Haunted Underground Vaults: Sinister 1700s History Tour

Uncover the sinister history of Edinburgh’s 1700s underground network on a haunted vaults walking tour. Explore former slum dwellings and feel the pulse of the past come to life!

Duration: 1 hour
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Royal Mile - The guide will meet the group and then after a brief introduction guide everyone down the Royal Mile to the entrance to our vaults occasionally stopping to tell some of Edinburgh’s history along the way.
  • Edinburgh Vaults - The guide will show the group our torture exhibition and explain the whys and hows of how some items were…
What's Included
  • Admission ticket included
Additional Information

As black as the core of evil, our spooky subterranean system of crypts dating back to the 18th century will rouse and thrills your senses as you begin to imagine the cruel history of these bygone shanty abodes, formerly the homes of the destitute and luckless as well as lawbreakers and ladies of the night. Your heart rate quickens and your mouth becomes…

Location
300 Lawnmarket
Lawnmarket
Tours starts from the Red telephone box and Tourist Information Police Box outside of 300 Lawnmarket. This is on the opposite side of the road to Deacon Brodies Tavern. Please be there at least 5-10 minutes early as we depart promptly at the tour time and we will not wait for latecomers.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(2140 Ratings)
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Natashar683
Oct 18, 2025
Highly recommended - An interesting tour through the vaults and James, our tour guide, really made his stories come alive! He really enjoys his job. Highly recommended and thank you James for a really enjoyable tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Deborah_j
Oct 11, 2025
Excellent tour! - Such a great tour. Our guide, Dom, was absolutely excellent - knowledgeable, interesting, and very funny. Learned a lot about the city, and the stories were so crazy!
Review provided by Viator
Durrant4
Oct 11, 2025
Underground vaults tour - Great history of the vaults and how they were rediscovered. Guide Dom was amazing and informative on the history of Scotland.
Review provided by Viator
Se_nl38
Oct 6, 2025
Fantastic tour, James is a brilliant guide. - This was a fantastic experience. James was a fantastic tour guide, really informative and enthusiastic. You will not regret taking this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Escape30860977636
Oct 4, 2025
Good time underground - Had a lovely creepy time in the haunted vaults. Jordan was a very funny fella. My review has to be more than 100 characters.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
938ceceg
Sep 30, 2025
Fun tour for a great price - James was a great guide, spooky tour that was a lot of fun! Learn a lot about the history of Edinburgh. A great time for a good price, would go again!
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Jamen_t
Sep 30, 2025
Informative and super... - Informative and super interesting look at the Edinburgh vaults. Louisa was a fantastic tour guide! Definitely recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Kristi_e
Sep 24, 2025
It was very interesting... - It was very interesting and informative. I forget my guides name, however, she did a great job keeping us entertained.
Review provided by Viator
438itzb
Sep 23, 2025
Luisa was great! - Louisa was amazing! She really did transport the mistery and darkness in her presentation for us to be part of this creepy past. She was also very knowledgeable and kind.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christine_f
Sep 20, 2025
It’s dark, but it’s also interesting and sometimes funny - The guide provided great information about the less pleasant aspects of Edinburgh’s history (some hilarious, some disturbing) as a starter and some background before we even got to the vaults. Once there we learned about what they were and how their use changed over time from practical to more insidious. For those that don’t do well in tight, unfamiliar surroundings like I do, it was a little much for me at the start, however the information and stories are a great distraction and it seems to go by quickly. I was glad I stuck it out to the end. The guide did a good job sharing what he knows of the history and his own experiences having spent decades going into the vaults. Which gives it a current rather than just historical accounting.
Review provided by Viator
From $30
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).