Belfast Street Art Tour: Murals, Peace Wall & Troubles History

Walk through 800 years of Belfast history painted on walls, then add your own message to Europe's largest peace barrier.

A private street art and history tour of Belfast traveling by taxi through the Falls Road and Shankill neighborhoods with a local guide who lived through the Troubles. You'll see political murals from both Republican and Loyalist communities, visit memorial gardens, and write your name on the Belfast Peace Wall. The tour includes hotel pickup and air-conditioned transport. Multiple start times run from 8am to 5pm daily.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Belfast's Troubles and Murals

• Visit Falls Road Belfast murals
• See and photograph the Peace Wall
• Write name on the Peace Wall
• View Clonard Monastery from no-man's land
• Visit IRA C Company Clonard Martyrs Memorial Garden
• View politically charged street art murals
• See Loyalist UDA & UVF murals
• Visit Bayardo Bar attack site
• View Bobby Sands murals
• Visit Bayardo Memorial Garden
• Visit IRA Belfast Brigade D Company Garden of Remembrance
• See Welcome Wall and Divis Tower sniper's nest
• Visit I.R.A. Heartland Falls Road

The experience

The tour starts with pickup from your Belfast hotel or city centre location, then moves straight into the Falls Road: the heart of Irish Republican territory. Your guide, a Belfast local who lived through the conflict, walks you through the International Wall and its hundreds of murals documenting the 1981 hunger strike, the Ballymurphy Massacre, and decades of resistance. You'll see the world-famous Bobby Sands mural and learn how nearly 2,000 political murals have been documented across Belfast since the 1970s, each one a statement about identity, loss, or defiance. The air-conditioned taxi means you move between stops without the walking fatigue of a standard tour, and your guide provides visual aids (old photographs, historical context), so you can picture what life looked like during the Troubles.

The Peace Wall itself is the centerpiece. This series of barriers still separates predominantly Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. Some sections stretch over three miles and stand up to 25 feet high. You'll stand at the wall, write your name and a message of hope on it (joining signatories like Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama), and photograph the gate structures that close at night. From there, the tour crosses into Shankill, the Loyalist side, where you see UDA and UVF murals, King William of Orange imagery, and memorials to paramilitaries. The contrast is deliberate: your guide explains how the same conflict looks entirely different depending on which community painted it.

You'll also visit Clonard Monastery, positioned in what locals call no-man's-land between the two areas, and stop at the IRA C Company Clonard Martyrs Memorial Garden on Bombay Street, where plaques commemorate fallen volunteers and civilian casualties dating back to 1916. The tour includes handling real plastic and rubber bullets used by British Crown Forces: a tangible reminder of the street-level reality. The whole experience runs 1.5 to 2 hours, fitting into most schedules. If you need pickup from somewhere other than your hotel (the Titanic Museum, Crumlin Road Gaol, Queen's University, or a cruise ship), that's arranged at checkout for an additional fee.

What’s included

• Private air-conditioned taxi transport.
• hotel or Belfast city centre pickup and drop-off.
• visits to both Falls Road and Shankill neighborhoods.
• entry to see the Bobby Sands mural, International Wall, and Belfast Peace Wall.
• the chance to write your name and a message on the Peace Wall.
• stops at the Clonard Monastery and IRA C Company Clonard Martyrs Memorial Garden.
• the opportunity to handle real plastic and rubber bullets used during the conflict.
• personalized commentary from a local guide who lived through the Troubles.
• umbrellas provided on rainy days.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day13 departure times: the first at 07:00, the last at 19:00

Book up to2d before

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Paid on site£ 25

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller-friendlyPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Giants Causeway Tours

Is this one for you?Your guide speaks English and lived through the Troubles, so the commentary is personal and grounded in direct experience rather than academic distance. This works well if you want to understand the conflict from someone who was actually there, not just read about it. The private taxi format means you move between neighborhoods without walking fatigue, which suits travelers who want the full story across both sides but prefer to stay seated and absorb rather than navigate on foot.

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Top questions

What exactly is the Peace Wall and why does it still stand in Belfast?

The Belfast Peace Wall is a series of barriers built to separate predominantly Catholic Republican neighborhoods from Protestant Loyalist ones, with some sections over three miles long and up to 25 feet high. Many have gates that close at night. On this tour, you write your name directly on the largest peace wall in Western Europe and learn from your guide why it remains despite decades of relative peace.

Will I see murals from both the Republican and Loyalist sides?

Yes. The tour crosses both the Falls Road (Irish Republican Catholic Nationalist area) and Shankill (Loyalist Protestant area), so you see political murals from each community: Bobby Sands and hunger strike imagery on one side, King William of Orange and Ulster paramilitary memorials on the other. Your guide explains how the same conflict is told completely differently by each side.

What does "lived through the Troubles" mean for the guide?

All tour guides are Belfast locals who actually experienced the conflict firsthand, so they provide personal context and eyewitness perspective rather than textbook history. They can explain how the murals, memorials, and peace walls shaped daily life in the neighborhoods you're visiting.

Is this tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes. The tour uses an air-conditioned vehicle, and all areas and surfaces visited are wheelchair accessible. Infants can ride in a pram or stroller, and transportation options accommodate wheelchairs.

What time should I book, and can I be picked up from somewhere other than my hotel?

Start times run from 8am to 5pm daily, so you can choose the slot that fits your schedule. Hotel or city centre pickup is included. If you need pickup from the Titanic Museum, Crumlin Road Gaol, Queen's University, or a cruise ship, you can add that at checkout for an additional fee.

What's included in the price, and what costs extra?

The tour includes private transportation, hotel pickup and drop-off, the guide's commentary, and the chance to write on the Peace Wall. A tip for your guide is optional. Pickup or drop-off at attractions outside the city centre (Titanic Museum, Crumlin Road Gaol, Queen's University, or cruise ships) costs extra and is paid to your guide in cash or card.