Edinburgh - Old Town Stories: Discover Hidden Gems and Famous Landmarks
5.0
29 Ratings
Edinburgh
Uncover the secrets of Edinburgh's Old Town with a knowledgeable guide. Explore famous landmarks and hidden gems, and learn the fascinating stories of the city's history.
Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Edinburgh Old Town - The perfect introduction to the history of Scotland and Edinburgh in particular. Wander around Old Town Edinburgh in the company of an expert guide, and hear about the origins of Scotland and its capital.
  • St Giles’ Cathedral - Walk around St. Giles Cathedral and hear about its history, John Knox and the Reformation, and how the Wars of the Three Kingdoms may have started.
  • Mercat Cross - Hear about the architecture of the city, and the impact of the Great Fire of 1824.
  • Royal Mile - Walk up the Royal Mile, and hear about important long-gone buildings, as well as some of the surrounding landmarks and statues.
  • Writers’ Museum - Hear about one of the city’s oldest standing buildings, now home to the Writer’s Museum, dedicated to some of the most famous Scottish Writers.
  • Edinburgh Castle - Without a doubt the most imposing building in the city. Hear about its origins and importance.
  • Grassmarket - Hear about the former gallows site, as well as some of the characters that met their fate there. Hear about the Covenanters and visit the Memorial.
  • Greyfriars Kirkyard - Visit the gates of the Covenanters Prison, and hear about one of the most convoluted periods of history. Hear about the bodysnatching activity in Edinburgh and its impact in the studies of anatomy. Finally, listen to the heart-warming story of Greyfriars Bobby.
What's Included
  • In-person guide
Additional Information

An ideal way to get to know the city.

A guide will escort you around Old Town Edinburgh, acquainting you with not just the popular landmarks, but also with some lesser-known yet unique features that give our adored city its character.

You’ll gain knowledge about how Scotland and Edinburgh came into existence, listen to the narratives of our celebrated citizens and notorious inhabitants, stroll amongst graves and along stone-paved paths, all under the watchful eye of a well-informed and friendly guide.

An opportunity not to be overlooked!

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
(29 Ratings)
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Martin_s
Apr 18, 2024
Edinburgh, from its cradle to its graveyard - David is a great narrator with a good sense of humor. Enjoyed our little walk through old Edinburgh and learned a lot of interesting, hilarious and also spooky (no spoilers here) facts&stories about this amazing town. Would definitely recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Marionsb6358ma
Jan 13, 2024
The perfect tour and guide for learning more about the history of Edinburgh and Scotland - Our guide, David was superb and really great company. He had such a in-depth knowledge of the history of all the places we visited and was able to answer all of our questions. We very much enjoyed our guided walk and would like to thank David for being our guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Timothy_b
Jan 13, 2024
Fun and great learning. - Our tour guide David was outstanding, friendly and extremely knowledgable. Great time and hearing about the Edinburgh and Scotland history.
Review provided by Viator
Michelle
Jul 10, 2023
Awesome! - Awesome! Loved the tour! Edgar is very knowledgeable and told great stories. Thanks for the laughs and great time. Much appreciated.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
907sy
Jun 12, 2023
A Must do in Edinburgh - It’s an amazing experience. Our guide David is informative and detail minded. He showed us around the old town in a fun way and explained everything we needed to know. Highly recommend this tour if you would like to know more Edinburgh!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Leanaegely
Jun 8, 2023
The perfect way to discover Edinburgh - Our tour with David was amazing! 2 hours of history, fun facts, some legends too… We fully recommend this experience to anyone travelling here, it’s the perfect way to get you started and understand this fascinating city! The shops and restaurants recommendations are very useful as well! Thank you a thousand times!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
253darrenr
May 9, 2023
Fun, laughs and learnt so much - Had a thoroughly enjoyable walk around the old town. Our guide David was so knowledgeable and very good company, well worth the money. We learnt a lot and had fun in the process.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fabidepaulo13
Apr 9, 2023
"A must do tour." - We were absolutely in love with the city's history after walking around with David. He is an impressive expert, super polite and also super careful with my in-law that had some mobility issues. I wish we had booked him for hours. It is incredible how the experience can be so magical when we are lucky enough to find the right professional. It was our first time in the city and after everything we learned we went back to the hotel to read more about all the details our guide taught us. My 11-year-old was super impressed about how people lived here in the past and I was super impressed about the amount of information he kept. Totally worth it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
552bjarneb
Mar 27, 2023
Excellent, informative and entertaining introduction to the old town - My daughter and I were so lucky to have our brilliant guide David all to ourselves, which gave us a uniquely exclusive experience. This was the best way of introduction to the Edinburgh and Scottish history we could imagine! Very informative, entertaining and enjoyable indeed. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gareth
Aug 25, 2022
Excellent in depth tour, with great knowledge and dispelling some popular myths! - As there were only 2 of us on the tour, Edgar went out of his way to first find out our existing knowledge of Edinburgh, so that his guided tour gave a much more tailored experience to us, and a much broader and deeper understanding of the darker histories, and not just the superficial stories. He also gave the details behind a number of the popular received histories, to give the facts that preceded the myths. We would highly recommend it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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