Edinburgh: Underground Vaults & Canongate Graveyard Ghost Tour
Into the Dark: Edinburgh's Vaults & the Dead
You descend into Edinburgh's exclusive Blair Street Underground Vaults with a Mercat Tours storyteller, hearing curated audio of the city's sounds while learning the dark histories of Old Town's closes. Then you walk to Canongate graveyard, where famous figures and notorious criminals rest. Small groups, all-weather operation, and the audio devices stay with you, so the stories do too.
Step-by-step itinerary
Edinburgh ghost tour and graveyard visit
- Meet at Old Town Edinburgh
- Explore Blair Street Underground Vaults
- Walk to Canongate graveyard
- Mercat Cross 15m
- Edinburgh Vaults 45m
- The Canongate 45m
What’s included
Your tour includes exclusive access to Blair Street Underground Vaults (the city's deepest and largest), a walk through Old Town closes and wynds, entry to Canongate graveyard, a curated Sounds of Edinburgh playlist delivered through TourTalk audio devices, and a master Storyteller guide leading your small group through the histories and hauntings of the city.
- Every day 19:30
Information
Blair Street Underground Vaults with exclusive access, Canongate Graveyard, and Mercat Tours' audio-guided storytelling. Small groups, all year round.
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Traveler reviews
The experience
The closes of Old Town Edinburgh narrow around you before you even descend. Your guide, a Mercat Tours storyteller, walks you through the dim wynds where unsavoury characters once moved, and the air shifts. Then comes the Blair Street Underground Vaults, the city's deepest and largest, and Mercat Tours has exclusive access. The darkness down there isn't just absence of light. It's the temperature drop, the perpetual gloom beyond the torch beam, the rooms that keep getting smaller. You hear whispers, whether they're in your head or something else entirely is part of why people come back talking about this tour.
The audio devices they hand you aren't gimmicky. They're TourTalk units carrying a curated Edinburgh sounds playlist (leather, smoke, the texture of the city's past) layered under the guide's voice. It anchors the story to the place in a way a microphone can't. From the vaults, you walk through more closes to the Canongate graveyard, where the graves of Adam Smith, David Rizzio (Mary, Queen of Scots' confidant), and the infamous cannibal Queensberry sit in shadow. The guide doesn't rush the names or the histories. Small groups mean you're not herded. You move at a pace that lets the stories land.
The whole thing takes you through Edinburgh's past in a way that sticks. Not because it's polished, but because it engages you: the cold stone, the narrow spaces, the real people buried there and the real crimes that happened in those closes. Tours run all year, which means you dress for Scottish weather and wear shoes that handle cobblestones. Service animals are welcome, and public transport gets you near the meeting point easily enough.
Top questions
Is the Blair Street Underground Vaults tour suitable for people with claustrophobia?
The vaults feature narrow rooms and perpetual darkness. The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels, but the confined spaces may not suit everyone. Check with the operator before booking if you have concerns.
What's included in the Mercat Tours ghost tour?
Exclusive access to Blair Street Underground Vaults, a walk through Old Town closes, entry to Canongate graveyard, a curated Edinburgh sounds playlist delivered via TourTalk audio devices, and a master Storyteller guide leading a small group.
Can I bring my dog or service animal on the tour?
Service animals are allowed. For pets, contact Mercat Tours to confirm their policy.
What should I wear for the Edinburgh vaults tour?
Dress for Scottish weather and wear comfortable shoes suitable for cobblestones. The vaults are cold and damp, so layers are recommended.
Is the tour available in winter?
Yes, tours are guaranteed all year round. Dress appropriately for the season and weather conditions.
Operated by Mercat Tours. Explorevia does not run this tour: we compare it with similar options, and you book it with our booking partner.
Prices and times updated today
Edinburgh: Underground Vaults & Canongate Graveyard Ghost Tour
1h 45m · EN
from £ 32 per person
≈ US$ 43 in your currency
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