Crumlin Road Gaol Visitor Attraction and Conference Centre

The website recommended the self guided tour would take 60 to 90 minutes. We were there for 3 hours and would have been there longer if the art show hadn't been packing away!We really enjoyed everything about the tour. We hired audio guides but we didn't really need them. There are videos all the way around and lots of information but they gave our 7 and 8 year olds something to play with which they loved. The ear phones are way too big for a child but they put the guides on loud speaker at opportune moments. Some of the rooms are quite gruesome especially the hanging room so you might consider where is appropriate to take children.Our favourite room was the one explaining a potted history of the troubles with cartoons. That's really excellent. I certainly feel more informed now.It was a long walk from the city centre but we saw a lot on the way there and hopped on a bus back to the city centre.Highly recommended!

Very good exhibits. My only negative is that, although it is advertised as wheelchair accessible, it isn't fully. The doorways to the cells are too narrow to get a standard width wheelchair through. This means the wheelchair user can not experience any of the exhibits inside the cells. It needs more information in the area outside the cells so that wheelchair users can see and experience the same as able-bodied people.

Wonderful attraction, great value for money and incredibly interesting. Love how the exhibits don't get overcrowded due to the clever one way system. An easy and cheap bus ride from town on the 11a, quick walk past the murals and there you are at the gaol.

Spent about 1 hour and 40 here, and enjoyed learning the history of the jail. Some bits do repeat themselves but just move on and see what else it has to offer. Everything was working and not very long wait times as we visited early Monday morning. If in the area of Belfast, I would recommend a visit.

We pre-booked the guided tour and arrived around 15 mins early. Our tour guide, Harry, was fantastic. He was incredibly knowledgeable and presented us with information in a really easy to digest way. He was also really friendly, I would definitely recommend him.The tour itself was good, however I do feel that the group size was a little large which meant the rooms ended up feeling crowded and it was sometimes a little difficult to see things (especially when you're not that tall!)We also visited the onsite restaurant, and the food was very tasty, safe to say it is much better than what the prisoners would have had!I would recommend visiting, it doesn't take too long to squeeze into a busy day but you can also pace yourself if you do have time!

Really nice visit, the museum was interactive and interesting, they had loads of videos about the history of the prison, the infrastructure and the testimonials of ex-prisoners. The only bad thing it's that the place was a bit dirty (specially the floor) and the fact that you can only visit some parts of the prison, the main structure remains closed to the visitors, apart from that, highly recommended to visit if you are around Belfast.

Nice plan for a rainy day. I decided last minute to book tickets online since it was raining all day and not much to do outside. The booking process is very simple, the ticket for self-guided tour cost £15,50 and I could book the time slot on the same day. There was no waiting time when I arrived, I received a map and followed arrows around the area. What I liked about the Crumlin Road Gaol was how interactive and interesting was the presentation of the prison, instead of reading everything, you could listen to recordings and even observe the holograms of prison characters" who told you more about the prison. The place looked very authentic

Very informative, and information isn't biased. Can be slightly boring as most of your time is spent watching long videos in various rooms without seats. It is not appropriate or entertaining for children. Gives a great feel for the jail and conditions inside, and the staff are all super friendly and helpful. A lot of the experience is spent waiting for the gates to open to the next part of the jail, which was quite frustrating, especially since there were no seats in the waiting areas. It can be very busy and rooms can be crowded so make sure you know how busy it will be when you go.

Really recommend booking the tour if your visiting. Our tour guide was really enthusiastic and knew his stuff and was passionate during the tour, it took around an hour to get through and we found it really engaging and learnt some interesting stories. Its a very historic place with many interesting elements. Definitely something to do when visiting Belfast

This was an informative tour and very interesting. It gave you a great insight at what prison life was like in Belfast from well over 100+ years ago until fairly recently. There are interactive displays and various media presentations. The tour is in one direction, you enter one side and come out the other, so be prepared to walk the whole tour.