 Titanic victims. There were 19 buried in the Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery, 10 buried in the Baron de Hirsch Jewish Cemetery, and 121 buried in the Fairview Lawn Cemetery. If you go to Halifax, you can visit the Mount Olivet and Fairlawn Cemeteries. Each of them has a display marking the area where the Titanic victims are buried. The Baron de Hirsch cemetery is only open by appointment.

For a list of the Titanic victims buried in Halifax, see the Bob Knuckle list.

While you are in Halifax, visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Among it's many other exhibits, it has several Titanic artifacts, including the only intact deck chair from the ship.

Titanic Historical Society in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts

The self-proclaimed original and largest Titanic society in the world is based in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts where the Titanic Museum is located. The museum, run by Ed and Karen Kamuda who founded the society, contains a collection of rare Titanic artifacts, many donated by survivors. From the impressive 9 foot model of the Titanic at the museum entrance to letters, menus and fine china place settings, this is a display for the serious Titanic enthusiast.

The Society also holds annual conventions in places of nautical or Titanic interest, and publishes The Titanic Commutator, their official journal. See their website for museum directions and hours, or information about membership.

Molly Brown House in Denver, Colorado

Molly Brown is one of the most well-known Titanic survivors. She was born Margaret Tobin in Hannibal, Missouri,a fiesty daughter of Irish immigrants. She married J.J. Brown, a mining engineer who didn't have a lot of money at the time. The couple made their fortune and became millionaires after the discovery of gold in a Leadville, Colorado mine. Molly was committed to social reform and helping the poor. She tried to win a State Senate seat in 1901, which was an incredibly gutsy thing for a woman to do back then. She was on her way home from a trip to Egypt, Rome and Paris when she booked passage on the Titanic. After the sinking, she argued with the men in charge of her lifeboat over whether to go back and pick up survivors. On board the Carpathia, she helped organized a fund raising drive to help the third class passengers, and managed to raise about $10,000. In New York Molly was asked by reporters to what she attributed her survival and she answered "Typical Brown luck - we're unsinkable!" earning herself the nickname of "The Unsinkable Molly Brown".

The Molly Brown House Museum features her opulent home of the 1800's, designed by architect William Lang with many conveniences that were state-of-the-art at that time. During your visit you can find out more about this woman's Titanic connection and her fascinating life.

What is your favorite Titanic spot? Make a suggestion to add to this list. See more favorites from web viewers below.

Ryan Mansion in St. John's, Newfoundland

From Nolan Hall: My favorite spot is 375 miles from where the Titanic sank and where she now rests. 21-23 Rennie's Mill Road in St. John's Newfoundland is home to Ryan Mansion which was built the exact same time as Titanic - 1909 to 1911.

It is a historic structure built by Newfoundland's richest fish merchant, whose family was from Belfast. James Ryan had over 200 schooners and sold his product throughout Europe. He filled his schooners with quality products to construct his mansion. The grand staircase in the mansion is reported to have been constructed by the same craftsman that constructed the grand staircase in the Titanic.

The mansion has now been turned into a 5 star luxury Inn. They offer guests a Titanic Package that includes the last dinner on the Titanic served on stunning reproduced china from the Captains table. In fact their first guest was Dr. Robert Ballard, who requested a Titanic dinner for himself and 7 guests. The dinner was held Friday June 13, 2008. There is a picture of Dr. Ballard on the staircase and a copy of the reprinted, signed menu on display honouring the occasion.