Edinburgh Underground Tour 2026
Tour of the South Bridge underground vaults | Reserve now & pay later
About Edinburgh Underground Tour
Book the Edinburgh Underground Tour, and learn the darker side of the city’s history! A guide will lead you through the South Vaults under Edinburgh’s Old Town - tunnels that date from the late 1700s. This is where the poor lived, and where spirits supposedly haunted the corridors. As you walk, your guide will tell you spooky tales of the persecution of witches and the Burke and Hare murders. If you want, you can also upgrade to view the Torture Exhibition.
Explore the dark chambers under the South Bridge - the South Vaults! Walk the narrow paths, breathe in the damp air, and imagine the poor souls who lived there.
The homeless lived in the vaults. That's how illegal gambling, whisky distilleries, and more came about. As you walk, your guide will explain their history.
As your guide will explain, serial killers Burke and Hare may have stored bodies in the vaults. You’ll also hear about the vaults’ resident ghosts, like Mr. Boots.
You can choose to add on the Torture Exhibition to your Edinburgh Underground Tour. Learn and see the instruments used to torture victims.
Follow your tour guide through the vaults. They’ll make sure you don’t get lost! Ask any questions you have, and really dive deep into the vaults’ mysteries.
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund. Alternatively, reserve your spot now without paying. Only pay when you know you’ll be attending.
RESERVE NOW & PAY LATER!
Keep your travel plans flexible - book your spot without any upfront payment!
If you like spooky, kinda darker stories, you’ll love this walking tour. The vaults give a cool, eerie atmosphere - perfect for everything our guide told us! First James talked about ‘proven’ history. For example, how people would store bodies there, the gambling, things like that. Then came the fun stuff! Stories of witch trials, serial killings, ghosts caught on camera, things like that. I preferred the paranormal content, but you should also know the historical background. My heart broke for the homeless who had to live there - I can’t imagine those damp tunnels being a home.
I'm a fan of 'darker' history, so I added the Torture Exhibition to my Edinburgh Vaults Tour. I definitely wouldn’t bring kids to it, but it’s an interesting showcase of old methods of punishment. Our guide also explained each instrument very well, so I’d say it’s well worth it. The regular tour is also cool on its own though - plenty of fun spooky stories. Jack the Child was my favorite one. I also have to shout out the tour company. I chose the wrong date by accident, and they helped me fix it super easily.
DESCRIPTION
Edinburgh Vaults Tour
- Admission to the South Vaults
- Walking tour of the South Vaults
- Local expert guide
- History lesson on illegal underground activities
- Learning about ghost stories and myths
- Admission to the Torture Exhibition (If option selected)
- English
LISTEN TO THE SOUTH VAULTS’ HISTORY
Descend below ground, and start your Edinburgh Underground Tour! You’ll walk through narrow corridors and peer into dark chambers, all while breathing in the damp air. As you stroll, your guide will teach you the vaults’ history. Founded in 1788, they originally hosted taverns, tradesmen's workspaces, and storage facilities. Later, the homeless moved in, and illegal activities followed. Body snatchers stored bodies here, and whisky was illegally distilled. Illegal gambling also took place. However, because of the bad air quality and dampness, the vaults were mostly abandoned in the 1820s. Only the poorest of the poor remained.
FIND OUT ABOUT PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
Your guide will also recount spooky tales from the underground vaults. For example: serial killers Burke and Hare may have hidden bodies here. This ruthless pair killed sixteen people and sold them to the doctor Robert Knox. He needed the bodies for dissection in his anatomy classes. But that’s not all - there are supposedly ghosts in the vaults! Visitors have seen a ghostly tall man with a top hat and beard. Known as The Aristocrat, he inhabits a room that dogs refuse to enter. Sightings of a young, veiled woman dressed in black have also been reported. Some visitors have seen stones thrown across her room!
VIEW THE TORTURE EXHIBITION AND LEARN ABOUT WITCH-HUNTS
You can add the Torture Exhibition to your visit. Not for the faint of heart, this exhibition features horrific items used to inflict pain. The exhibition hosts instruments from the Bamberg and Nuremberg Castles in Germany, from the 1500s and 1600s. These items were mostly used on prisoners and witches. Your guide will tell you about the persecution and execution of witches, when almost 4,000 people were executed! Today’s Esplanade was the main execution site. The accused would be tied to a stake on a pyre and then strangled to death. After that, the body would be burned.
FREE CANCELLATION UP TO 24H IN ADVANCE!
Receive a complete refund if you cancel your booking 24 hours before the selected date!
Do you know the underground vaults’ most famous ghosts?
Here are a few:
- Jack the Child - a small boy between the ages of 6 and 8 who sometimes tugs on visitors’ clothes.
- The Aristocrat - a tall, bearded man who looks like Abraham Lincoln. Dogs bark and refuse to enter the room where he is.
- The Veiled Woman - a young woman dressed in black wearing a veil. Supposedly, she mourns the death of her child.
- Mr. Boots - also called The Watcher. Believed to be a murderer or a body snatcher, his footsteps can be heard in the underground vaults.
- The Cobbler - a short, stocky man who is always interested in visitors’ footwear. He was first seen in 1997 and is a positive, happy spirit.
GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
- Some content may include distressing subjects such as hangings, torture, death, and similar.
- The entrance to the underground vaults has a 2-foot-tall step. If you have limited mobility, you might have difficulties.
- There is a single-floor spiral staircase at the vaults’ entrance. Smaller stairs come further on. If you have limited mobility, you might not be able to navigate these sections.
- The floor will be uneven, and might be challenging if you have difficulty walking.
- Filming or live streaming of the tour is forbidden.
- The Edinburgh Underground Tour is suitable for children over the age of 5. Children under the age of 2 are not allowed.
- The Torture Exhibition is suitable for children over the age of 12.
Meeting Point
Meet your guide across the road from Deacon Brodie’s Tavern. The address is 300 Lawnmarket. You’ll find it next to the Red Telephone Box and the Tourist Information Booth.
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- Tour of the South Bridge underground vaults
- Expert guide
- Reserve now & pay later
- Free cancellation
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