Belfast Black Taxi Tour: Falls Road, Shankill & Peace Wall

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/13

Duration2h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Travel the streets where the conflict happened, told by someone who was there

A private 2-hour black taxi tour of Belfast led by a local guide who drove through the Troubles, visiting Falls Road, Shankill, the Peace Wall and Crumlin Road Gaol. Hotel or port pickup is included; children from age 9 are welcome. The guide speaks English and travels in a classic London cab, stopping so you can photograph the murals and walk to the Peace Wall to write your own message.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Belfast's historic conflict sites

Pass by Crumlin Road Gaol
Visit Shankill murals and bonfires
See monastery of secret peace talks
Write peace quote on Belfast Peace Wall
View Divis flats British Army base
Explore Falls Road murals and history
Observe republican murals supporting causes

The Experience

The black cabs themselves are part of the story. During the Troubles, these drivers kept running their routes through Falls Road and Shankill when it was dangerous to do so, ferrying people across neighborhoods locked in conflict. Your guide is one of them—someone in his 50s who lived through those decades and can explain what you're seeing from the inside. The tour runs two hours and moves by private vehicle, so you're not waiting for other passengers or following a fixed schedule around the city.

Falls Road is where the Provisional IRA was born, and over 300,000 British soldiers served on these streets. The murals here are hand-painted by locals and change monthly; your guide will walk you through what they mean and why they matter. Shankill, across the divide, is the birthplace of loyalist organizations and dates back to 455 AD—the narrow street holds its own murals and bonfires that tell the Protestant side of the same history. The Peace Wall, built in 1969 to separate the neighborhoods after thousands were displaced, is massive and still standing. You'll get out and write your own peace quote on it; President Clinton, Morgan Freeman and Lady Gaga are among the names already there.

Crumlin Road Gaol housed IRA, UVF, UFF and INLA prisoners over 30 years. Built in the 1800s as a hanging jail, it was attacked by a loyalist RPG rocket in the 90s and carries stories of escapes and survival. The Divis flats, at the start of Falls Road, had its top two floors used as a British Army base for over 25 years—your guide will point it out and explain the 800 years of history that led to those decades. Hotel or port pickup is arranged before you book, so you don't navigate Belfast on your own.

What’s included

Professional guide who lived through the Troubles.
private vehicle transport in a classic London black cab.
hotel or port pickup and drop-off.
stops at Falls Road, Shankill, the Peace Wall, Crumlin Road Gaol and the Divis flats.
time to get out and photograph the murals and write a message on the Peace Wall.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by belfastattractions.co.uk

Is this one for you?Book this tour on your first or second day in Belfast if you want to understand the recent history of the city from someone who lived it—the guide's perspective and the stops themselves make sense only with someone who was there to explain them. The private cab and included pickup mean you're not figuring out the neighborhoods on your own.