Edinburgh · Scotland
The Real Mary King's Close — the city under the city
A warren of 17th-century streets sealed under the Royal Mile in 1753, walked today with a costumed guide who lived there. One hour, no under-5s, booked in two minutes.
Book your tickets
Pick your date and tour time below. Arrive 10 minutes early at 2 Warriston's Close, on the High Street opposite St Giles'.
Welcome to The Real Mary King's Close
The streets Edinburgh built over and forgot
In the 1600s Mary King's Close was one of the busiest alleys off the Royal Mile — seven storeys of tenements, workshops and taverns tumbling down the slope, named after a merchant burgess who lived there. In 1753 the city sliced the tops off the houses and built the Royal Exchange on the stumps. What was left underneath — rooms, stairs, whole streets — survived in the dark for 250 years. Since 2003 you can walk them.
Discover the Close
Where would you like to start?
History & Architecture
From a Celtic hillfort to a royal seat, a burnt-out ruin and back again — and the Slovak National Museum’s history collections inside today.
Visitor Info
Tours, seasonal opening hours, tickets and accessibility — everything you need before you arrive.
Bookings
Choose a tour and reserve your date and time online in a couple of minutes.
Find & Navigate
The castle on the map, with directions for your visit.
The guides
Your guide lived here — 350 years ago
Every tour is led by a costumed character based on a real resident: a plague doctor, a merchant, a maid, a gravedigger. They tell the Close's story from the inside — the 1645 plague, the foul-smelling 'nastiness' thrown from the windows at ten o'clock, the ghost stories that grew once the streets were sealed.
What visitors say
Loved by travellers from around the world
Incredible tour — engaging, informative and genuinely atmospheric. Our guide never broke character once. Book ahead; the evening slots were sold out for days.
A top-tier attraction. It is a real archaeological site, not a theme ride, and the guide's stories about the plague and the residents stayed with us. Lots of steps and low ceilings.
Recommend to anyone visiting Edinburgh. The 17th Century Medicine experience on the weekend was a great add-on for the kids. No under-5s, and rightly so — it's dark down there.