Visiting Edinburgh and not having a chance to go underground in the middle of the night to explore the eerie stories of miserable life and collective death here would be ignoring the reality of the city that can seem quite innocent on the surface. Our guide Jordan was simply phenomenal. It was down to earth, with a sense of humor and grounded in the profound reality of this miserable place. The guy did a remarkable job and there was not a bland second in the tour. The group for the night tour was about eight people, all adults, so no kids running around. It was a good size group and did not feel overcrowded. read more

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I had been waiting 2 years to get back to Edinburgh so that I could go on the Underground Vaults Tour. The day finally arrived and I was there with a couple and Louisa a very unpleasant tour guide. The couple was from the Netherlands and the gentleman politely asked Louisa to talk just a little slower so that his wife could understand. Louisa freaked out and told him off and then was confrontational when I tried to calm this down. She then took us through half of the tour and no one said anything because we didn't want to piss her off. She left us on the street outside of the tour office and then a woman came out saying that Louisa was uncomfortable continuing the tour because we were rude. We told the woman what happened and that Louisa was the problem and she accused us of bad mouthing her guide. I asked if we could get on a different tour and the woman said that she would ask the guide doing the next tour. She came back and said that guide said no because he is ruder than Louisa. I asked if that was part of the tour for the guides to be rude and she said no. So I did not get to see the underground vaults and my vacation in Edinburgh was ruined. Such a bad experience. Louisa should not be giving tours and the tour company needs better customer service. I believe the rude guide of 3 people is ridiculous. I never write reviews so something needs to go really wrong to get me to write one. read more

We had so much fun on this tour today. Jordan was our tour guide and was super engaging and funny and put on a great show/tour. We got a chance to check out the tunnels but he also stopped off at a few spots along the way and share some interesting factoids on Edinburgh. The "haunted" tunnel made for some good interesting stories and drama. I did go into the circle of stones that he said was haunted and one that he would not recommend going into...nice knowing all of you! read more

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Daron was an amazing tour guide. Tour took place June 4, 2025. His humor and timing was impeccable. The tour group was larger that usual but he was able to be heard and everyone was able to be included. He handled any surprise issues very well. I hope he sees this review because we didn't have any paranormal activity during the tour so I hope this picture made up for it. read more

Auld Reekie Tours - This was what happened when I attempted to take a vault pic. The # 666 displayed in lights & a friend sent me their photo for comparison. - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Our tour took an hour with a guide named Alex. She led the Haunted Vault tour, which covered some scary parts of Edinburgh history and then down into the actual vaults. She was a fantastic story teller, giving us goose bumps. By the end, she dared people to step into a circle - and out of our group of 16, NO ONE would do it. read more

Auld Reekie Tours - Vaults - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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There are plenty of "spooky" ghost tours but this one combines creepiness with interesting lore. We booked this tour on Viator. The guide met us at the appointed place and the tour started exactly on time. FYI- be there a bit early because our guide waited less than 5 minutes for a missing group before departing withour them. He gave us background on the name "Auld Reekie" which was interesting. The tour was a hour long walk thru the backstreets and down into the underground vaults where our guide described the living conditions and the people who lived there. We went into 2 rooms- one where the people lived and one that used by a witch coven. Our guide was extremely entertaining and funny! Just be aware that this tour might not be for those who have trouble walking as it's on cobblestone streets with a slight grade. The ground is damp and wet and very dim. There's a big 2 foot high step to get in and out of the vaults too. We learned a lot about old underground Edinburgh in a creepy fun way! read more

First off, James was amazing! If you're lucky enough to receive James as your tour guide, you're in fantastic hands. He's very knowledgeable, informative, and super fun to engage with. He has the perfect personality for this. For us, the adult only Terror Tour was awesome. I assure you that you will not be disappointed. Thanks for making this experience better than we expected. I've gone on some other underground ghost tours of south bridge in Edinburgh, and this one definitely stood out over the others. Thank you Auld Reekie Tours and most importantly Thank you James! Cheers from Dale and Teri, the witch of the group. Lol read more

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Very interesting tour! I think I had Allie or Alex (I'm sorry the names got confused in my head!, they were a great tour guide tho and super funny!) This tour taught me so much information about Scotland and its history. Very spooky and I'm not sure why I did it when the sun was down, but that definitely added to it haha read more

We went on the tour with Darren as our guide. The tour was amazing! Darren provided a lot of historical information and kept it fun with jokes and scary tricks. If you have any interest in the history of Edinburgh's underground, I highly recommend taking this tour. read more

If you want to do a vault tour in Edinburgh, Auld Reekie is the way to go! We did the Haunted Vault tour, which took us thru some of the scary parts of Edinburgh history and then down into the vaults themselves. I really thought I wasn't going to be scared on this tour but I was WRONG! By the end I was fully eyes closed holding onto my husband. Our tour guide, Andrew, was an amazing storyteller. He had us laughing, jumping in fear, and wanting to run out of the vaults!! It was a great time and I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this to anyone who wants to learn some spooky history while also having a good scare. read more

Auld Reekie Tours - above ground section of the haunted vault tour! - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Amy was amazing, very knowledgable and entertaining. Loved the tour and learned so much about the undergrounds of Edinburgh. Highly recommend this tour for anyone who visit the city and if you're lucky, Amy will lead the way. read more

Auld Reekie Tours - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Allie our tour guide was amazing! Very creepy and alot of information. Our 13 yr old loved it!

Daren was our tour guide and he did a fantastic job. Great jokes, fun times on the tour; I'd recommend it. read more

Auld Reekie Tours - Pretty cool religious society used to channel spiritual energy in the vaults and their belongings can still be seen today on this tour. - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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My family and I went on the Grey Friars Cemetery and Edinburgh vaults tour on our recent holiday. We all loved the tour. Our guide, Sophie, was outstanding! She taught us so much and was very entertaining. I have brain cancer and have to be very careful with my mobility. It was a bit challenging at times (as was stated before we booked the tour,) but I was able to make it through. Sophie was very attentive to me throughout. I think this was the best part of our holiday! Also I heard a man growl in the tunnels from an area we were not in. read more

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My kids and I took the Underground Vault tour with Jordan. It was entertaining and very creepy. A good but if Edinburgh history mixed with some humor and ghost stories. Would highly recommend this to anyone! read more

Ok, so I am a huge fan of anything ghost related (ghost hunting shows, haunted house type shows, etc), not because I want to see one or have any interest in coming in to contact with anyone beyond the grave, but I am at least a potential believer in ghosts, so stuff like this interests me. I've been on this particular tour three times now, each time with people visiting us and it's no less scary than the first time I went. My guy has been a great sport and been on this tour two of the three times I've been, each time biting his tongue from saying that anything like this is complete rubbish. He is truly a non believer. The tour starts up near the Tron Church where we're given a quick walking tour and some information about the start of the underground vaults and what life was like back then. The guides are very knowledgeable and it seems as though they're really enthused about their job and taking us on this journey down in to the vaults with them. Once we get to the Auld Reekie HQ, we're asked to pay and then we're on our way. A short walk more and some more info about the area and we head in to the vaults. This particular walk is a day walk, so I'm assuming it's a little less scary than if you went on a night walk they have. I'm too much of a chicken and really hate the dark anyway, so this is about as much as I can manage as far as being in a haunted vault. The vaults are dark and damp, so dress accordingly. Although you're not down there too terribly long (30-45 mins tops), it can get a bit cool down there. We're taken in to three different areas of the vaults and more stories are told about the various happenings down in the vaults. I won't give away any of the details for those of you who plan on taking a tour or two, but I will say that it's well worth the money. It's not expensive at all and sometimes you can find deals on itison or groupon, so check out those sites before your trip, just in case. All in all, this is a great tour to take if you want to learn a bit about the underground vaults and their history. read more

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When I moved here, I kind of felt like I had to do one of these haunted walking tours of Edinburgh, but the hard part was choosing which tour guide group to go with. As is usually the case when there are 15 of you, we went for the closest place, which happened to be Auld Reekie's big sign outside the Tron Kirk on the Royal Mile. It was definitely a good shout - although the tour wasn't particularly scary, it was the most fascinating touristy thing you can do in the whole city. In fact, it's embarassing how often I hear myself repeating their stories to anyone who will (or won't!) listen. I'll try to restrain myself here, and simply tell you that you wander up the Mile to the former parliament, you go to see the spot where they burned witches, and then you go down into the vaults underneath South Bridge. The tour winds up back at their Niddry Street office, which is conveniently located next to the oldest pub in the city centre, and supposedly the most haunted, where they give you a voucher for a free drink. It'd be a pretty pointless thing to do during the day, as the atmosphere is so much better at night. If you haven't already done one of these tours, then do one. And do it with Auld Reekie's. read more

Auld Reekie Tours - image courtesy of www.auldreekietours.co.uk - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

We did the haunted vault tour it was fantastic!!! Ewan was our guide and he was fantastic!! Very knowledge about the locations, factual history and events that occurred related to the vaults!! I appreciated the authenticity of the tour and was greatful there weren't any "party tricks" We were lucky enough to have paranormal interactions! read more

Super fun. Not too scary but forsure worth the money. Our tour guide was awesome and super knowledgeable about everything. Even things that didn't have to do with the tour. 10/10 would go again read more

This is without a doubt the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my life. I've always been fascinated in the supernatural and what not, and when I heard there was a tour of the vaults in Edinburgh where hundreds of impoverished people burned to their deaths, I simply had to go. I've been twice now and had two different tour guides, both of whom were great. They're not the sort of guide that dresses up and puts on a weird Goosebumps character, but instead they're just dressed normally and act completely normal. There's a large outdoor portion of the tour when you walk down to the (I think) Grassmarket, then back up in a circle to the Royal Mile, and then you go into the Vaults. The vaults aren't underground as most would think, they're actually up a flight of stairs and underneath the Royal Mile. It's a very claustrophobic atmosphere, and after briefly stopping in a museum of torture devices used back then, you're led into the vaults. There's various vaults there; one that a pagan group use for religious practice, another few they don't let you enter for safety purposes, the one with the stone circle that is supposedly horrifically cursed if you step foot it in, and another 2. I've always been a massive believer in all things ghost-orientated, but even if I hadn't been I would be after my second vault visit to the room with the stone circle. I started sweating but the vaults are freezing cold, my whole body felt really uncomfortable and I felt really faint. After we left and were returning to our hotel, I noticed a set of bite marks on my arm, that looked like they belonged to a child, that I didn't even feel happening, which sort of freaked me and everyone else out. The tour guide said he'd seen it before though. Go here for a good scare, but stay open minded. Nothing worse than someone ranting about being a non-believer the whole time! read more

Lets be honest, you cant come to Edinburgh without going on a ghost tour. As such, I have been on three tours now with various friends/visiters/family, and two of them have been with Auld Reekie Tours, which starts at the Tron Kirk at the bottom of the royal mile. The reason I have been on it twice is because it is excellent. It can be scary, depending on the party you go with - with a real claustrophobic, supernatural fear as you enter the underground vaults. The tour guides are very funny and well informed, but they can be downright terrifying too. There is a lot of audience participation, and some jump out at you type moments. There is also a brief stop in a museum of hidious torture, which is good for a laugh, if nothing else. Excellent, the best tourist thing to do in Edinburgh. read more

Auld Reekie Tours - From business website - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

What happened? I used to go on these tours all the time, since it was a great way to find out about Edinburgh's history and have the pants scared off you. However, my last visit in June '13 was appalling. Our guide, Peter, was half-demented and told some stories that were vaguely interesting, but mostly rambled about knowing Sean Connery's family and being on Blue Peter (can you say "frustrated actor"?). When he took us to the "haunted vault" underground, he made no attempt to build any atmosphere, and there was no "jumper ooter" at the end. That was my last tour with Auld Reekie. They have the best vaults to tour, but have obviously given up on making any effort on giving their customers a good experience. read more

Ghost tours in Edinburgh are apparently a must-do, and we were excited to try one out. We heard good things about this company generally, and it seemed to be one of the popular choices. We arrived shortly before 9 for our scheduled tour, and joined a group of about 80, yes, that's right 80! I was already a bit put off, but still hoped we'd be divided into smaller groups. No such luck. Our tour guide, who did do a good job, led us to the office where we spent time filing through and presenting our vouchers. It seemed some people were paying on the spot, and may had Groupons (jealous). The size of the group really did take away from our experience, and even the guide said several times, "If the group wasn't so big, we often go to X," or "With such a big group we can't Y." That made the disappointment even greater. That being said, the tour of the Vaults was fine and spooky, and we got to hear some interesting history and facts about Edinburgh's seedier past. I think cutting off the tour max number to allow for a smaller group would only make the tour more popular. We left right after the Vault, skipping our free whiskey and shortbread, since we didn't want to fight the 78 other people filing into the pub to line up for theirs. read more

I've always wanted to do one of the Edinburgh ghost tours, Me and a friend got vouchers on itison and headed along. It's near to Halloween so this added to the fun. I am a huge scaredy cat and I still am not sure why I put myself through this. You meet outside the tron church on the royal mile. Our guide took us to grayfriers graveyard, I've been in the graveyard before but not at night. It was really eary but there was lots of people and other ghost tour groups wandering about so it kind of lost the fear factor. we were really disappointed as we'd thought this tour took us into the locked area of grayfriers graveyard but it's another tour that does that. It was interesting hearing about the different graves and stories of grave robbing etc. And also that they think that JK Rowling had got some inspiration from some of the graves, for names in Harry Potter. Next stop was the vaults, I'd never done this before and this was scary. It's very low lit and you can definitely feel things in different rooms. They say there is a small ghost of a boy that had been seen there. On our trip a woman said she had seen him, but I'm a bit skeptical only because I think if you'd seen something you would say it straight away, where she had waited until the tour guide had stopped talking to say, but I guess we'll never know. I really enjoyed hearing about the history of Edinburgh and all the spooky stories. I'll defo be booking on another one, this time that goes into the locked bit of the graveyard. read more

I love ghost walks, hearing of tales of witchcraft, ghosts and ghouls, there's just nothing better than getting a good fright. To be fair, I have a very over active imagination so am easily scared so it's not much of a challenge but Auld Reekies didn't just make me jump a few times it was also an all round entertaining tour with great storytelling by a terrific guide. First of all the tour goes through some meandering streets in the centre of Edinburgh giving a little bit of the history of the city and getting you in the mood to enter the underground vaults. You are then taken to a room with all manner of medieval torture devices. The one that freaked me out the most was where the victim was restrained with a rat placed on them, the rat was heated using a metal container and as it was driven mad it looked for a way of escape tearing through the victims body... gruesome stuff. There's a Pagan Temple where ghostly goings on have allegedly taken place and the final stop on the tour is a room where the Southbridge Poltergeist is said to reside and if you find strange markings on your body when you leave it means he may have followed you home, perhaps not the kind of lumber you were after. Every year I say I'll go on a ghost tour on Halloween and at Auld Reekies they're already taking bookings for their Halloween tours this year starting from 12.30 running right through to midnight. Ooohhh... read more

Judging from the other reviews on here, maybe I just had exceptionally bad luck, but I didn't have a good experience with this tour. We booked onto a 1 1/2 hour 'Terror Tour'. Firstly, the tour guide we were due to have was ill, which is completely understandable, but they combined our (already quite large) group with a later (even larger group), which caused a few problems. It was raining, and the guide didn't have any kind of umbrella - so she decided after walking us round the block to cut off the 'street level' part of the tour. She then decided that because of the group size, she wouldn't be able to take us through the museum either. Instead taking us straight 'underground' - which is in fact not underground at all, but up a flight of stairs in the vaults built under (I think) South Bridge. A ghost tour is always going to be pretty silly, but to have a guide standing in front of everybody saying 'you can all see the woman stood right behind me, riiiight? or am I the only one who can see her?' is a little bit cringey. Her script was very well written to make people feel quite anxious about the whole thing (mentioning people crying with fear/ those stepping into a 'cursed circle' seeing faces in their wing mirrors and crashing - and then trying to sue Auld Reekie Tours/ children being attacked in the tunnels, etc), but the accuracy of the tour I'm not so sure of. I'm not a complete cynic when it comes to the supernatural, but I did get the feeling we were being somewhat conned. In the end, I just resigned myself to the silliness and decided to just enjoy being in the atmospheric vaults, and was glad that I got a half price ticket at £6 instead of the very steep £12. read more

Done the Ghosts and Torture tour. It did not disappoint. It was really eerie and informative. We walked around old town and then into the vaults. The vaults were exceptionally eerie and we were told of the horrible things that happened down there. It is said to be haunted and although our tour guide had seen evidence, we did not. It would not have been as good an experience had it not been for our guide Ewan, he was fantastic! He has a great personality that made him a great tour guide and he certainly knows his stuff! I would do it again and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Edinburgh. read more

Auld Reekie Tours run ghost tours which lead you around the streets surrounding the Royal Mile. My friends and I decided it would be fun to go on one after a few drinks, and it did indeed turn out to be a good laugh. We caught the last tour of the night and we were the only people on it, so it all felt a bit private and special. Our guide, Rachel, was a great storyteller, but also knew her stuff in regards to the history of Edinburgh. She tried her best to scare us with tales of the grisly things that happened in days gone by, but it wasn't until we were led into the underground vaults that it got a bit spooky. You are led through various rooms which are supposedly haunted and teeming with ghosts, we didn't see any, but we did all get a bit of a fright towards the end of the tour (I won't give the game away). I'm not sure if we all would've enjoyed it so much with a bunch of pesky tourists there too, but it was an interesting way to spend the evening before hitting the pub. read more

This is a bit of a tongue in cheek tour for the tourists. Having seen the vaults on several programs on the TV we thought we would go see. The tour guide was good but kept going on about health and safety, people feeling odd etc. Our tour started at 3.30 from the royal mile gathering place and we then shot off at pace to the point of paymnt. We entered a building up a short but steep flight of stairs into a dark room of torture instruments, nothing was said about them in detail. On entering the vaults (tunnels) you got the impression that you where under ground but infact we where at least one story above ground level in the centre of an old building. We spent about 45 mins wondering up and down about 100m of tunnel in and out of 3 vault rooms all with spurious claims of paranormal activity with special referance to a stone circle. At the end of the tour you emerge into a pub (formally vault rooms) for a shot of whiskey and short bread. The tour guide had shot off for the next tour and we where left wondering....... On leaving the said pub, she passed us with another bunch of unsuspecting tourists heading to the payment point. There was about 20 in our group which seemed about right for the space availible for everyone to fit in, any more then you would be left IN THE DARK!!!!!!!! All in all a bit of fun & worth a look. BOO!!! read more

I really enjoyed this tour when I've been on it. The tour guides are what makes the tour, along with the dark dingy caves. The one thing that lets it down is that if you go on the tour more than once, the guides' stories are inconsistent. Which makes you have little faith in the place being hauted. Despite this, its a great place to take people visiting the city as the tour is full of history of the city. read more

This was lots and lots of fun. We went for the Terror Tour at ten pm as we thought would be more scary. Started with a walk around the Royal Mile area with an interesting talk from the guide. He told us all about the area and there were things I just didn't know about my city. The main event was of course the Vaults - why else would we do the tour hey? Our guide was very skilled at building up the story and while I don't believe in ghosts I have to admit to being a little spooked while down there and there was no way I was standing in that stone circle! Doesn't take too long and it's an interesting way to round off a night out in Edinburgh. My only complaint was the size of the group - we had booked ahead and assumed there would be a limit on the number per tour - but that didn't happen. I think there were over 60 of us on the tour and that did detract from the tour. I think the people who run this should stop being greedy and limit the numbers so you get a quality experience. Oh and the pub you are supposed to go to for free drink has closed down - went into receivership I think! read more

We did the 8pm tour with the Duchess, yes Duchess (think Kinky Boots). She was HANDS DOWN, the most knowledgeable, entertaining and lovely guide I've ever encountered on any tour around the world. She kept us captivated with the history of Scotland and the events involved with the shaping of the supernatural beliefs surrounding Edinburgh. I love a great ghost story, but the Duchess kept it real and believable. I'm a skeptic, but she did make me question myself. I definitely recommend this tour, you can find out which tour the Duchess is doing and I would highly recommend joining hers. You will not be disappointed! She makes special effort to ensure the whole group is involved and interested. We're going on another one later this week! read more

I went on the "terror tour" last Friday night, and I definitely feel as though I got my money's worth. It was entertaining, plenty of good stories, and an excellent experience of going through the vaults. In fact, a lot of the stories he told us were a bit goofy and campy, not the horror stories I was expecting. Sure, I'd be horrified if the chamberpots were dumped on me of a night, but I was here for ghost stories and tales of terror, not stories about human waste which would fit better in a Three Stooges sketch. Walking through the vaults was very, very cool. There's definitely a supernatural, spooky feel to it. But (you can consider this something of a spoiler alert - although honestly if you don't see it coming then you'll probably wet yourself on the tour anyway) the cheap spook at the end really ruined it for me. Up until that point I lapped up all the stories but when that happened, I remembered it was just a show - and it cheapened it for me, because then I started doubting the rest of what I heard. Walking through those vaults and hearing the horrible stories about what happened under my flat was great. It costs the same as going to the cinema for a cheesy horror movie, and it's about as un-scary. But it's a lot more fun. Eerie? Yes, definitely. But terror? afraid not. read more

I wish I went to other ghost tour. The tour guide I had spend the first half of the tour just going around touristy spots on the Royal Mile, nothing to do with ghost or anything scary whatsoever. And the Vaults. Yes, they were creepy. And I'm glad he let us take pictures because Mary King's close tour did not let me take any pictures at all. But the tour guide was horrible for this one, he kept saying something about celebrities, which I didn't really understand or care to know, and once we were in the vaults, it was better but he didn't really make the tour exciting or anything. And torture tools, he just went over each one of them quickly, and I was just really disappointed. read more

We went on this tour with a small group off people from several different countries, and it was great,I think the guide can make a big difference to the enjoyment of the tour, ours was very good,s,I was not scared at any time, but the stories are good and our guide got us all involved.The vaults are quite eerie,and with a drink at the end what more could you want. read more

Departing from the Tron Kirk, and descending in to the Niddrie Street Vaults, these tours are genuinely terrifying. With a quick tour and history of old Edinburgh the real fun begins with a stop at their private Torture exhibition and then its into the darkness of the vaults. Inside the vaults its scary, the stories and history that are told about make it all the more frightening. The final room that hosts the poltergeist has seen people faint, money fall out of pockets mysteriously, scratches appear on skin, torches and lights go out, and tour guides that were even too scared to stay in the room! Thankfully you emerge back in to the light within Nicol Edwards pub for a very welcome drink to steady the nerves! read more

I went on the tour with a few friends from work and didnt regret 1 bit of it. The tour was informative, interesting and rather fascinating. I would definitely recommend it, and the free drink at the end is well needed I tell you! Scary Stuff! read more

If you like getting the fright of your life (litreally) this is for you. I went acouple of months ago liked the beginning likes the stories but when I entered i freaked out. read more

Wow! This tour really scared the pants off of us. If you like REAL scares, and not some hoodoo voodoo made up "horror" rubbish, then by all means, do the Auld Reekie tour. They take you down to the Edinburgh underground, where it's dark and dank and full of malevolent ghosts (supposedly), and where hundreds died as a result of homelessness, indifference, fires, genocides and all kinds of evils. Even the hardiest soul will flinch when they get you in the cold dungeon-like atmosphere and tell you wicked stories of murder and pernicious hauntings. There was a crescendoing moment there when I was sure people were going to faint dead away or have heart attacks. After the scares, you're ushered into a neighboring pub which completes the spooky atmosphere...all in all, a pretty incredible piece of Edinburgh history, and well worth the price of admission. read more

I did the vaults tour and it was creepy and fascinating. The guide was knowledgeable and not cheesy at all. Definitely a must if you're visiting Edinburgh. read more