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Edinburgh Dark History Tour: Explore City's Murky Past and Notorious Figures
5.0
487 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
West 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
(487 Ratings)
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Freedomthrumovement
Aug 30, 2024
Excellent tour with Calum - Epic tour with Calum. He was so informative, well researched and engaging and even though i am from Scotland I still learnt so much.
I really recommend it and we would have booked the castle tour with him if we had known and not already got separate tickets.
The two hours flew by and we are still talking about it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robertde6528cv
Aug 30, 2024
Excellent tour - Our guide matt was excellent we definitely recommend allstar tours and our tour guide. He was funny and entertaining and very informative
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lee_o
Aug 28, 2024
Great guided tour - Our tour guide, James, was extremely knowledgeable and gave us a great tour. Would highly recommend, two hours well spent!
Review provided by Viator
Michellel136
Aug 24, 2024
Fantastic guide, packed with interesting stories - Iona was a fantastic guide - knowledgeable and engaging. Learned so much about Edinburgh and Scottish history. Glad that I chose this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael_s
Aug 24, 2024
Loved this tour - Iona was absolutely fantastic! She is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her city. Can’t recommend her highly enough!! One of the best tours of this type that I’ve ever taken and would do so again in a heartbeat! Thanks Iona!!
Review provided by Viator
Michael_y
Aug 19, 2024
Fun tour - Good historical tour. Not tacky, but funny. Good info, good sites, good spot. Our guide, Robert, was a good guy.
Review provided by Viator
Ayla_l
Aug 17, 2024
I thought it was really... - I thought it was really cool. I'm also very appreciative we got an umbrella shared with us. (One of the people in our group did not dress for the weather.)
Review provided by Viator
Donnamz6722kg
Aug 17, 2024
Recommend - Iona was amazing and was very knowledgeable and friendly. We learned some fascinating history. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennifer_w
Aug 12, 2024
Learning about the Dark Side of Edinburgh - 100% Worth It - My partner and I have done about 5 tours during our UK holiday, and this was by far our favorite one!
Our guide, Iona, was very personable and engaging. She was a great storyteller, and made the 2 hours go by quickly. My partner and I are even looking up movies and books relating to the Iona’s facts and stories. I could tell every one in our tour group had a great time, and I’ll be recommending this tour to all my friends and family who are visiting Edinburgh in the future.
Review provided by Viator
Jeanff3846ue
Aug 10, 2024
Robert is amazing - Robert managed to take us to so many different places during the tour and show us so many hidden historical gems.
He really managed to make history come alive and the story were perfectly told and even some of them acted so well that he should receive an oscar already.
I am a passionate of history and read a lot about British history in particular but Robert taught me so much in an entertaining and at time very funny way about Edinburgh dark and gruesome past.
A must do in Edinburgh!!!
Thanks a lot Roberts.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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