Edinburgh Old Town and Rosslyn Chapel: full-day private tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (6 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/6

Duration9h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Walk Edinburgh's layered centuries, from castle to countryside chapel

A nine-hour private tour of Edinburgh's Old Town and the Scottish countryside around Rosslyn Chapel, with hotel pickup, luxury transport for up to six passengers, and a live English-speaking guide. The itinerary moves from the medieval heart—Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, St Giles Cathedral, Palace of Holyrood House, Arthur's Seat and Calton Hill—through the Georgian elegance of New Town, then south to the 15th-century Rosslyn Chapel, famous for its Masonic connections and later popularized by The Da Vinci Code. Bottled water is included; entry to Rosslyn Chapel is included, and optional paid entry to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace or Royal Yacht Britannia can be added at checkout.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Edinburgh and visit Rosslyn Chapel

Tour Edinburgh Old Town landmarks
Visit Edinburgh Castle and Royal Mile
See Grassmarket and St Giles Cathedral
Explore Palace of Holyrood House
View Arthur's Seat and Calton Hill
Contrast with 18th century New Town
Have lunch
Travel to Scottish countryside
Visit Rosslyn Chapel

The Experience

The tour starts with hotel, accommodation or port pickup and moves through Edinburgh's Old Town on foot and by vehicle, stopping at the major landmarks that define the medieval capital. You'll see Edinburgh Castle perched on the volcanic rock, walk sections of the Royal Mile where the city's history is written into the cobblestones, stand in the Grassmarket where markets and executions once happened, and visit St Giles Cathedral with its distinctive crown steeple. The guide provides live commentary throughout, explaining what you're standing in front of rather than rushing past it.

After the Old Town, the tour shifts to New Town—the 18th-century grid of Georgian terraces and squares that shows Edinburgh's later reinvention. This contrast between medieval density and planned elegance is the point: you see how the city rebuilt itself. Lunch happens here, giving you time to eat before the afternoon leg.

The final stretch takes you out into the Scottish countryside to Rosslyn Chapel, a 15th-century structure built with intricate stone carving and said to hold Masonic symbolism. It gained wider fame through The Da Vinci Code, but the chapel itself—its architecture, its carvings, its history—is what you're there to see. Entry is included. The full day runs nine hours, and the private Mercedes means no waiting for other groups or managing public transport between stops.

What’s included

Hotel, accommodation or port pickup.
private luxury Mercedes transport for up to six passengers.
live English-speaking guide.
bottled water.
entry to Rosslyn Chapel.
live commentary throughout the day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Edinburgh Cab Tours

Is this one for you?Choose this tour if you want to see Edinburgh's medieval Old Town, Georgian New Town, and Rosslyn Chapel in one day with a guide driving you between each—book the private vehicle option if you prefer to move at your own pace without waiting for a group.