Edinburgh Dark History Tour: Explore City's Murky Past and Notorious Figures
5.0
411 Ratings
Edinburgh
Uncover Edinburgh's dark and twisted past on a captivating tour. Discover the city's notorious figures, gruesome crimes, and chilling ghost stories. Prepare to be haunted!
Duration:
2 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Old Town - A walking tour down the Royal Mile of Edinburgh, where your guide will share with you the darker history of Edinburgh.
- Heart of Midlothian - Former site of the Old Tollbooth, one of Edinburgh’s most notorious buildings. Hear about some of the characters once imprisoned and/or executed here, and why it ultimately became recognised by Sir Walter Scott as the Hard of the Midlothian.
- St Giles’ Cathedral - What seems like the car park hides a secret, as well as the burial place of one of the most controversial figures in Scottish history.
- Mercat Cross - Another infamous execution site. Hear about the importance of the building in the life of the city, and about a literal killing machine which was once kept inside St. Giles Cathedral.
- Royal Mile - Walk down the Royal Mile, where you’ll hear about some of Edinburgh’s notorious citizens, the Black Plague, and how the city’s poor sanitary conditions eventually led to a most peculiar tradition.
- John Knox House Museum - Learn about the architecture of 16th century Edinburgh, and witness one of the most “authentic” corners in the city centre.
- Canongate Kirk - Wander among graves of old, hearing about body snatchers, cannibals, and learn how ghost stories are born.
What's Included
- In-person guide throughout the tour
Additional Information
Oh, the charm of Edinburgh! It’s not dubbed ‘The Jekyll & Hyde City’ without good reason. By daylight, it’s an upstanding character with outstanding construction and fascinating past. Yet, as night descends, it narrates a wholly different tale…
Discover the shadowy side of Edinburgh’s history: killers, robbers, flesh-eaters, executions and beheadings, sorcerers, the Pestilence, and rivers of human filth. Get to know the most infamous residents of Edinburgh and the origins of ghostly tales.
Don’t mistake this for a phantom tour: there’s no need for outfits or scare tactics, the Bleak Past of Edinburgh itself is haunting enough. And how we relish illuminating our guests with it…
Location
Parliament Square
Find us across the square in Front of St. Giles Cathedral. Search for the white umbrella with the logo of All-Star Guides.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(411 Ratings)
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Dan_k
Apr 23, 2024
Great evening tour in Edinburgh - Edgar was very entertaining and a great tour guide. We really enjoyed the stories and seeing the sites.
Review provided by Viator
Courtney_c
Apr 23, 2024
Best dark history tour - Iona, our tour guide was fantastic and really engaging. She was super knowledgeable personable. Enjoyed the tour very much and would recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Melissa_r
Apr 23, 2024
Engaging tour - Iona was an engaging, knowledgeable and witty storyteller! I loved every minute
of the tour and learned so much about Edinburgh’s history! I have been on many tours in Edinburgh, and this was my favorite!
Review provided by Viator
Ashleymc55
Apr 21, 2024
Great historical tour - This was a great historical tour. It’s not a spooky ghost tour, so if you’re looking for blood, guts and torture, that is a different tour. Edgar, our tour guide, was extremely well studied and passionate about the history of Edinburgh. Bring your scarf and hat, brrrrrr!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kathy_g
Apr 18, 2024
Engaging and professional - This was a very enjoyable and interesting tour. Stayed in the royal mile so easy to manage walking-wise and convenient to find dinner afterwards. Matt was engaging and very professional. He clearly took pride in his research and narrative, and carefully distinguished between fact and fiction (but included both which I appreciated).
Review provided by Viator
A1345azpauld
Apr 16, 2024
Fascinating tour of Edinburghs dark past - The tour was really informative. Lydia was super friendly, so knowledgeable and gave us a great insight into Edinburgh’s dark history.
Paul and Tracey (Australia)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anthony_m
Apr 15, 2024
Excellent time on the Dark History Tour - Edgar was an excellent story teller and shared many factual and entertaining historical events. It was a highlight of our trip. We would definitely recommend
Review provided by Viator
Angus_k
Apr 12, 2024
The dark history tour is a must! - We had a fantastic time on the dark history tour, and can’t recommend enough. Our tour guide Iona was so well informed and a really skilled story teller, she brought the city and it’s history to life for us.
Review provided by Viator
Birte_s
Apr 9, 2024
must do in Edinbourgh - We really had a fun time during the tour.
2 hours went by in a blink of an eye.
the story teller, Lydia , really kept everyone entertained.
I would defenitely recommend this tour .
Review provided by Viator
Sarah_t
Apr 7, 2024
Would listen to Iona share stories, for days! - We had Iona as our guide, she was so knowledgeable and told the stories of Edinburgh so well.
After the tour we wandered back through the closes and continued chatting about the stories Iona had shared with us.
We would highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
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