Edinburgh's Underground City Tour: Exploring City of the Dead Vaults
4.7
77 Ratings
Edinburgh
Uncover the secrets of Edinburgh's Underground City on this award-winning guided walking tour. Explore the haunted tunnels and hear chilling stories of the city's dark past. Book now!
Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • City of the Dead Tours - This tour ventures into the most haunted section of Edinburgh’s legendary Underground City, where a population once lived in utter misery. Black as Satan’s jammies, with a fascinating history to match, these vaults were forgotten for centuries and only recently unsealed.

This part of the South Bridge Vaults is known as Damnation Alley. With good reason. These dark tunnels and are stalked by a malevolent presence known as the South Bridge Entity.

What's Included
  • Guidance by a local expert
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information

Venture into the creepiest part of Edinburgh’s famed Underground City on this celebrated guided stroll. Referred to as ‘Damnation Alley’ and deserted for many years, these corridors once served as the grim dwelling for destitute men, women, and children.

Delve into the sordid history of Edinburgh as you hear the real narratives of what actually occurred underneath the city’s lanes and what might still be lingering…

• A guided, 80-minute trek through Edinburgh’s subterranean city, directed by an expert local guide.

• Option to select a daytime or evening tour.

IMPORTANT NOTE

In exceptionally bustling periods throughout the year, tours are designated SOLD OUT even when spaces remain, to prevent over-booking. Reach out to us should the tour you desire be labelled SOLD OUT, as there may be spots still free.

  • Age: Minimum 12
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Language: English only
Location
St Giles' Cathedral
High Street
All tours leave from the "Tree of the Dead" outside St Giles Cathedral on the pavement facing the Royal Mile. Please arrive at the meeting point 10 minutes prior to departure. Please contact us if you are unable to join your tour.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(77 Ratings)
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Marief175
Apr 29, 2024
Thank you Ryan 💕 - Ryan is a true gem of a guide. He did the absolute most to make sure we had a good time and was very informative as well. And what a sense of humour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
184lucindap
Apr 3, 2024
10/10! - This experience was just awesome! The history of the vaults was fascinating, and the vaults themselves were totally spooky and cool. Our tour guide, Beth, was absolutely amazing. She was very engaging and respectful, and she did an excellent job at telling the history of the vaults, while also telling supernatural stories that contributed to the ghostly ambience. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the haunted histories of Edinburgh.
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F849lcjuliee
Mar 31, 2024
City of the Dead..........great fun - Highly recommend, the tour guide Rebecca was great, she kept the tour stories light with just the right amount of scariness and was very informative about the city's darker history, all in all we had a great time and would definitely book again. 10/10 ☠️👻💀
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Tomgammie
Mar 27, 2024
Beware the watcher, he might be right behind you - A genuinely thrilling experience that will make your skin crawl and your blood run cold. Beware the watcher, we heard footsteps and thought someone was behind us only to find that space completely unoccupied. The vaults themselves and the stories told are frightening in their own right, but were brought to life by our outstanding tour guide Sara. She’s both an insightful guide as well as an excellent performer that made the experience truly spectacular. Could not recommend any higher, even though it gave me nightmares. Thanks Sara for accomodating us - from your Aussie friends.
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Maddisonf413
Mar 24, 2024
Great afternoon tour - We had a fantastic tour around Edinburgh’s underground vaults this afternoon with Beth. She was funny, engaging and spooky - we were totally hooked from beginning to end. We’re both skeptics but came out feeling very much spooked. We couldn’t recommend this experience more!
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V2239fjsimons
Mar 3, 2024
A lot of fun! - We took part in the 1530 tour with Beth on Saturday 02/03/24. She was immediately funny and had us laughing with her dark sense of humour. She led us down into the vaults and told the stories in a very interactive and engaging way. She really impressed us with her style, humour and experience and I would gladly do the tour again 😀.
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Flyer788364
Feb 15, 2024
Really fun time - I'd like to begin by saying you do NOT go underground. We had Ed as a tour guide and I must say he was a real cracker. Funny, relaxed and down to earth guy. I've never seen someone where a Winnie the Pooh shirt under a leather trench coat but what a look. He was very informative, and knew his history, although I wasn't sure how much of the tour was fabricated Nonetheless, it was really great fun. I'm a sucker for spooky supernatural stuff, and even though I didn't have any experiences, the thought of their being activity in a small vault surrounded by the dark was a real thrill. I think I'd definitely recommend this tour but please be warned, there's a lot of steps involved so if you're someone who struggles with steps and mobility, this specific tour might not be for you. Overall though, a great time and a great laugh, with some spookiness thrown in the mix. Ed was also a keen swearer which I was very fond of (I have the mouth of a sailor) and it made the tour a lot better in my experience.
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481abigailb
Feb 8, 2024
Fantastic tour and stories - We had a wonderful tour of Sara/Zara (May have spelt it wrong). She was so engaging and lovely with all of us. Really kept us gripped throughout the tour and a great story teller. The tour itself was fascinating. I have been to Edinburgh many times and never done a vault tour, I would 100% recommend a vault tour over a ghost/graveyard tour. It feels like you're seeing a part of Edinburgh that so few tourists have been to. Really interesting hearing about the history of the vaults. Would definitely book again cause we enjoyed it so much.
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Tichyjulier
Mar 21, 2024
Step into a picture of history - Natalie our guide made this tour entertaining and historically informative. Nat is an assett to the company , helpful and amusing making what could have been a mediocre tour come alive, her grasp of the atmosphere and ability to paint a picture around her seemed effortless. Would definately recommend this tour company their standards are excellent .
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Cristifrancoe
Feb 22, 2024
Distressing and scary - I was terrified the whole time, the vaults gave me the creeps and it was cold and dark. We had great information both mythical and scientific given by our lovely guide Hess.
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