Activities & Experiences in Edinburgh

Some cities lend themselves to quiet wandering. Edinburgh does too—but just as often, it asks you to join in. The streets don’t only lead you somewhere; they invite you inside: down stairwells, into vaults, behind gallery doors, or onto buses that tell ghost stories while circling the Old Town.

This is a city with no shortage of attractions, but the real value is in the way those attractions are experienced. A walking tour here doesn’t just follow a line on a map—it’s often led by someone who grew up in the tenement next to the one you’re staring at. The stories are personal, specific, occasionally strange. Sometimes theatrical.

You can follow an actor through the Real Mary King’s Close, where historical characters speak from centuries-old records. Or take the plunge into Blair Street’s vaults—once forgotten, now unearthed for curious feet and torchlit tales. On a different afternoon, you might step into the Scottish Poetry Library and find it filled with quiet readers and the sound of a live reading upstairs.

Whisky tastings and Potter trails, horror cinemas and hop-on-hop-off buses, ghostly walks and floating royal yachts—it’s all here. Some experiences are big, polished, and designed for visitors. Others are smaller, slower, or tucked away in corners you might not find without a nudge.

What follows is a collection of Edinburgh’s most distinctive activities—gathered from across the city but especially strong in the Old Town and Leith. It’s not just what to do, but how you might spend your time if you want to understand the place, rather than just pass through it.

Choose one or two. Or stack your day with as many stops as your feet can manage. Edinburgh’s not short on options.

The Real Mary King’s Close
Old Town
There’s plenty to enjoy – some of it gruesome, all of it gripping – on a one-hour guided tour of this historic close off the Royal Mile. The tours are led by costumed characters, and the experience has achieved enough renown to earn a five-star historic attraction rating from the Scottish Tourist Board.
It does a great job of delving into the real lives of the tenants who lived here over the centuries, using historical records to bring to life some of its characters such as a household maid, a poet and a ‘foul clenger’, whose job it was to clean the houses of plague victims.
Mary King herself, who lends her name to the close, lived here in the 17th century and was a merchant burgess who sold cloth to keep her family supported. It transpires, however, that she also had a liking for fine wines and expensive ceramics, proving that, as is so often the case in Edinburgh, there's more to the past than meets the eye.

Blair Street Underground Vaults
Old Town
Edinburgh keeps many of its secrets well hidden. Pay a subterranean visit to the wynds and closes of the Old Town by joining Mercat Tours on one of its award-winning wanders through the deepest, most ancient vaults in the city.

Scottish Poetry Library
Old Town
Just off the Canongate you’ll spy the bookish confines of the Scottish Poetry Library, which holds fairly regular afternoon and evening events. The library itself is free to use, but you’ll need to register online first at scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk. Tours can also be arranged.

Edinburgh Bus Tours
Old Town
This tried and tested company offers a variety of different sightseeing tours around the city on hop-on, hop-off buses. For first-time visitors, it’s a valuable way of getting your bearings.

Edinburgh Saints & Sinners Walking Tours
Old Town
Walking guide Peter Hamilton has extensive experience of leading visitors to the most fascinating parts of the city, sharing his local expertise while bringing the past to life. Private and group tours are both available.

The Banshee Labyrinth Cinema
Old Town
Billed as Scotland’s most haunted pub – prepare for grisly tales aplenty – the Banshee Labyrinth also holds weekly and monthly cinema events, with alternative and horror flicks being shown alongside more mainstream movies.

Harry Potter, Haggis & Horrible Histories
Old Town
This wonderfully alliterative tour takes in a crowd-pleasing selection of different Edinburgh quirks, incorporating everything from JK Rowling to Greyfriars Bobby. There’s even the chance to tuck into a deep-fried Mars Bar at the end.

The Scotch Whisky Experience
Old Town
Get your tastebuds around the national firewater with a visit to this Royal Mile attraction, which has been lauding the joys of Scotch whisky for more than three decades. The tours are as lively and informative as you’d expect.

The Cadies and Witchery Tours
Old Town
Edinburgh has never been a stranger to ghostly goings-on, and on these Old Town walking tours you’ll hear spooky tales of phantoms, fiends and the felons of the past. In addition to these early-evening walks, the same operator also runs tours of Greyfriars Cemetery – again with an emphasis on grisly tales.

The Ghost Bus Tours
Old Town
Billed as the UK’s only comedy-horror theatre experience on wheels, this lively bus jaunt provides a city tour out of the norm. It takes in all the main sights, but puts an entertaining ghostly spin on the subject matter.

Johnnie Walker Princes Street
New Town
Time for a dram, highball, or a cocktail. This slick eight-floor venue offers a whole host of unmissable experiences, including immersive personalised tours, tastings, history adventures, retail and so much more. Catering for the curious right up to the connoisseur, expect an epic selection of drams, including many exclusives, with plenty for non-whisky fans and teetotallers to enjoy too. Relax in one of two stunning rooftop bars, the 1820 Bar with unrivalled views of Edinburgh Castle and a seriously creative cocktail menu, or the Explorers’ Bothy, home to STIR, the ground-breaking whisky and small bites pairing experience created in partnership with two Michelin-Starred Raby Hunt. A must visit, whether you’re a whisky lover or not.

Potter Trail
Old Town
Now running for more than a decade, this highly rated Harry Potter-themed trail meanders around some of the most scenic parts of the city, taking in the café where JK Rowling penned the first Potter book, the real-life Diagon Alley, the resting place of He Who Must Not Be Named, and much more besides. Owls and broomsticks optional.

Leith Taproom Tour
Leith
Join this walking tour to get an overview of Leith’s past and present through the worthy medium of beer. The tour takes in three brewery taprooms and includes a walk along the Water of Leith. Cheers to that.

Port of Leith Distillery Tour
Leith
Billed as Scotland’s first vertical distillery – it’s set over nine floors of a remarkable building – this new Leith venture now offers 90-minute tours, giving the lowdown on its whisky-making process and letting you sample its new-make spirit.

Leith Farmers Market
Leith
Open from 10am to 5pm every Saturday, this local farmers market is where to head for your fill of bread, fresh meats and veg, home bakes, artisan goodies and more. There’s plenty of street food on offer too, making it a good option for lunch.

Trainspotting Tour
Leith
Irvine Welsh’s cult book – and the subsequent film starring Ewan McGregor – were breakout cultural hits of the 1990s. Much of the action takes place in Leith, and occasional tours are offered of the locations immortalised on screen. The book Choose Life, Choose Leith: Trainspotting on Location, by Tim Bell, is a fascinating guide in its own right.

Custom House
Leith
Scotland’s oldest Custom House is still quite a sight, with its Georgian façade stretching over the harbourside. These days, however, it’s a lively creative hub with resident artists and makers, as well as an exhibition space.

The Royal Yacht Britannia
Leith
Britannia was Queen Elizabeth II’s floating palace. The Yacht spent over 44 years in service, from 1954 to 1997, representing Britain, hosting state functions and acting as an ambassador for British business, promoting trade and industry around the globe with members of the Royal Family on board.
The Britannia travelled over a million nautical miles in the process, calling at over 600 ports, but is now back in Scotland, the country where it was constructed. Today it’s one of the UK’s best attractions, and a tour of the vessel takes in all five decks, from the State Apartments to the Crews’ Quarters.