Mercat Tours
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Edinburgh underground vaults tour | Mercat Tours
Join us for a walking tour of Edinburgh led by our expert guides. Enjoy a detailed history of the city, and visit the Blair Street Underground Vaults.
The Real Mary King's Close
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The Real Mary King's Close | Best UK Attraction
October 9, 2025 - Step down and explore the rooms, streets and spaces underneath the famous Royal Mile - a unique glimpse into the city's past, and Edinburgh's only preserved 17th century street. Experience over 400 years of history, and discover the stories ...
Auld Reekie Tours
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Best Guided Walking Tours to Edinburgh Vaults: Auld Reekie Tours
February 22, 2022 - Book a tour Learn more Auld Reekie Tours e-gift voucher ... “We did the underground vaults tour and we thought it was amazing. Was great to walk down the Royal Mile and learn some gruesome facts about the way these people used to live.
Best underground/vault tours for history (not supernatural)
The Real Mary King’s Close is probably what you’re looking for. More on reddit.com
Best Underground Tour Edinburgh - Reddit
Find the best posts and communities about Best Underground Tour Edinburgh on Reddit. More on reddit.com
Question about the tours there...
The Edinburgh Dungeon is like a haunted house ride at a theme park. There are actors, some ride elements (a boat and a drop ride used to feature). The staff guide a group of you through different sections that all focus on various nasty bits of history. Pretty fun, especially for older kids. I used to go every year or two when I was wee. Ghost Tours could mean a variety of things, but the most popular is probably Mary King's Close. This was a series of real underground vaults that people used to live in. It's a set tour where a guide will take you underground into these vaults and tour you around. There are no actors. It's an underground history walk. More on reddit.com
Underground vaults worth seeing?
The stuff you'll hear on the underground tours is 96% bollocks, Mary King's is a bit more historical in its focus - unless you specifically choose to go on one of its ghost tours, you'll mostly get told about the history of the Close and some of its historically documented residents. Whether it's worth the price largely depends on 1) whether you like history, 2) whether you have the kind of imagination that lets you picture what a place used to be like, and 3) whether you get a good guide. More on reddit.com
Tripadvisor
tripadvisor.com › europe › united kingdom (uk) › scotland › edinburgh › things to do in edinburgh › edinburgh tours
2026 Underground Vaults Walking Tour in Edinburgh Old Town - with Trusted Reviews
Underground Vaults Walking Tour in Edinburgh Old Town
Journey along Edinburgh's Royal Mile hearing some of Edinburgh's darker history before visiting the infamous hidden and supposedly haunted vaults beneath the South Bridge in Edinburgh Old Town. Hear tales of how the poor and unfortunate lived in these former slums. Explore these dimly lit vaults by candlelight, once the haunt of criminals, body snatchers and witches alike, said by some to now be occupied by a few of the spirits of these inhabitants long since dead.
Each vault has stories of crime, disease, death and lots more... with which your guide shall enlighten you in all the gory detail
Price $32.00
Videos
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Edinburgh's HIDDEN Streets - The Real Mary King's Close - YouTube
09:52
Haunted Edinburgh: A Ghost Tour Through the Underground Vaults ...
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Guided Tour of the Edinburgh Vaults | 5 minute Edinburgh history ...
13:07
Explaining where the Vaults are under the Streets of Edinburgh ...
Come and explore the darker side of Edinburgh 👻 this underground vaults tour includes facts and figures about the Royal Mile and the South bridge vaults. It was a Great atmosphere with a fun and knowledgeable guide. A tour of Edinburgh’s most extensive haunted vaults. Dark tales of its past visitors and inhabitants. The notorious stone circle and the infamous haunted vault, You will see a genuine witchcraft temple, recently used by the “Source Coven of the Blue Dragon”, and you will enter their former temple and learn why it was no longer safe for them to practise their craft in that vault. Will you dare to step inside the notorious stone circle? (I didn't 🙈) Each vault tells a story. Stories of death, disease and crime and corruption,and the possibility that the infamous Edinburgh body snatchers Burke and Hare may have used these vaults as the perfect location for finding their victims! #Gifted #RoyalMile #EdFringe #Edinburgh #auldreekie #auldreekietour #burkeandhare #darkpast #edinburghfringefestival #thingstodoedinburgh #placestovisit @Edinburgh Festival Fringe @Auld Reekie Tours @tiktokuk @Scotland | TikTok
Welcome to one of the UK’s most haunted places 👻 The Blair Street Underground Vaults have a long history, hidden away beneath the streets of the city centre. After they were built in the 1780s, they were swiftly abandoned by the legitimate businesses of the area and taken over by everyone from criminals to the city’s poor. Would you visit these vaults? Book a history or ghost tour through the link in our bio, if you dare. 🕯 [Video description: a 45-second video exploring the Blair Street Underground Vaults and their history in Edinburgh, accompanied by illustrations and animations. End description] #edinburgh #scotland #edinburghscotland #scottishhistory #historytok #weirdhistory #hiddenhistory #hiddengems #darkhistory | TikTok
Tripadvisor
tripadvisor.com › europe › united kingdom (uk) › scotland › edinburgh › things to do in edinburgh › edinburgh vaults
Edinburgh Vaults (2026) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Reviews)
The Edinburgh Vaults tour is a nice way to learn about some of the history of this famous city while exploring over 250 year-old architecture, traditions, tools and old life in this underground vault/dungeon tour.
Address South Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1QR Scotland
Viator
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Underground Vaults Walking Tour in Edinburgh Old Town 2026 - BOOK NOW
Underground Vaults Walking Tour in Edinburgh Old Town
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.
Price $32.85
Reddit
reddit.com › r/edinburgh › best underground/vault tours for history (not supernatural)
r/Edinburgh on Reddit: Best underground/vault tours for history (not supernatural)
October 2, 2023 -
We're in Edinburgh this week - and we want to book one or two underground tours. But we're not interested in anything supernatural or paranormal - we want to learn about the history, plague, etc.
A lot of the reviews complain about the ghost stories used at the expense of actual history.
Which tour(s) are best for our needs?
Thanks.
Top answer 1 of 3
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The Real Mary King’s Close is probably what you’re looking for.
2 of 3
5
Having been a tour guide for many different attractions over the years, including multiple underground tours... none of them. Expect a hastily researched script written by someone with minimal historical expertise, hastily memorised by an actor needing a money job, mixed with stories made up by guides to spice up the tours for audiences who overwhelmingly want creepypasta rather than history. Mary King's Close and Mercat are the two that make big claims about historical accuracy, but I can tell you from experience that this is just the first of many inaccuracies you can expect. They can be a lot of fun, but don't get your hopes up for anything with solid research and minimal sensationalism.
Cityofthedeadtours
cityofthedeadtours.com
CITY OF THE DEAD TOURS - Home
A Mac ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 02/01/2026 This is a great way to see the underground and hear about the earlier and grimmer history of... Tracey Williams ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 01/01/2026 · We did the City of the Dead tour in ...
Mercat Tours
mercattours.com
Edinburgh ghost and history walking tours | Mercat Tours
A ghost tour of Blair Street Underground Vaults, said to be one of the most haunted sites in Scotland. Encounter true stories of murderers and vagrants and tales of the spirits that may still linger.
Rick Steves Travel Forum
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Edinburgh Underground Tour Options - September - Rick Steves Travel Forum
Edinburgh Undergr... Please sign in to post. ... Rick mentions 3 tour groups to experience the underground of Edinburgh (all with a bit of spookiness). The Real Mary King's Close, Auld Reekie Tours and Cadies and Witchery Tours. Will only have time for one of these.
Barony House
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Best Underground Tours Edinburgh #1 | Barony House - BOOK DIRECTLY HERE - Official Site 5* Hotels Guest House | B&B
July 27, 2023 - We did the History Tour which gave a huge insight into life on The Royal Mile and the gruesome history of The Mercat Cross. The story of how these underground caverns were discovered was also amazing and you leave the tour with an experience that never leaves you @ Edinburgh underground tours.
Tripadvisor
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THE 15 BEST Edinburgh Ghost Tours (with Prices) - Tripadvisor
December 18, 2025 - It takes you inside the vaults of the bridge, into an underground Edinburgh you might not otherwise see. Obviously it plays a lot with taking you to scary places, and the tour done late in the afternoon, with the city lights already dimmed, is even more “disturbing”. Very funny, it makes you spend an hour playing with your fears and the history of the city.