Edinburgh: Blair Street Underground Vaults & Multi-Sensory History

Inside Edinburgh's 18th-Century Vaults: Where the City's Hidden Stories Live

You descend into Edinburgh's exclusive Blair Street Underground Vaults with a master storyteller guide, handle original artifacts, and experience the 18th-century chambers through scent, sound, and touch via personal audio devices. The tour includes access to the Vaults Museum with interactive displays and a take-home scent card. Tours run year-round and suit all fitness levels. Children must be 5 or older.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Edinburgh's underground history

• Meet storyteller at Mercat Cross
• Walk down closes and wynds
• Enter Blair Street Underground Vaults
• Experience multi-sensory history tour
• Visit Vaults Museum exhibits

The experience

Stone walls close in around you as you descend into the Blair Street Underground Vaults, and the air shifts: cooler, older, carrying the weight of two centuries. This is the only walking tour in Edinburgh with exclusive access to these vaulted chambers built beneath South Bridge, and the moment you step down into them, you understand why Mercat Tours guards that access so carefully. The vaults are exactly as they were left: damp stone, narrow passages, the kind of space that makes you move slowly and listen hard. Your guide, one of Mercat Tours' master storytellers, doesn't just point things out. They're trained to layer the history so you don't just see the vaults, you feel them.

The tour starts at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh's Old Town, where your guide leads you through the closes and wynds before taking you down. Along the way, you're handed a scent card (leather and smoke, the actual smells of the vaults' past), and once you're inside, you handle original artifacts while an audio guide plays hand-picked sounds of Edinburgh through personal TourTalk devices. It's not subtle, but it works. You're not standing in a museum looking at a display case. You're holding something someone actually touched, breathing in something they actually smelled, hearing the city as it sounded. The vaults themselves are the artifact. They became home to Edinburgh's poorest residents in the 18th century, and the tour doesn't gloss over that. It's the reason these chambers matter.

After the vaults themselves, you move into the Vaults Museum, where interactive 3D models and the Vaults Revealed audio-visual display fill in the gaps. It's the kind of follow-up that actually deepens what you've just experienced rather than repeating it. The whole thing runs year-round, which means you go when it suits you, not when the weather is perfect, and honestly, the vaults are colder and more atmospheric on a grey Edinburgh day anyway. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for damp. The tour isn't physically demanding, but the stone is unforgiving underfoot.

What’s included

Your tour includes exclusive access to the Blair Street Underground Vaults, a visit to the Vaults Museum with interactive 3D models and the Vaults Revealed audio-visual display, handling of original artifacts, a take-home scent card evoking the vaults' past, personal TourTalk audio devices delivering the Sounds of Edinburgh playlist, and guidance from a master storyteller trained in the history and stories of the vaults and Old Town.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day5 departure times: the first at 11:00, the last at 16:30

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (16 to 64 years) · Senior (65 and older) · Child (5 to 15 years) · Under 5: can't be booked

GroupUp to 18 · max 8 per booking

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends at a different place from where it starts.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Mercat Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to move beyond the standard Edinburgh walking tour and actually step into a preserved 18th-century space: the exclusive vault access and multi-sensory elements are what make this different from any other history tour in the city.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 15 years). Children under 5 can't be included in the booking.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

Can you touch things on the Mercat Tours vaults walk?

Yes. Handling original artifacts is part of the multi-sensory experience, along with the scent card and audio devices.

What's included in the tour price?

Access to the Blair Street Underground Vaults, the Vaults Museum, artifact handling, a scent card, TourTalk audio devices with the Sounds of Edinburgh playlist, and interactive 3D displays.

Is the vaults tour accessible if I have mobility issues?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels, but the vaults involve descending into underground chambers with uneven stone floors and narrow passages. Contact the operator to discuss specific accessibility concerns.

What should I wear for the vaults tour?

Comfortable shoes are essential due to stone floors. Dress for damp conditions and cooler temperatures underground, and bring weather-appropriate clothing since tours run year-round.

Are service animals allowed on the tour?

Yes, service animals are allowed.

Can I get to the tour by public transport?

Yes. Public transportation options are available near the Mercat Cross meeting point in Edinburgh's Old Town.

What makes this vaults tour different from other Edinburgh tours?

Mercat Tours has exclusive access to the Blair Street Underground Vaults: no other walking tour company can take you there. The multi-sensory elements (scent, touch, audio) and master storyteller guides set it apart from standard historical walks.