Overview
Available languages
Mobile ticket
Troubles Tour: Walls and Bridges is one part walking tour, one part street theatre and 100% astounding. It entertains, engages and informs using original songs and lived experience to help you understand the day to day realities of the Troubles.
The tour brings history to life but not in chronological order — instead it builds an immersive picture of a city, its people and its conflicts through a powerful mix of education, storytelling and theatrics.
Participants will visit political murals on both sides of the divide, pass through heavily fortified security gates and stand at the Peace Walls. Along the way, an original song captures the turbulent reality of the times in a way that no history book can.
This tour goes beyond history. It reveals the culture, the humanity and the hidden stories that shaped this city — and the remarkable people who built bridges when others were building walls.
Ideal for anyone interested in history, culture and politics — and unforgettable for everyone.
Additional Info
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Parental Discretion Advised - There is graphic content .
What To Expect
Belfast City Hall
We begin at Belfast City Hall — one of the most magnificent civic buildings in these islands. Built at the height of Belfast's industrial power and opened in 1906, it is a statement in stone of a city that was once among the wealthiest and most productive on earth. Belfast built the ships, linen and ropes that supplied the world — and City Hall reflects that confidence and ambition. Walking along the front of the gardens we pause at the statue of Mary Ann McCracken — radical Presbyterian, abolitionist and humanitarian. She represents a hidden radical tradition at the heart of Belfast's story that will resurface at the very end of our tour. From here we walk from opulence and civic grandeur into the heart of West Belfast's working class communities. That journey — from wealth to deprivation, from the centre of power to the margins — is not accidental. Class and economics are central to understanding the Troubles.
Donegall Place
Crossing to the Linen Hall Library — officially The Belfast Library and Society for Promoting Knowledge, founded 1788 — we encounter another product of Belfast's radical enlightenment tradition. A city that was thinking, debating and organising at the very moment revolution was reshaping the western world. We move into Donegall Place and pause. All is not as it seems here. Look carefully and you will find echoes of a past that the city has quietly absorbed into its everyday surface. Streets that once felt very different. A city centre that bore the marks of a conflict that many would prefer to forget. Your guide will help you see what others walk past without noticing — the traces of division that remain hidden in plain sight, written not in stone or bronze but in the ordinary fabric of the street itself. In this city, it is rarely what you see that tells the real story. It is what you don't.
Options
Private/Group
Belfast Troubles Walking Tour
What‘s Included
Personalised recommendations from your guide
Local guide
Private tour
Professional guide
Visits to key areas including political mural sites, Peace Walls, Cathedral Quarter
Gratuities
Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Personal expenses
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
927 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Exceptionally good tour that lasted over 3hours
Robert P,Jun 2, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00The tour was done by Experience Ireland and was one of the best tours we have ever done. It was actually 3 + hours and exceptional value. The guide was very knowledgeable and kept providing information while we walked, not just when we stopped.
Fascinating walking tour through Belfast describing their history of conflict.
Maps801914,Jun 1, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Steve was an incredible guide with a brilliant and balanced information about Irish history and conflicts dating back to the 12th century. It helped clarify the complicated history of the Troubles that as foreigners are hard to comprehend. Highly recommend.
Outstanding and thoroughly enjoyable
tonygB2235HE,May 31, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00An absolutely outstanding trip learning about the history of Belfast especially the causes and reasons for the troubles through the 60’s-90’s. Our guide Steve was simply superb. Helped us understand both sides of the story with a non judgmental perspective. Having family from Belfast this trip helped me understand some of the stories I had heard and see both sides. Definitely recommended!!
Excellent political history of Belfast!
138lucieo,May 30, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Absolutely wonderful history and bringing us all current. Steve is a wonderful tour guide!
Troubles Belfast tour
615nelis,May 30, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00A vast amount of information and a very kind and wise guide who has experienced the troubles of Belfast himself. Highly recommended!
Fantastic tour
katieoN3215BX,May 29, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Me and my family joined Steve on the walking tour yesterday and found it really fascinating. There was a great mix of history and modern day storytelling and Steve was a fantastic guide, discussing some very serious subjects and being prepared to answer any and all questions. We would really recommend this tour for those visiting Belfast keen to learn more!
Great overview!
elenanK6929GF,May 28, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Steve gave us a thorough and very informative, neutral overview of the troubles, including personal anecdotes, explanations of pictures on the murals and using photographies as visuals. He talked about history in general but also about what the troubles ment for everyday life and families in Belfast. The three hour walk took us through the falls and shankhill areas, the dead zone and along the remaining wall. We can highly recommend Steves tour!
Really detailed, we love it
P55GN,May 25, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We really liked this tour. It is detailed and we learned a lot. Bear in mind it has a lot of standing and some walking so it might not be for everyone. The guide has lived through some of those stories he mentioned and taht just made it all the more special. I liked that the tour closed with a hopeful note about the future . Thank you for everything !
Educational & enlightening sprinkled with humor.
David H,May 23, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This walking tour encourages you to question, recount and apply. So many wonderful personal stories that bring humanity to the forefront of the story and the hopes for bright futures. Definitely a must do in Belfast!
Eye opening
S9521HIstevew,May 23, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Dont think you know the history and story of The Troubles until you take this tour.
Related Experiences
Operated by Experience Belfast