The Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour: A Dramatic Romp through Old and New Town's Historic Pubs

Join the Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour for a hilarious and engaging romp through the historic pubs of Edinburgh’s Old and New Town. Experience a dramatic script performed by professional actors and discover the lesser-known literary characters that have shaped the city’s tavern life. A must-see cultural attraction since 1996!

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Edinburgh Old Town - The Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour is is a brilliant and witty dramatic romp through the wynds, courtyards and pubs of Edinburgh’s Old and new Town.
What's Included
  • Professional actors
What's Not Included
  • Alcoholic Beverages
Additional Information

Join the adventurous pair, Clart (synonym for dirt!) and our polished-intellectual Mcbrain, as they guide you on an amusing and smart theatrical journey through the back alleys, squares, and pubs of historical and modern Edinburgh. A hilarious battle of brains featuring three centuries of excellent literature and vibrant personalities.
The Edinburgh…

Location
Beehive Inn
Grassmarket
Look out for our Ticketing person wearing bright vest. The tour starts up the stairs at The Beehive on the top floor. Feel free to purchase a drink at the bar beforehand and bring it upstairs with you to enjoy the first scene!
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.5
(436 Ratings)
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Narveltuffnts
Oct 9, 2024
Edinburgh famous authors or depraved scribblers you decide - What a great tour. Learned a ton about the authors who lived and wrote about and in Edinburgh. The friendly debate about the "virtues" of famous writers was hilarious. If you want to learn about Edinburgh's famous authors while having a wee dram or pint, you can't go wrong with this tour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Barbara_d
Sep 24, 2024
Literary pub crawl - Interesting and entertaining! History, literature, poetry and more. Actors cleverly portrayed Edinburghs colorful history.
Review provided by Viator
Mariabt2111ac
Sep 23, 2024
Great way to start your time in Scotland - The two actors were so talented and clever in bringing history to life. Very educational and entertaining. Great group of people to join us as we went from one historical pub to another. Nice to know pubs sell half-pints; was a fun way to sample local beers. Definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maggie_r
Sep 9, 2024
Live performances of Scottish Poetry - Incredibly fun, would recommend for any theater/lit lovers. Songs, poetry and a great deal of history in a great environment, what's not to love
Review provided by Viator
Susiejw88
Jul 19, 2024
Great experience - Really good! Had a great time and our guides Dave and Dougal were really welcoming, knowledgeable and entertaining. I highly recommend you to this tour!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Markc1963
Jul 7, 2024
Great way to spend a couple of hours in Edinburgh. - The three of us really enjoyed this tour. Even being Scottish found it to be interesting and funny with the two guides acting out their roles with energy and professionalism. Would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lindsey
Jun 28, 2024
super fun and entertaining evening - the three of us had a wonderful time, the tour was very entertaining and informative. paul and riley were both fantastic and played their characters very well. none of us drank, but we still had a great time- the tour was not as bar heavy as we had thought but this proved to be a good thing since the tour focused more on the literature and the fantastic performances by paul and riley. we learned a lot and had a great time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bessie_d
Sep 30, 2024
Literary History Pub Experience - Loved hearing about the history of the literary figures in the history of Scotland. The title was a bit deceiving in that I thought we would be touring some of the pubs in the area.
Review provided by Viator
Doats
Sep 16, 2024
Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour - I cetainly enjoyed the Literary Pub tour with Heather and Dougal. They were definitely knowledgeable and entertaining. Albeit was a literary pub tour and I guess a stop at a pub was inevitable, since it was a bit chilly the stop at the Jolly Judge pub only added to the discomfort since it required some waiting around and wasted time. However, the tour provided some fun and increased knowledge about the literary times of Edinburgh.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Richard_o
Oct 8, 2024
Unprepared for rain - Lack of a contingency plan for a rainy night rendered this performance unbalanced and off-kilter. A bit disappointing.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
December 2024
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