Old Town Walking Tour History and Tales in Edinburgh
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Edinburgh, Scotland
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
This walking tour of Edinburgh is a great choice for first-time visitors who want to get their bearings of the city and learn more about its history. By exploring the city with a guide, you’ll be able to stop looking at a map and focus on enjoying the sites around you. Your guide will teach you about secret places locals love, as well as the Old Town’s most famous sites. Highlights include St. Giles’ Cathedral, the Mercat Cross, Edinburgh Castle, and much more.
- The perfect overview tour for first-time visitors to Edinburgh
- Visit many sites in the UNESCO-listed Old Town in one day
- Exploring Edinburgh with a guide means you won’t get lost
- A walking tour takes you to areas that can’t be accessed by car
What's Included
- Professional guide
- Gratuity
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Loch Ness Discovery Centre, 192 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1RW, UK
192 High Street, next to Adam Smith Statue, outside Caffe Nero. Please look out for the White and Green Umbrella - Little Fish Tours logo
End point
- Edinburgh Old Town, Edinburgh, UK
The tour will end within a 5min walk of the Royal Mile.
Itinerary
1
Edinburgh Old Town
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- These tours run all the year round so please wear clothing that is appropriate for the Scottish climate and come in footwear that you are comfortable in for a two hour walking tour on the historic streets of Edinburgh.
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Please Note - Children, aged 15 and under, will not be able to join the tour unless accompanied by a responsible adult
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 2,187 reviews
Julie_J, Mar 2026
Long walk on cobbled streets up hills. Fine for us but bear in mind fitness levels . Very interesting walk
Neville_B, Mar 2026
Ben was knowledgable, humorous and really engaging. His depth of knowledge was superb. Such a balanced and nuanced history teller.
Cristina_B, Mar 2026
We were so lucky to have the best guide we could have hoped for! As a history graduate from Bristol, they are extremely passionate and knowledgeable. They are also a gifted storyteller and speaker, sharing fascinating stories that kept us on the edge of our seats for two hours.
We are deeply grateful to our guide. It was an afternoon well spent, and we recommend this to anyone who wants to understand Scotland better and appreciate a highly entertaining, expert guide!
Florine_R, Feb 2026
Nice small tour of the old town. Really interesting to know more about edinburgh history. I was lucky to be in a small group
Scott_B, Feb 2026
Easy to find starting point. Our guide was Ben C, he was very knowledgable and entertaining. He presented a good pace and gave just the right amount of information. There were children on the tour and he engaged brilliantly with them, he encouraged questions and chat amongst the group. He kindly looked after the group and ensured their safety on a busy day in Edinburgh. Basically, can’t recommend this trip enough.
Peter_S, Feb 2026
Max is a superb communicator making some very dry history interesting and even amusing. His knowledge of the subject was comprehensive and his love of everything Scottish and Edinburgh in particular obvious. He gave us some good recommendations among which was Oink, surely the most delicious fast food available anywhere in town. We’ll be back in the summer for the Fringe, another guided tour and another hog roast roll. Peter and Margaret Southerden
Dylan_S, Feb 2026
Great tour, and definitely worth doing if you’re in Edinburgh for a short time. There wasn’t much walking involved, but we still managed to see different parts of the old town that we would have otherwise missed, and hear about the related stories.
YekaterinaH, Jan 2026
I took my 16 year old to Edinburgh for a birthday weekend and we loved this tour when we went in January despite the weather.
Not much walking really and the guide was great.
Small_A, Jan 2026
Very fascinating history so interesting . So much to know and appreciate more the places if how much it contributes to the city to make it one of the best in history . My tour guide he makes the stories alive he is brilliant . Highly recommend 5 star . Thank you
Thomas_T, Jan 2026
excellent guide. we made it through a bitter cold day and late afternoon. Looking forward to a return - in warm weather!!
Jacqlen_r, Dec 2025
Greg was a knowledgeable tour guide, a great storyteller and lots of humour. Made us curious to want to learn more about Edinburgh. We‘ll be back.
Henry_S, Dec 2025
Jule was a great story teller and showed lots of places of interest! Its been a great experience and would have given a 5-star rating if she was Scottish, speaking Scottish. Its a personal thing and not against Jule, again I think she did great and derserves 5 stars! When signing up it would help setting the expectation if the tour guide is a Scottish native or not.
Jane_A, Dec 2025
We took the Historic Edinburgh tour on 06 12 25. Euan was our guide and he was excellent. Very knowledgeable and interesting with a dry sense of humour. Euan interacted well with the whole group and everyone appeared to feel included. There was a very pleasant, friendly atmosphere. At the end of the tour, the four us (husband and friends) all thought that we had a good overview of Edinburgh's history even if we southerners weren't entirely convinced that the English Civil War started in Edinburgh due to an ecclesiastical dispute with Charles I although we did admire Euan's patriotism and love of his home town.
Ilayda_A, Dec 2025
A very nice Edinburgh Old Town tour. I learned a lot, and Max guided us in a clear and engaging manner.
Jackie_G, Dec 2025
Excellent tour, interesting and informative.Georgia was very good, very engaging. Tour was just the right length with well timed stop for hot drinks. Thank
You
Molly_R, Nov 2025
This was a great introduction to Edinburgh and Max was a very knowledgeable guide. I did the tour with my mother who was a little nervous about the hilliness of the city but it was very accessible for her.
Vamshi_R, Nov 2025
I’ve done many walking tours in new locales, and this one ranks near the bottom. There was way too much irrelevant talking from Alastair and not enough walking. Indeed, based on the map, we appeared to walk in a very small circle and not see much at all. Do not recommend.
Linda_W, Nov 2025
Really knowledgeable guide. Interesting information and really got into the history. I recommend it!!
Lori_R, Nov 2025
We saw an absolute ton with Jule, who was bubbling with enthusiasm for Edinburgh. This was a Great way to get to know the old town area of the city!
Tania_L, Nov 2025
Greg, took us on the tour. He was very knowledgeable and informative. Answered our questions and gave us funny stories along the way. Very recommended
Barry_B, Oct 2025
We had the best tour with Alastair. He was very passionate about his city and told us stories to explain the history of old town, Edinburgh, and Scotland. Perfect introduction to Edinburgh!
Jenna_P, Oct 2025
We went on a tour around Edinburgh with English Ben - what a GUY. He was so entertaining, enthusiastic and had a great sense of humour. Would thoroughly recommend to anyone visiting
James_P, Oct 2025
Two hour walking tour of old Edinburgh - very knowledgeable guide - mixture of historical facts and fascinating stories
Karen_J, Oct 2025
Jule did a fabulous job with stories and history- I would highly recommend her tour!! She also gave great pointers on places to eat and drink! It was fun time!
Steve_C, Oct 2025
Great learning a bit about some of the major figures in Scottish history and its turbulent political history. Some amusing bits too.
Allen_B, Oct 2025
Koffe was a fantastic guide. Engaging, very well informed about the history and entertaining to boot. Perhaps a frustrated actor!
Aurelie_B, Oct 2025
Kofe was great. Very engaging and informative. Explained as we we went along. Knew his stuff, as it should be. Would definitely recommend!
Mike_W, Oct 2025
Our guide - Ben - was amazing. He told wonderful stories and really brought Edinburgh's history to life, both the serious and the fun side. He's a gem
Trevor_M, Oct 2025
Ben was great! He was very informative and a relaxed tour guide and answered all of our questions we had!
Marian_R, Oct 2025
Very interesting. Wonderful background on the city.
Our guide Angus was so knowledgeable and was a good storyteller. I learned a lot from him and had lots of fun. His sense of humor was so fun.
From $24.28
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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