Edinburgh Royal Mile and Old Town Small Group Walking Tour
Description
This tour is led by Edinburgh Guided Tour — a small team of exceptional Guides, including PHD Historians, a Professor, and a Museum Manager. Each guide handpicked for their intelligence and warmth. Their passion for Edinburgh shines through in every story they tell, from royal scandal to Enlightenment genius, from Harry Potter to historical rogues. We keep our group size small — never more than 12 guests — so every participant enjoys a personal experience. No straining to hear in a crowd of 30! Our guests consistently give us amazing reviews. These are not your average guides. They will Make History Come Alive. • Guided Walking Tour of the Royal Mile and surrounds • See the secret closes and wynds and all of the major sites • Learn of the famous writers, poets, and economists who have made Edinburgh their home • Visit famous landmarks such as St Giles Cathedral, Grassmarket, and Greyfriars’ Kirkyard • Take the opportunity to capture some amazing photographic opportunities
Tour Options
Itinerary
View this Baroque "Beaux Arts" masterpiece in the Heart of Edinburgh, the Usher Hall. Donated to the people and the City of Edinburgh by Stuart Usher's great great uncle, Andrew Usher.
Behold and view (from the outside) the towering, majestic pile of Edinburgh Castle from various vantage points. Learn all about its history (good, bad and downright ugly), the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Stuart dynasty, the Union of the Crowns and much more!
Enter and visit this centuries-old area that served as the Medieval Marketplace of the City. Also see George Heriot School (the inspiration behind Hogwarts!).
Come and visit this fascinating court where you can see and hear how people lived in the 17th and 18th centuries.
See classic examples of Edinburgh's Old Town tenement buildings in James Court. Also see the quirky and charismatic Jolly Judge pub.
This museum showcases the best of Scotland's literary heroes, past and present. Guests can visit inside should they wish.
See the exterior of the home of the philosopher David Hume, the 'Father of the Scottish Enlightenment' as well as other Scottish notables.
Learn about the life of the blackguard, Deacon Brodie, the real-life character behind 'Jekyll and Hyde'.
View this magnificent cathedral from the outside and learn about its pivotal history during the middle ages and reformation periods.
See the highlights of this busy heart of the Royal Mile which includes the City Chambers, Mercat Cross and other sites of interest.
Cross one of the first bridges to connect the Old & New Towns of Edinburgh, leading to Princes Street Gardens.
See this towering landmark which delineates the separation of the Old and New Towns (both of which are Unesco world heritage sites).
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children under 12 are free
- Children 12-16 pay 75%
Reviews(1,637)
Our tour was with Douglas and was an historical tour through the old town. We were very lucky that this tour turned our to be just the two of us, given the insane crowds in Edinburgh during all the festivals. He was absolutely wonderful in his knowledge and background of the history of all of the buildings and how Scotland and Edinburgh came to be, and added so much to our experience of the city and he pointed out many things we surely would have missed if we had tried to do this on our own. The tour was a very relaxed pace, and he made sure that when he wanted to talk about a building, he took us away as much as possible from the mayhem of the street and found placed to sit during the tour. Highly recommend Douglas for a tour!
Nice pacing and historical info. Enjoyed learning more about the history of the place and interesting facts.
Our tour guide who is with Edinburgh Guided Tour was phenomenal! Knowledgeable, clear in communication, patient, and mindful of the challenges a tourist faces navigating the streets, stairs, narrow passageways of a centuries-old city, Dr. Alison Duncan treated us (a small group of six) to a three hour well paced and informative walking tour along the Royal Mile. We hit all the major sites along the way, including several lesser known gems. We were never really aware of the time and before you knew it, we arrived at the Princes Street/North Bridge bridge in time to witness the 1 o’clock gun fire from the Edinburgh Castle. We had started at 10:00. Well worth the price!
Douglas was an excellent tour guide - knowledgeable, interesting and great to spend 3 hours learning history and hearing interesting anecdotes. Highly recommend!
I enjoyed this walking tour. The guide took us to fascinating places and shared the history of Edinburgh in a very engaging way. I especially appreciated learning about hidden spots and lesser-known stories that I probably would never have discovered on my own. There were just a couple of small points worth noting. The tour description mentioned that it would end at the Scott Monument, but it finished at a different location. Also, the guide preferred not to have photos of him taken so they don’t get shared on social media, which I found a little confusing since his photo appears in the tour description. Overall, these were very minor points and didn’t take away from the experience.
Douglas is a knowledgeable, passionate and engaging tour guide. He took us on an experience that unlocked and brought to life the history of Edinburgh and Scotland. It's not often we come across a guide of his caliber and skill. Thank you for a great start to our Scotland trip. Highly recommend! Grace and Caroline
We enjoyed the tour. Our guide, Craig gave us a lot of information and we visited a lot of nice and interesting places.
Guide was amazing. We ended up having a private tour and he was so accommodating and still provided so much info while addressing other questions we had. We can’t recommend this enough.
Craig was a great guide. He was very knowledgeable, and enthusiastic about the history of Edinburgh and Scotland. Highly recommend.
Dear Danielle Thank you so much for your lovely 5 Star Review of your Tour with our very knowledgeable Guide, Craig Goodman. We appreciate your highly recommending us very much. Best wishes Stuart U.
Craig was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about sharing highlights of Scottish history on our walking tour. We spent 3 hours walking the Royal Mile.
Dear Canda We are delighted that you enjoyed your Tour with our enthusiastic Guide, Craig Goodman! He certainly knows his stuff. Many, many thanks. Best wishes Stuart U.
