Royal Mile Guided Walking Tour: Exploring Edinburgh's Cultural Treasures with Expert Historians

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Edinburgh

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Join our Royal Mile guided walking tour in Edinburgh and explore the city’s cultural treasures with expert historians. Limited to 12 guests for an engaging and entertaining experience.

Duration: 3 hours

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

Usher Hall - View this Baroque “Beaux Arts” masterpiece in the Heart of Edinburgh, the Usher Hall. Donated to the people and the City of Edinburgh by Stuart Usher’s great great uncle, Andrew Usher.
Edinburgh Castle - Behold and view (from the outside) the towering, majestic pile of Edinburgh Castle from various vantage points. Learn all about its history (good, bad and downright ugly), the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Stuart dynasty, the Union of the Crowns and much more!
Grassmarket - Enter and visit this centuries-old area that served as the Medieval Marketplace of the City. Also see George Heriot School (the inspiration behind Hogwarts!).
Milne’s Court - Come and visit this fascinating court where you can see and hear how people lived in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Jolly Judge - See classic examples of Edinburgh’s Old Town tenement buildings in James Court. Also see the quirky and charismatic Jolly Judge pub.
Writers’ Museum - This museum showcases the best of Scotland’s literary heroes, past and present. Guests can visit inside should they wish.
Riddle’s Court - See the exterior of the home of the philosopher David Hume, the ‘Father of the Scottish Enlightenment’ as well as other Scottish notables.
Deacon Brodie’s Tavern - Learn about the life of the blackguard, Deacon Brodie, the real-life character behind ‘Jekyll and Hyde’.
St Giles’ Cathedral - View this magnificent cathedral from the outside and learn about its pivotal history during the middle ages and reformation periods.
Edinburgh City Chambers - See the highlights of this busy heart of the Royal Mile which includes the City Chambers, Mercat Cross and other sites of interest.
Edinburgh Waverley Station - Cross one of the first bridges to connect the Old & New Towns of Edinburgh, leading to Princes Street Gardens.
Scott Monument - See this towering landmark which delineates the separation of the Old and New Towns (both of which are Unesco world heritage sites).

What's Included

Small group (maximum 12 participants)
Professional guide

What's Not Included

Gratuities

Additional Information

Join our exceptional tour guides, Stuart Usher or his son, Richard Usher, for a captivating and enjoyable walk. We are also pleased to present our new guides; Dr Alison Duncan and David Forsyth, both skilled historians and specialists in Edinburgh.

We restrict our tour to a maximum of 12 participants to ensure personal engagement (unlike many tours that accommodate 30, 40 or even more guests!)

Stuart’s lineage holds significant ties to Edinburgh (Stuart’s great-great Uncle, Andrew Usher, made a generous contribution of the splendid Usher Hall to the city. Andrew also carried the reputation of being the ‘originator of the scotch whisky blending industry’).

Their profound understanding of the city’s cultural, historical, and architectural facets grants them an unparalleled viewpoint on our splendid capital.

Our guides will introduce you to the cultural gems of Edinburgh, its historical mysteries and notable personalities while delivering captivating and humorous commentary.

Children under 12 are free
Children 12-16 pay 75%

Location

The Usher Hall

Lothian Road

Your guide will be waiting for you outside the central entrance of the Usher Hall (there are 3 entrances and he will be outside the middle one).

Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings

4.9

(1417 Ratings)

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Dominick_g

Aug 31, 2024

Funny guide - Our guide was very funny and entertaining. He was very knowledgeable I. His understanding of Scottish history clearly showed his interest in the field and made the learning from him enjoyable.

Review provided by Viator

Tourist51375997519

Aug 31, 2024

Knowledgeable, pleasant guide with a sense of fun. - Really enjoyed our tour with the guide Douglas. Douglas had a very pleasant manner. He provided lots of history and interesting tidbits in a manner that we could easily understand. You will need good walking shoes to cope with the cobblestones and steps. Appreciated that we were in a small group of 8. Also found Douglas very respectful of other groups we encountered… giving them their space. Well worth doing. You’ll learn heaps.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Amy_r

Aug 30, 2024

Memorable tour - Enjoyed the guided tour of Old Town! The guide was friendly, personable and knowledgeable. She knew a variety of information about the area including the history, architecture, famous stories and Harry Potter take-ways.

Review provided by Viator

Ann_d

Aug 30, 2024

Old Town Edinburgh- great walking tour! - Steuart was a wonderful and entertaining guide. We enjoyed all the stories and the your was super informative.

Review provided by Viator

Scott_l

Aug 29, 2024

Royal Mile walking tour - A three-hour tour feels all too short when you have a guide as exceptional as David exploring a city as magnificent as Edinburgh. David, a genuine Scottish historian and the narrator for the Palace of Holyroodhouse audio tour, is clearly passionate about his country’s history and eager to share it. The tour was outstanding, covering nearly everything of note on the Royal Mile. I highly recommend this tour, especially if David is leading it.

Review provided by Viator

David_r

Aug 28, 2024

Excellent tour with Allison - We did the walking tour with Allison and she was fantastic! We had a small group of six and Allison made the tour was interactive. She was extremely knowledgeable and kept the tour fun. We would definitely recommend this tour to folks looking to learn more about the history of Edinburgh and the Royal Mile!

Review provided by Viator

A5800yqsharonl

Aug 27, 2024

Perfect host for the Royal Mile Tour - How fortunate were we to have chosen this tour and had Stewart Usher as our guide. He lives and breathes the history and majesty of Edinburgh. This traveler was very appreciative that Mr. Usher kept the group to a small number so that we could all hear clearly and ask questions. I thoroughly enjoyed the few hours we spent with him.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Joanneg2256

Aug 24, 2024

Wonderful Royal Mile Guided Walking Tour of Edinburgh - What a wonderful way to be introduced to the fascinating history of Edinburgh by knowledgeable tour guide Craig Goodman. It truly makes such a difference getting the right guide and he was delightful! My husband and I greatly appreciated Craig’s deep pride, knowledge and love of history, bringing Edinburgh to life for us all to enjoy. After our three hour walking tour with Craig, we had an understanding of what important landmarks we were looking at and an ease of exploring on our own more of this fascinating historic Scottish city. Thank you also Craig for the lunch time recommendation too : )

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Joel_h

Aug 20, 2024

Sophisticated overview - Douglas did graduate work in medieval theology which helped to give his tour a sophisticated grounding without being stuffy. He was real smart, interesting, and had a good wit. Since the tour is determined by geography rather than, say, chronology, it means that historical stories jump backward and forward, which can be a bit confusing. I would recommend handing out a one-sheet timeline which would give visual cuing and would help listeners organize the information in their heads. (Recommendation from a professor with 35 years of teaching experience).

Review provided by Viator

Alexander_s