Edinburgh Old Town Walking Tour: Royal Mile & Vaults

Walk the Royal Mile and the closes where Edinburgh's famous and infamous lived

This 90-minute guided walking tour of Edinburgh's Old Town follows the Royal Mile and its secluded closes, then descends into the underground vaults beneath South Bridge. Your guide holds either a PhD in Scottish history or decades of experience leading tours in the capital, and the relaxed pace leaves room for questions about the poets, philosophers, inventors and criminals who shaped the neighbourhood. Children are welcome from age 5.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Edinburgh Old Town and Vaults

• Visit Tron Kirk
• Explore Niddry Wynd Vaults
• Walk through Canongate Kirkyard

The Experience

You start on the Royal Mile, the spine of Old Town, and move into the closes and courts that branch off the High Street—narrow passages where most of the real stories live. Your guide points out the architecture and the dramatic events tied to specific buildings and corners, then moves into the darker history: the notorious thieves, murderers and bodysnatchers who worked these streets after dark. The tour is built around what actually happened here, not just what the buildings look like.

Canongate Kirkyard comes next, a burial ground where you learn who was buried there and why it matters to the city's past. Then you descend into the underground vaults below South Bridge—a section most visitors never see. Your guide explains how the vaults came to exist, what they were used for, and who lived in them when the city's poor had nowhere else to go. The vaults are the physical proof of a story the surface streets don't tell.

The guide leads the whole thing at a pace that lets you ask questions and dig deeper into whatever catches your attention. Whether you're new to Edinburgh or you've walked the Old Town before, the focus here is on the history itself—the people, the events, the reasons things happened the way they did—rather than rushing through a checklist of sights.

What’s included

• 90-minute guided tour led by a historian or experienced guide.
• access to the exclusive underground vaults section below South Bridge.
• visit to Canongate Kirkyard.
• live guide in English.
• relaxed pace with time for questions and discussion.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by City of Edinburgh Tours

Is this one for you?Move past the postcard version of Edinburgh's Old Town to discover the real history—famous names and notorious ones, the architecture and lives lived in the closes and vaults beneath the Royal Mile.

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Top questions

Can children come on this tour?

Children are welcome from age 5. The tour runs 90 minutes and includes walking and descending into the vaults, so they should be comfortable with both.

Who leads the Old Town Historical and Underground Tour?

The guide holds either a PhD in Scottish history or has decades of experience leading historical tours in Edinburgh. Either way, they're trained to answer questions and adjust the pace to the group's interests.

What are the underground vaults and why do people visit them?

The vaults are chambers beneath South Bridge built in the 1700s. They were originally used for storage and businesses, but later became home to Edinburgh's poorest residents. The tour includes access to an exclusive section where your guide explains their history and who lived there.

How much walking is involved?

The tour covers the Royal Mile, the closes branching off it, Canongate Kirkyard and the vaults below South Bridge. You should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness; public transportation options are available nearby if you need to reach the starting point.

What makes this tour different from other Old Town walks?

The combination of the Royal Mile and closes above ground with the underground vaults below gives you both the famous architecture and the hidden stories—the people who lived in the closes and the poor who sheltered in the vaults. Most Old Town tours stay on the surface.