Belfast Black Taxi Tour & Crumlin Road Gaol: Murals & History

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Free cancellationLikely to sell out

1/7

Duration2h–3h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Walk the Peace Wall and hear the stories behind Belfast's divided past from someone who was there.

A guided black taxi tour of Belfast combining the city's political murals and the Crumlin Road Gaol, a former prison that held high-security inmates during the Troubles. The tour runs 2 to 3 hours with a local driver guide who explains the history from 1690 through the 1998 peace agreement, and includes entry to the gaol, transport in a London-style cab or executive vehicle, and pickup from Belfast city center. Children are welcome from age 7.

2h–3h

Step-by-step itinerary

Belfast history and mural tours

Visit Crumlin Road Gaol
Learn gaol history and prisoners
Take black taxi tour of murals
Explore Shankill Road murals
Walk around loyalist mural area
See Belfast Peace Wall art
Visit International Wall murals

The Experience

If you're in Belfast for the first time and want to understand what shaped the city, this tour cuts through the noise. You ride in a black taxi with a driver who lived through the Troubles and can explain what you're actually looking at—not a rehearsed script, but the real history of the streets you're driving through. The company is jointly owned by Catholic and Protestant operators, which means the tour stays balanced on a subject where balance matters.

The route starts in the Shankill Road area, where your driver walks you through the loyalist murals and explains what each one represents. You'll hear about the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, then jump to 1969 when the violence started, and finally to 1998 when the peace agreement was signed. From there you move to the Peace Wall itself—those barriers that were supposed to last six months but are still standing today, now covered in art and messages from visitors. The final stop is the International Wall, where the murals shift to broader themes of oppression, from the 1969 race riots in America to current events.

The Crumlin Road Gaol is where the tour gets specific. This wasn't a regular prison—it held the most feared prisoners of the conflict, and the building itself is part of the story. You walk through it with the knowledge of what happened there, which changes how you read the space. The whole thing takes 2 to 3 hours, and you're moving by taxi the whole time, so you cover ground without the walking fatigue of a standard city tour.

What’s included

Private transportation in a London-style taxi cab or executive vehicle.
pickup and drop-off from Belfast city center (extra charge applies at other locations).
entry into Crumlin Road Gaol.
experienced driver guide speaking English.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyNot for back problems

Operated by Cab tours belfast

Is this one for you?The tour moves by taxi rather than on foot, so you cover the full route without long walks—a real advantage if you want the history without the pace of a walking tour. The 2- to 3-hour length fits a free afternoon or a morning slot before other plans, and the driver's lived experience of the conflict gives you context no museum placard can match.