The Best Edinburgh Walking Tours,
2 Incredible Routes
Interactive walking tours of Edinburgh, bring the city to life.
- CityDays brings an immersive new way to have a walking tour in Edinburgh
- Discover Edinburgh's historic landmarks, secret sights & hidden gems
- Solve fun challenges & puzzling clues to unlock your way
- Optional breaks at top-rated pubs, bars and cafes
- Interactive private tour, you and your team, at your own pace
- Full money back guarantee. We know you'll love it
What to expect on a CityDays Self Guided Walking Tour
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- Messages sent to your phones - we'll send your walking tour to any international phone number.
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- Clues, challenges, & puzzles - interact with the city to unravel obscured directions and find your way.
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- The perfect difficulty - just the right amount, inclusive for all, with help available should you need it.
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- Landmarks & hidden gems - see Edinburgh in a new light, a tour showing off quirks too!
Don't have a great time?
Simply let us know why and we'll refund you in full.
Find Your Perfect Self Guided Walking Tour
Each walking tour explores a different area of Edinburgh, find the route that suits you best or work your way through! All bookings are fully flexible, alter your booking freely.
How the Edinburgh walking tours work
Clues & Puzzles
Clues don't require any prior knowledge and are made up of two parts:
1) Obscured directions that make reference to the city around you. Unravel their meaning and be guided by your surroundings.
2) A puzzle to be solved once you've followed the directions, search nearby to find your answers.
CityDays aim for an enjoyable, just-the-right-amount, level of difficulty that is inclusive for all! Help messages are available should you need a bit of support.
Guided by clues sent to your phone
- Receive snippets of history, quirky facts and intriguing stories about the areas you visit.
- Pub/cafe breaks along your hunt, all totally optional and some with discounts on food & drinks.
- Make memories at locations along the way, get inspiration from previous teams and share a clever snap!
- Go at your own speed, or go for top spot on the game leaderboard.
You can't tick off Scotland without visiting Edinburgh, a capital brimming with rich culture and history.
CityDays Edinburgh walking tours will take you to secret spots most visitors miss, see where the locals go and learn about Edinburgh's Old Town and Royal Mile.
Our aim: for you to fall in love with Edinburgh too
See More, Do More, Learn More with CityDays
Welcome to Edinburgh, Scotland’s urban crown jewel and treasure trove of history!
The historic city of Edinburgh is a complex network of winding streets filled with landmarks, historical curios and curious corners.
Whether you were born and raised in Edinburgh or you’re lucky enough to be visiting this fascinating city, our Edinburgh walking tours are here to show you the hidden sights, famous landmarks and uncover fascinating facts!
Get The Most Out of Your Self Guided Walking Tours of Edinburgh
Our Edinburgh walking tours are designed to take you above and beyond your typical sightseeing experience. At CityDays, we’re dedicated to showing you everything you’d expect to see in Edinburgh while also slipping in loads of cool hidden stuff along the way.
The best part? It’s up to you to find them!
CityDays’ walking tours of Edinburgh rely on you interacting with and learning about the city’s streets, landmarks, history and famous figures. The only way to navigate the route is by looking up, down, left and right, answering puzzles, riddles and spotting clues based on your surroundings!
Our self-guided Edinburgh walking tours transform you into detectives, explorers and tour guides, giving you the freedom to discover the city your own way, in your own time, with people you know and love.
From the moment you start until you finish the tour, you’re guaranteed to learn, have fun, make memories and get some fresh air and exercise.
The Best Walking Tours in Edinburgh
No queues, no waiting around, no hassle.
That’s part of what makes CityDays’ Edinburgh walking tours the best in the city.
We’ve created a model that allows you to take charge of your Edinburgh walking tour. This ensures that you can walk at your own pace, take breaks whenever it’s convenient for you, and tour with whoever you want! Here’s how it works.
Instead of inviting ourselves along, we take the backseat. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes, a fully charged phone, and a sense of adventure.
We recognise that this is your day out - not ours. So it’s up to you how it plays out: compete for first place on our leaderboard or take your time and really soak up the sights. Either way, we’re only a text message away if you get stuck.
Edinburgh History Walking Tours: Uncover Edinburgh’s Hidden History
To give you a sneak peek at what you can expect from our historical Edinburgh walking tours, we’ve put together a few historical facts about the city!
There are 60 Libraries Per 100,000 People in Edinburgh
It’s no wonder that the Scottish capital is known for its love of culture and iconic authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Sir Walter Scott.
A 12-Year-Old Boy’s Words Are Enshrined on Paisley Close
If you’ve never taken the time to look up when passing Paisley Close on Edinburgh’s iconic Royal Mile - here’s your chance!
Above the entranceway, you’ll see a disembodied head and the words: “Heave awa’ chaps, I’m no’ dead yet”. The head, and the quote, belongs to 12-year-old Joseph McIvor, a survivor of one of the deadliest accidents in Edinburgh.
In 1861, Edinburgh’s Old Town was a jumble of 17th-century slum buildings around 14 storeys high and crammed with people. Joseph was a resident of one of these buildings when suddenly, the building collapsed, killing 35 people.
Luckily, Joseph survived. When emergency services arrived to salvage what and who they could from the wreckage, a small voice called out some now iconic words of encouragement: “Heave away chaps, I’m not dead yet!” These words, and Joseph’s head, were added to the refurbished building that replaced the slum buildings.
What happened to Joseph afterwards? Glad you asked! According to our research, Joseph, who was probably orphaned by the accident, moved in with the MccLuskys, an Irish-born couple who worked as shoemakers. After that, the leads go cold. There’s a slight possibility that he joined the military and was later charged with desertion, but we haven’t (yet!) been able to verify these sources…
There’s a Victorian Dog Cemetery at Edinburgh Castle
People are so enthralled by the beauty and history of Edinburgh Castle that, understandably, many visitors miss the finer details.
Just off the main path leading to Edinburgh Castle is a tiny dog cemetery that dates back to 1837 - the year of Queen Victoria’s coronation. Around 20 dogs are buried here, many of them belonging to soldiers or nobles.
Available Trails and Edinburgh Walking Tours
Shadows of Old Town
Embark on a captivating puzzle-filled walking tour through the ancient alleyways and historic architecture of Edinburgh's Old Town.
Rally your friends, family or colleagues and unravel clues to navigate a route that begins at Princes Street and meanders through famous closes and scenic parts of the city.
On this Edinburgh walking tour, you’ll discover incredible sculptures, trace the central point from which all city distances are measured, explore an old printing house and the site of 14th-century toll collection. You’ll also wander the Royal Mile, encounter hidden surprises and solve engaging puzzles along the way.
Ideal for locals, visitors and all those with a curious mind to delve into the secrets that Edinburgh’s Old Town Conceals.
Myths and Monsters
Venture into Edinburgh's Old City with a twist on a traditional Edinburgh walking tour, where legendary monsters and beasts guide you through a labyrinth of puzzles and mysteries.
Unearth the city's enthralling secrets and fables, from the owner of a cursed walking stick to the peculiarities of witchcraft practices and the quirky use of saliva for luck.
This intriguing Edinburgh walking tour weaves through significant landmarks and concealed treasures, including the Royal Mile, St Giles Cathedral, East Prince St Gardens, and Tolbooth Kirk. Encounter an array of historic and peculiar statues, and traverse narrow alleyways that echo the whispers of the past.
Complete with puzzles, challenges, and stops at excellent pubs and cafes, this tour offers a unique and immersive way to explore the ancient and endlessly captivating parts of Edinburgh. It's an ideal adventure for both first-time visitors and seasoned locals seeking a new perspective on their city.
Psst: These Edinburgh walking tours contain pub and cafe recommendations!
Edinburgh Self Guided Walking Tour Reviews
The great things our customers have to say about CityDays Self Guided Walking Tours
SameLeon
We did the Greenwich adventure and we really enjoyed. We saw places that we would have not probably never seen and lear…
Rumors Got A Boyfwend
An amazing day out! Great clues and so fun to explore the city in a unique way!
The K Team
Amazing day! We really, really enjoyed the whole day!! The game was so clever! The only thing was, one of the clues (a …
Burlesque
We had a brilliant time. Saw lots of London that we have not seen before. Already booking the next one.
Team NT
We had a blast exploring the city. Such a fun way to see discover London and learn some of the history. The cryptic clu…
Penny Dreadfuls
Mum and I LOVED our time out in York, exploring bits we don't think we'd have noticed without CityDays guiding us there…
Jenny
We did like the quest very much! The interface was easy to use and was helpful.My wife really loved the dog fountain an…
DJ's
Fab way to get to know the city better. Clues were easy to follow whilst making you take in things you've never noticed…
Big Three O
We had a great afternoon. The clues were enough of a challenge to make it fun- but not too hard! We loved the walk and …
Tabitha Peat
Great experience. Had way more fun than I was expecting and got quite competitive!
JerseySpuds
Really good clues and learnt new things so it parts of London. Great fun!!
cheeky buggas
It’s soooo fun
Sanlo
We had a great day in Brighton! We have been there before but did not know such incredible streets and little squares e…
Margaretta Pirates
Honestly, I did not know what to expect from this experience. I booked it as a mystery day to surprise my mom and siste…
Team McReady
A great day out with clues that were not too easy and not too difficult. Would recommend!
Muppets
Just the right amount of information when clues are solved. Stops are important. How about some images with the trivi…
Odyssey
We had a brilliant day together, great fun as a group, and even the seasoned Londoners saw sights they'd never seen bef…
The Shaws
Great day out for a family of 4 (22 and 17yr old) we all thoroughly enjoyed it, Greenwich is stunning thank you
Bros from other hoes
We booked Clause & Effect for our family when they were visiting from the South West and had the best time (and scran!)…
S'us
Wonderful fun! Trail was well thought out and just difficult enough to give our brains a work out as well as our legs.
Ready to see lots of smiling faces? Read all our customer reviews
Ready? Book your Self Guided Walking Tour today
Rediscover the city you thought you knew.
Edinburgh's Royal Mile is a must-see attraction when visiting the vibrant capital city, there's no better way to do it - at your own pace, with your own group and whilst having an adventure!
A great day out for both visitors and residents, re-discover the city you thought you knew and find new treasure around every corner.
Take optional breaks in pubs and cafes along the way to recharge and catch-up on the experience so far.
Self Guided Walking Tour Questions
