Edinburgh Castle Tour: History and Mystery

Discover Edinburgh’s secrets on a 2-hour Royal Mile walking tour. Explore hidden gems, historic sites, and optional Edinburgh Castle visit.

Duration: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • St Giles’ Cathedral - Admire the exterior and listen to its history.
  • Parliament House - Observe the exterior.
  • Edinburgh Old Town - Discover on foot and learn its history from your guide.
  • Royal Mile - Walk with your guide who will share captivating stories.
  • John Knox House Museum - See the exterior and learn its history with…
What's Included
  • Exclusive multi-sensory experience with master Storyteller guides
  • Enhanced, hand-picked sounds of Edinburgh through TourTalk audio devices
  • Small group experience
  • Tickets to Edinburgh Castle with your Storyteller
  • Exclusive Sounds of Edinburgh Playlist
Additional Information

Edinburgh’s premier storytellers, Mercat Tours, are transforming the walking tour experience, ensuring a deeper and more meaningful connection with the city’s history and its people, extending well beyond the duration of your visit.
Take the Story Home: Relive the Memories:

  • Enjoy the tour playlist
    The castle majestically overlooks Edinburgh from…
Location
Mercat Cross
High Street
Mercat Cross, High St, Edinburgh EH1 1RF. Look for the 8 sided monument with white Unicorn on top. You will find a member of our visitor services team waiting here to check you in. They will be dressed in black, holding an iPad, wearing an orange lanyard & holding a black & orange umbrella.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.8
(1588 Ratings)
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Corvusc69
Apr 23, 2026
Amazing storyteller - Tour guide Grant took us up and down Edinburgh's Royal Mile with humor, insight and fascination. Be sure to add the Castle tour - we booked the castle portion with the castle directly and were dissapointed compared to continuing with Mercat. Will definitely do more Mercat tours and highly recommend them!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
N3857qnlenas
Apr 22, 2026
Flying solo? Take a tour. - Money well spent. Mally, the guide, was wonderfully insightful, unavailing the secrets of old town with dexterity of well seasoned standupper. Never was there a mile so short a distance and so rich in experience. Do bundle up, tho. Two or three hours in that Edinburgh wind is no joke.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Waywardt2026
Apr 21, 2026
Mercat tour of the royal mile is a must do on your Edinburgh trip! - Had an amazing experience with Mally, our tour guide. I am so happy we booked this tour. He was quite possibly the best tour guide I have ever had
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carmen_t_31
Apr 21, 2026
Great Tour! Mercat Tours - I had one day to explore Edinburgh before my conference. I booked this walking tour with Mercat Tours. Our guide, "Grant" was great, very knowledgeable, funny, and attentive. He gave us so much information and great tips about the area. Two hours went by so fast. The added feature of the headphones was the best! We could hear clearly and did not miss a thing. I highly recommend this tour to all.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lucy_g
Apr 20, 2026
Recommend - Marina was a great storyteller, very entertaining and lots of history that you would not realize just walking around the Royal Mile or Castle by yourself
Review provided by Viator
Tombarker98
Apr 18, 2026
The secret history of Edinburgh brought to life - This was the first waking tour I’ve done and it was fantastic! Our tour guide, Mally, brought the history and secrets of Edinburgh to life in an interesting and unique way. He kept the whole group enticed for the entirety of the tour despite the cold. His charisma, humour and local knowledge made the tour the best experience of our trip to Edinburgh. Thank you Mally!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G1277xdshelleyr
Apr 17, 2026
Spend a memorable afternoon in Edinburgh! - Wandering through old Edinburgh with Grant felt like stepping into a historical drama…with better jokes. Each stop along the Royal Mile came packed with gripping stories, quirky details, and the kind of history you actually remember. Grant has a gift for turning cobblestones into characters and alleyways into adventures. Easily one of the best tours we’ve ever taken—don’t miss it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roam78939
Apr 16, 2026
Wonderful! - Veri was a knowledgeable guide through historic Edinburgh. She kept things lively and interesting. We learned so much!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carolyn_w
Apr 15, 2026
Our tour guide Malley was great!! - Our guide Malley was fun and knowledgeable. His love for his country and especially Edinburgh made the tour even better! We had pretty terrible weather, but we were able to duck under cover at times and still enjoy the tour. The headphones worked perfectly and we could hear everything even when getting a bit separated at times! If the castle is sold out for the day, check out this tour as they were still able to get us inside!!
Review provided by Viator
Jessica_k
Apr 15, 2026
Great time! - Andrea was an AWESOME guide! Very knowledgeable and fun. Highly recommend this tour. Would do it again.
Review provided by Viator
From $71
up to 6 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).