Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle - Small Group Walking Tour
Overview
Available languages
2 hours 15 minutes
Mobile ticket
This walking tour is the perfect introduction to Scotland’s capital. The first secret you’ll learn? That you can skip the line at Edinburgh Castle!
Step into Edinburgh’s secrets and discover the heart of Scotland’s capital, beyond the reach of tour buses and guidebooks. A beautiful city steeped in awe-inspiring history that has been perfectly preserved to this day, in the wynds, closes, courtyards and homes of Edinburgh’s Old Town.
The castle towers over Edinburgh from up high on its ancient volcanic rock – a literal fortress, looking out over the city’s stunning landscapes. Battles and sieges were fought over it, royalty lived and died within its walls, and countless generations have been inspired by it.
Visit Edinburgh Castle with your Mercat Tours Storyteller and from the Royal Mile you’ll walk over the drawbridge and straight past the ticket line – leaving the queues behind and continuing your journey into Edinburgh’s history uninterrupted.
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Tours are guaranteed all year round, so please dress for the weather, with comfortable shoes.
Please note: Edinburgh Castle will not admit visitors with bags larger than a 25litre capacity
Please note that we cannot accept babies or children under the age of 5 on this tour.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
St Giles' Cathedral
View the exterior and hear the history.
Parliament House
View the exterior
What‘s Included
Exclusive multi-sensory experience; with master Storyteller guides
Enhanced, hand-picked sounds of Edinburgh, delivered through TourTalk audio devices
Small group experience
Fast track, skip the line entry into Edinburgh Castle
Options
Royal Mile and Castle
Castle entry fee included
Maximum group size of 18
Walking tour including castle
Reviews
1,514 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Craig was amazing. This is a great tour to get some in depth understanding of the history of Edinburgh, and Scotland.
ericd246,,Dec 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00A great walking tour with Craig! He is a Scottish native and gave a ton of little known history and insights toward Edinburgh and Scotland in general. He was very engaging and funny and made the tour very enjoyable. Highly recommended!
Royal Mile Tour
bray346,,Dec 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great Experience! Our guide Mally did a really great job. He really brought the tour to life for us. Very knowledgeable! Would highly recommend.
An American’s love of learning
110edier,,Dec 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Mally was excellent. He was knowledge and made the tour fun and informative. I would definitely recommend this tour based on his presentation. Give that man a raise!! Such fun!
Excellent
397sabah,,Dec 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The tour is very fascinating, Linda our tour guide was informative, funny and engaging, the tour started from above the ground and ended underground
Enjoyable and informative
Y854UUstephaniev,,Dec 20, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00Lovely tour guide Venice, who really knew her history. Throughly enjoyed the tour. Well priced and good amount of time for the tour.
Worth doing
ianwY3854GO,,Dec 19, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Informative and fun - dress for the weather! Guide very knowledgeable and engaged the whole group for the tour with plenty of humour
Great
Go37376818839,,Dec 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very good and interesting. Our guide Beni did a great tour.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
The Secret Mile
karenlW7017BD,,Dec 16, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our tour guide Linda made this 2 hour tour fun & interactive. Her knowledge of the history of Edinburgh was very impressive & we found her very engaging. We especially loved the anecdotes & the great little finds like the tartan shop that we otherwise probably wouldn't have stumbled across.
Great primer to understanding Edinburgh
373hollyh,,Dec 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Linda was fabulous and so knowledgeable. I walked away seeing Edinburgh’s amazing buildings and learning so much of its past. Thank you!
You have to visit the castle
Sophia P,,Dec 1, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour was great. It was November so it was super windy and chilly up at the castle, but our guide was great. She was super funny and knew what she was talking about.
From £50.75
Want a private experience? Upgrade to a private tour
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Operated by Mercat Tours