EDINBURGH
Edinburgh’s best days out.
The 15 most popular historical tours in and around Edinburgh. The ones worth building a day around, with prices, running times and who to book through.
Guided Edinburgh Castle tour with tickets included. See St Margaret’s Chapel, dungeons, major power spots, and get panoramic views fast.
Most Popular“Excellent tour, highly recommend. Max our your guide was amazing.”
Two-hour Edinburgh whisky tasting at Hot Toddy. Sip four single malts from Scotland’s regions with folklore-led guidance.
“Ben was very entertaining and informative. The whisky tasting were spaced out perfectly and in between each tasting lots of good information were shared. Strongly recommended and one of the must when visiting Edinburgh.”
A 2-hour guided walk through Edinburgh Old Town’s UNESCO streets, legends, and landmarks, with big Harry Potter and Enlightenment vibes.
“Exceptional tour - Kofee our Guide was excellent, engaging, humorous insightful and kept the groups attention throughout - he made it both informative and fun ! we highly recommend this tour - thank you so much, made our stay in Edinburgh 🤩”
A 2-hour guided walk through Edinburgh’s UNESCO Old Town, with St Giles, Mercat Cross, school stops, and castle views from the streets.
“Max is a superb communicator making some very dry history interesting and even amusing. His knowledge of the subject was comprehensive and his love of everything Scottish and Edinburgh in particular obvious. He gave us some good recommendations among which was Oink, surely the most delicious fast food available anywhere in town. We’ll be back…”
A historian-led walk of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile plus exclusive access to the Underground Vaults, hidden closes, and real dark stories.
“Our guide Holly was really engaged with us and very knowledgeable with the information she shared. As it was January the group was really small but she still gave us 100%. We really enjoyed the underground tour and we learnt a lot. Very interesting activity that we thoroughly enjoyed given by a young lady passionate…”
A small-group Old Town walking tour plus underground vaults in Edinburgh, led by top storytellers. Includes Canongate Kirkyard.
“Saturn/Frederick was excellent! Knowledgeable, entertaining and a pleasure to follow around Edinburgh. We heard well rehearsed stories and anecdotes of Scottish history as we walked around the city and saw what was left of the tales. It was a very easy pace so would be accessible for mixed age groups but the shallow winding staircase…”
A small-group walk into Edinburgh’s South Bridge vaults, with multi-sensory stories, low-light details, and a museum stop for context.
“Seniors should be aware that the terrain is quite rough and, in places, there might not be enough light for “old” eyes.”
Edinburgh Witches & Haunted History Walking Tour: a 75-minute Royal Mile and Grassmarket walk with costumed storytelling for $24.
“We had a lovely tour with witch Hazel. Very atmospheric and a great way to see the city and hear about the history of Edinburgh focusing of course on Scotlands witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. Very interesting with lots of information I hadn’t heard before!”
A 2-hour guided walk through Edinburgh Old Town with a pro guide, medieval-to-modern stories, and tips to explore around Greyfriars.
“This was a great 2 hour tour that hit the highlights and got us comfortable to explore more on our own. Thanks to Gavin, we were cared for, entertained, and left with great ideas on what to do next.”
Edinburgh Dark History walks the Royal Mile with stops at tollbooths, execution sites, cathedrals, and graveyards. Small group, 2 hours.
“This tour covers more of the history of Edingburgh, rather than the dark grizzly stuff.”
3-hour Italian guided walk on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile with Castle views, Greyfriars Kirkyard myths, and Mary King’s Close secrets.
“La nostra guida Alessandra è stata cordiale e disponibile! Tour interessante! Consigliato!”
Walk Edinburgh’s Royal Mile for witch-trial stories, from St Giles to the Witch Well, ending in Grassmarket. About 1h15 for a small group.
“Witch hazel gave an informative and entertaining tour. She weaved history with local sites and we learned a good bit. Worth the money!”
Descend into Blair Street Underground Vaults with a master storyteller, touch artifacts, then visit the Vaults Museum.
“Veni our friendly guide told in a very entertaining way all the things to know about the vault.”
Walk Edinburgh’s Old Town in 2 hours with St Giles, the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle legends, Greyfriars Bobby, and Harry Potter links.
Storyteller-led walk through Edinburgh Old Town from Mercat Cross to St Giles and the Castle area, with clear audio headsets.
“The tour started slowly with 20 minutes of history around St Giles Church, and then proceeded down the Royal Mile stopping at interesting points along the way. The head phones really helped as it was noisy and windy, so our tour guide, Stephanie, didn't have to shout. We all heard the interesting history with added…”
The Old Town and the New, the castle and the closes, and every road north into the Highlands.
