Top Edinburgh Art & Culture

Journey through Edinburgh’s grisliest tales on a haunted walking tour. Experience the ghastly histories of monsters, madness, and murder that cast a dark shadow on the capital city. Discover the stories and sites of witch trials, pagan rituals, and executions, and hear about local monsters that live in urban myth. Then visit the chilling Old Calton Burial Ground or Canongate Kirkyard cemetery to learn about body-snatching and some of the infamous interred.

Edinburgh is known for its dark past, and this evening walking tour is the original one to showcase the city's historically sinister and spooky side. Discover the hidden ‘wynds’ (alleys) and closes of the Old Town as you learn their mysteries and horrors; visit the ghost-ridden Greyfriars Kirkyard; and explore the city’s underground vaults to uncover their spirits and secrets. Your tour is led by a creepily costumed guide.

Delve into Edinburgh’s horrific history on this evening ghost bus tour. With your spooky local guide, visit the city’s most terrifying locations, haunted by infamy and restless spirits! From your seat in a double-decker vintage bus, gaze at eerie sites such as Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh Castle, Grassmarket, and the Royal Mile. Throughout the trip, hear anecdotes and facts about Edinburgh’s chilling past, replete with bloody executions, unspeakable tortures, and murder.

Discover the Edinburgh Vaults—aka South Bridge Vaults—18th-century underground chambers that lie far below the city. On this underground walking tour with an entertaining and informative guide, hear tales of this dark and almost-forgotten place built below one of Edinburgh’s busiest thoroughfares. See evidence of excavated storage spaces, human habitation, taverns with wine vaults and more!

Explore a sinister side of Edinburgh on this late-night ghost walking tour that includes the Blair Street Vaults under South Bridge. Stroll mysterious alleyways as you listen to your guide’s grim and ghastly tales of treason and torture. Then venture underground for a candlelight tour of the 18th-century chambers and hear haunting stories of supernatural forces lingering in the city's darkest corners.

Ideal for those fascinated by the supernatural, this tour of Edinburgh’s underground vaults is sure to make your spine tingle. With a ghoulish guide, descend into the darkened depths of the Blair Street Vaults and hear vivid retellings of torture, murder, and body snatching. Abandon thoughts of manufactured frights and prepare to experience the sinister side of Edinburgh on this small-group tour.

Not for the faint of heart, this 1.5-hour ghost tour of Edinburgh promises to deliver spine-chilling paranormal frights. Edinburgh’s brutal and bloody past has resulted in a heavily haunted present and this tour takes you to some of the city’s most haunted locations. Under the cloak of darkness, you’ll visit a graveyard and descend to the underground vaults that snake beneath the city. Hear vivid tales of torture, murder and body snatching, and enjoy a heightened atmosphere on this small-group tour, limited to 15 people.

This 'Harry Potter' walking tour gets fans closer to spots in Edinburgh that inspired J.K Rowling’s famous books. Walk past key sites that inspired places such as Diagon Alley, and even see the cafes and hotels where the writer wrote her book series. Your guide knows the quickest ways to get around the city on foot to fit more into your time, as well as fun facts about Harry Potter.

Edinburgh’s stately streets hide a darker, more mysterious side of the city, rooted in its 18th-century slums, ‘wynds,’ (alleyways), and vaults. This 75-minute tour takes you back in time to this shadowy world, exploring dark cobbled lanes, a haunted cemetery, and underground vaults. As you explore, your costumed guide shares captivating tales of the city’s history, along with stories of ghosts, murders, crimes, and more.

Learn about J.K. Rowling and the origins of the 'Harry Potter' books during a walking tour of Edinburgh. See places that inspired Rowling such as the Balmoral Hotel and University of Edinburgh's Old College; locales that shaped the Dementors and Ministry of Magic; and cafes where Rowling liked to write. Your guide is a 'Harry Potter' fan who shares fascinating details about the wizarding world in Edinburgh.

Hear hidden secrets from beyond the grave on this haunted vaults and graveyard walking tour in Edinburgh. As night falls across Scotland’s ancient capital, follow a guide through the streets and learn the mysteries of the city’s dark past. Visit venues believed to be haunted including Greyfriar's Kirkyard and the Nidry Street Vaults, and hear of the troubled souls of beggars, prostitutes and witches said to walk the city streets by night. Along the way, make sure to keep your wits about you for sightings of the un-dead.

Dark as the devil's heart, our haunted underground network of vaults from the 1700s will stimulate and excite your senses as the sinister history of these former slum dwellings, once inhabited by the poor and unfortunate along with criminals and prostitutes, begins to come to life in your imagination! Your pulse starts to speed up as your mouth gets drier due to your heightened awareness of what surrounds you! Once experienced, never forgotten.

See a different side to Edinburgh and combine the best of the underground and haunted graveyard tours on this double dead walking tour, during which you visit two of the city’s spookiest attractions: South Bridge Vaults and the Covenanter’s Prison. The latter is only accessible on City of the Dead tours and our guide provides plenty of exclusive insight you wouldn’t get on your own.

Step off the tourist trail and explore the Scottish capital’s hidden secrets on this underground walking tour in Edinburgh. Follow a guide from the South Bridge in Edinburgh Old Town down below street level, where a series of ancient vaults lie. As you explore the dark passageways, learn why the vaults were built, hear of the poor souls who sought refuge in the depths and discover a hidden witchcraft temple. Gain insight into city life during the 18th century, and learn of the deadly diseases which threatened Edinburgh’s inhabitants.

Edinburgh’s dark and desultory past means its streets are haunted by restless souls and wandering specters. This ghost tour—perfect for those fascinated by the supernatural—takes you to two of Edinburgh’s most haunted locations. Under the cloak of darkness, descend to the Blair Street vaults to explore a shadow-shrouded underground world. Visit Canongate Kirkyard, the final resting place of famous characters, and listen to gruesome tales of torture, cannibalism, and murder.

Guarantee entrance to one of Edinburgh's most popular attractions, and skip the ticket line by pre-booking your admission to the Camera Obscura and World of Illusions. Choose your allotted time (morning, evening, or all-day) and get ready to enjoy the spectacle of mind-bending illusions and hands-on exhibits.

Delve into Edinburgh’s ghoulish side with an 80 minute early evening walking tour of the city’s eeriest sites!  As you venture down the historic  Royal Mile you will hear tales of torture, witchcraft, plague and mayhem from your local ghoslty guide – Mr Alexander Clapperton (deceased) – a former Edinburgh cemetery director.  Learn about and meet infamous apparitions such as the Mad Monk of Cowgate, the witch Agnes Fynnie, and the wild and bloody Higlander Rhuari McLeod.  Prepare yourself for a night of good fun in the shadows!

Get an in-depth perspective on Edinburgh on this guided tour that goes deeper than most. Usually led by a guide with a PhD in Scottish history, this tour offers a journey through Edinburgh’s medieval Old Town from the main thoroughfares to the hidden closes (alleyways) and courtyards. Your guide shares tales of dramatic events in the neighborhood's history, as well as those of the writers, philosophers, and inventors who called the area home.

See the best of medieval yet modern Edinburgh on this walking tour with optional skip-the-line access to Edinburgh Castle. As you walk, listen as your guide shares the history of this formidable city with ancient Roman roots and UNESCO-listed pockets. Explore atmospheric cobbled walkways along the Royal Mile, breeze into Edinburgh Castle to witness royal opulence (if option selected), and pass iconic locations like St. Giles Cathedral, Parliament Square, and John Knox House.

The award winning Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour was the first literary tour to be launched in Edinburgh in 1996! Why is it regarded by many as a pioneer in its field and a Must-See cultural attraction in guide books throughout the world - standing out from all the rest.......? Performed by professional actors and not academics or tour guides reciting from books. It represents great value for money and has a very high entertainment factor! Join the intrepid duo, Clart ( as in muck!) and our clean-hankied intellectual Mcbrain, who will lead you on a brilliant and witty dramatic romp through the wynds, courtyards and pubs of Edinburgh's Old and New Town. A Hilarious duel of wits across three hundred years of great writing and colourful characters.

Follow in the footsteps of Scottish icons like Mary, Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie as you unravel the truths and myths of Edinburgh’s royal history. Set out on a 90-minute walking tour of the UNESCO-listed Old Town, spot the royal sites along Canongate and admire the grand Palace of Holyroodhouse, The Queen’s official residence in Scotland. After a comprehensive introduction to Edinburgh’s royal roots, enjoy skip-the-line access (optional) to the Palace of Holyrood and explore the magnificent royal residence independently.

Experience the magic of the world’s most famous wizard on a 2-hour Harry Potter walking tour of Edinburgh, perfect for families with kids. Alongside your Potter-mad guide, you’ll explore the winding streets and mysterious alleys that inspired J. K. Rowling to create the iconic wizarding world, and see filming locations featured in the movies. Plus, tick off top Edinburgh attractions such as the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, and Princes Street.

Take the guesswork out of your 'Outlander' pilgrimage on this guided walking tour that takes you to the exact locations featured in the TV series and novels. In a small group of no more than 12 people, see such sites as Jamie's printshop and the Tolbooth prison while learning from your guide about life in Edinburgh during and after the time of the Jacobite uprisings.

Hear about murder and mayhem on this night walking tour of Edinburgh, led by a ghostly guide who mixes historical fact with fable and a dash of humor. Stroll along the eerie alleyways, cobbled streets and creepy courtyards of Old Town, and visit the sites of horrific happenings. Listen to entertaining tales of the supernatural while you’re guaranteed several ghastly appearances.