In the 1600s Mary King’s Close was one of the busiest streets in Edinburgh, a steep, narrow lane of houses and workshops named after a merchant widow who lived there. In 1753 the city began building the Royal Exchange — today’s City Chambers — on top of it. The upper storeys were knocked down, the lower ones became foundations, and the close and its neighbours were left in the dark underneath.
They are still there. The Real Mary King’s Close takes small groups down into the surviving rooms and lanes with a guide in the character of someone who once lived there. It is social history rather than a ghost show — plague, poverty, trade and daily life — though it has its eerie corners. Elsewhere in the Old Town, the Edinburgh Vaults under the South Bridge offer something darker.
What to see and do: Real Mary King’s Close & the Vaults
The Real Mary King’s Close tour
The guided visit lasts about an hour and covers several connected closes: a merchant’s house, a plague-stricken home of 1645, a sawmaker’s workshop that was still in use into the 20th century, and the steep close itself. Tours run throughout the day and are frequently fully booked — reserve a time slot.
The South Bridge vaults
When the South Bridge was completed in 1788, the arches beneath it were walled in and used as workshops, stores and taverns. Damp soon drove the businesses out and the poorest of the city moved in. The chambers were later sealed and forgotten, then rediscovered in the 1980s. They can only be visited on a guided tour; history tours run by day and ghost tours in the evening.
A ghost tour after dark
Edinburgh is one of the homes of the modern ghost walk. Evening tours combine the vaults with a graveyard and a costumed storyteller; late-night versions are for adults only. For something lighter, the comedy-horror Ghost Bus tours the city on a vintage black double-decker.
Above ground: the City Chambers and the Tron
Before or after your tour, look at the arcaded courtyard of the City Chambers that sits on top of the closes, and walk down to the Tron Kirk and Hunter Square, where the South Bridge begins — though you will hardly notice you are on a bridge, as buildings hide all but one of its arches.
How to get to Real Mary King’s Close & the Vaults
- The Real Mary King’s Close is at 2 Warriston’s Close, on the High Street section of the Royal Mile, opposite St Giles’ Cathedral — five minutes’ walk up from Waverley station.
- Vault tours start from different meeting points around the High Street, the Tron Kirk and the Cowgate. Check your confirmation carefully.
- Arrive ten minutes before your slot: tours leave on time and latecomers cannot join part-way through.
Insider tips
- The close involves steps, uneven floors and low ceilings, and is not accessible to wheelchair users. There is a minimum age (five at the time of writing).
- Photography is not allowed in Mary King’s Close; a souvenir photo is taken during the tour.
- It is cool underground all year. Bring a jumper even in July.
- Choose a daytime vaults tour if you want the history, an evening one if you want the shivers — the spaces are the same.
Best tours & tickets for Real Mary King’s Close & the Vaults
These top-rated experiences pair well with a visit to Real Mary King’s Close & the Vaults:
Guided tour from €34 Edinburgh: Real Mary King’s Close Guided Tour
An hour beneath the City Chambers in the preserved streets and houses of the 1600s, led by a guide in character. It is social history — plague, trade and daily life — rather than a fright show, and suitable for most children over five.
- Buried 17th-century streets under the Royal Mile
- Guide in historical character
- Timed entry — slots sell out
Guided tour from €28 Edinburgh: Underground Vaults Tour
A guided descent into the chambers hidden inside the arches of the South Bridge, once workshops and taverns and later a slum. Daytime departures focus on the history; evening ones lean into the hauntings. Check which you are booking.
- The 18th-century vaults under the South Bridge
- History by day, ghost stories at night
- Over 12,000 reviews
Evening ghost tour from €31 Edinburgh: Haunted Underground Vaults and Graveyard Tour
Edinburgh’s classic evening out: a cloaked guide leads you through the closes of the Old Town, into a graveyard and down into the vaults, with stories of body-snatchers, witch trials and things unexplained. More than 7,000 reviews.
- Blair Street vaults after dark
- A historic Old Town graveyard
- Cloaked storyteller guide
Evening bus tour from €25 Edinburgh: Comedy Horror Ghost Bus Tour
A theatrical sightseeing tour on a classic 1960s bus painted funeral black, with a conductor-actor telling the grislier parts of Edinburgh’s history as you ride past the Grassmarket, the Royal Mile and Holyrood. More funny than frightening.
- Vintage black double-decker
- Actors, jokes and jump scares on board
- See the city lit up at night
