How to Spend a Day in Edinburgh

Making a fleeting visit to Scotland’s grand capital? With only a few hours in Edinburgh, a city that is so rich in culture and history, it’s hard to know where to begin. Where to dine and visit, not to mention the issue of navigating the bustling city! Fear not, we’ve compiled the ultimate guide on how to spend a day in Edinburgh.

Planning a Day in Edinburgh

8AM: Any great day trip starts with a delicious breakfast.  Only a short five minute walk from Edinburgh Haymarket train station, we recommend heading on over the chic Orcadian restaurant, The Skerries (part of luxury boutique hotel, The Dunstane.) With the recent addition of fine-dining expert chef, Paul, we guarantee that breakfast will be nothing but delightful.

9AM: We know a good breakfast; we’re guessing you’re probably more than full at this point. Up and ready, we recommend exploring Edinburgh Haymarket. Since the addition of the Edinburgh tramline, Haymarket has thrived – and with fantastic cafes and very alluring boutique shops to visit, we’re confident you’ll find a little piece of luxury you’ll just love.

10:30AM: It’s time to hop on a tram and head over to Edinburgh’s legendary Princes Street. Home to major high-street brand flagships stores, the street also hosts Edinburgh’s famous department store, Jenners. Go ahead – indulge in some retail therapy!

12PM: Feeling peckish? Why not head on over to Eteaket for some lunch? Located on Frederick Street, Edinburgh’s very own award-winning tea room, Eteaket sells scrumptious cakes, ciabattas – as well as afternoon tea. With an abundance of teas from around the globe readily available, we’re pretty sure you’ll be swapping out your regular Frappuccino for a take-away bag of your favourite brew.

1:30PM: Time to work off those calories! No trip to Edinburgh is complete without a trek up Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. As you pass over the cobbled streets, you’ll take in the surrounding first-class attractions – get a peek at the famous Edinburgh “closes.” Why not drop into the Scotch whisky experience and hop on a tour for an hour to find more out about Scotland’s most famous alcoholic beverage. Word is you even get a “wee dram” during the tour!

3:00PM: Hopefully you won’t be feeling too tipsy after your trip to the Scotch Whisky Experience! If you’re a fan of antiques and vintage goods, then a trip to Armstrong’s Vintage Emporium is imperative! Located only three minutes away from the Royal Mile via Cowgate, soak up the sensation of times gone past with genuine vintage dating back as far as the Victorian period.  Be warned, the shop is deceptive and much bigger than it looks from the outside!

4:00PM: In the mood for more history in action? Head on over to Real Mary King’s Close (located just off the Royal Mile) and get ready for a slice of gruesome and macabre history! Find out about the tales and stories of Mary King’s Close on a tour with us – it’s an experience not to miss out on! Be quick – tours book up fast so we recommend advanced booking.

5:00PM: Dinner time! Head back over the river to visit MP’s Bistro – located only five minutes away from Edinburgh Waverly train station. Seated on the foot of historic Calton Hill, indulge in fine-dining delights including the purse-friendly pre-theatre menu.

7:00PM: Not in a rush to get home? Located a short distance away from MP’s Bistro, is the Edinburgh Playhouse theatre – hotspot for major west-end musicals and first-class shows. From seating in the gallery, to the inner circles, experience the magnificence of the listed building, originally modelled on New York’s Roxy Cinema.

Regardless of how you spend your day, Edinburgh guarantees all but one thing – boredom. One thing’s for sure, we’re confident you’ll return soon to spend another day in Edinburgh. Who could resist its charm? 

Murder Mystery in Edinburgh

From great fires ravaging the streets of Edinburgh to the horrific and often fatal plague that struck its people down, Scotland’s capital city isn’t short of a gruesome story or two. In fact, one of its most famous tales is the story of a murder mystery in Edinburgh, or several murders as you’ll eventually find out. 

The story of the world’s most famous body snatchers, Burke and Hare, has achieved cult status – and has since been portrayed in several films – including a Hollywood blockbuster and other modern media. The story is documented to have begun 1827, after the pair had originally met and began to lodge together, along with Burke’s wife, Helen McDougal.

As was typical in those times, money was in short supply and poverty was high. In 1827, a lodger at their accommodation passed away while owing an outstanding balance of £4 to Hare. Seeking an opportunity to recoup his money, Hare tapped into his “entrepreneurial spirit” and turned to the demand of fresh bodies for anatomical studies. Justifying his plans as payment in return for the outstanding debt, Hare enlisted the help of Burke to swap the deceased lodger’s body out of his coffin, and placed heavy, cheap tanning bark in place for the funeral. The duo then delivered the lodger’s body to a professor called Knox at Surgeon Square. Accepting the body on a “no questions asked” basis, the professor paid the pair seven pounds and ten shillings for their efforts.

It was an easy opportunity to make money, but when they ran out of bodies from naturally occurring deaths, it didn’t take long for Burke and Hare to resort to murder. Their first victim was a fellow lodger, already in a poor and sickly way. Suffocating their victims in the hope they would appear dead from natural causes, the pair had quickly racked up a total of up to thirty bodies delivered to the attentive surgical students, but their downfall came when they targeted victims well-known to the public, including two prostitutes and a children’s entertainer.

Suspicious fellow lodgers, James and Ann Gray, eventually confirmed the pair were up to no good and alerted the authorities. Burke and Hare were arrested and questioned, and in order to secure a conviction, the Lord Advocate offered Hare the opportunity to testify against his partner and his wife, and save his own skin. Hare jumped at the chance and took to the stand, convincing the jury to reach a guilty verdict. Burke was hung for his crimes and, in a fitting nod to his life of crime; his body was donated to medical practices and anatomical study.

Looking For a Modern Murder Mystery in Edinburgh?

Burke and Hare might have been responsible for the most famous murder mystery in Edinburgh, but there are plenty more tales to be told. Why not try one for yourself by booking a unique murder mystery event with Real Mary King’s Close and unveil your own mystery beneath the cobbled streets of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.  

History of the Edinburgh Royal Mile

"Royal Mile" by Dave W licensed under C.C. by 2.0

Inhabited for over 7,000 years and complete with a castle of grand proportions, meandering closes and worn-down cobbled streets, it’s hardly surprising that the epicentre of Edinburgh’s unique past is its famous Royal Mile.

Known for its gruesome tales and triumphant stories of glory, the Royal Mile is steeped in rich history. However, the name “Royal Mile” is perhaps a little misleading – without doubt it’s an energetic walk, but it’s actually over a mile in length – by 107 yards. Always the central focus of the city, the name Edinburgh was derived from the Gaelic “Dun Eidyn” which translates appropriately into “hillfort on the sloping ridge.”

It wasn’t until 1124 that the Royal Mile began to thrive. King David I, was inspired by the hill fort (now known as Edinburgh Castle) supported by the iconic crag rock. Granting trading rights to the Township, the Lawnmarket became an open-air market. King David I continued to develop the town, planning out the Via Regis (“Way of the King”) – now better known today as High Street.

The Royal Mile became a hotspot and sought after housing area. Eventually, by 1591, conditions had devolved from luxury residencies to increasingly squalid and unsanitary conditions in stone-built residencies. The only exceptions were the wealthy, tucked away in the fashionable Cannongate area. 1645 brought more squalid conditions, and by this time it is estimated around 70,000 people were permanently residing in the Royal Mile, in accommodation reaching fourteen stories high and often with ten people sharing a single room.

The end of the 18^th Century began to see some improvement, particularly with the introduction of street cleaning. In 1865, acting Lord Provost William Chambers focused on restoring the city to its former glory, ordering restorations and new tenement flats to be built. Town planner, Partick Geddes, in the 1880s continued to build on this work and form the foundations of the Edinburgh we know today.

Find Out More About the History of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile

Edinburgh’s history knows no bounds – from tales of body-snatchers roaming dimly-lit graveyards in the dead of night, to the practice of drowning suspected witches in the town’s drinking water well. To find out more about the harsh realities of 17^th century life in Edinburgh, why not visit its ancient streets for yourself? Book one of our tours and explore the RealMary King’s Close and the history of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.

A History of Mary King’s Close

Edinburgh has a long history, much of which has become entrenched in the history books as not so pleasant. Like London, it was highly populated and therefore very susceptible to many of the same conditions and situations, such as poverty, disease, poor hygiene, and many notably bad occupations. These urban issues were exacerbated by the exodus to the cities prompted by the industrial revolution in the 18th Century, and remained a very real factor in people’s lives until after the Second World War. Edinburgh handled this slightly better than other British cities as the population was only about 20,000 after the last plague hit the city between 1644 and 1645.  Despite being the worst record, mercifully it was also the last.

The 1600s

During the 1600s, living conditions were rough. Law and justice were rare but harsh, and the poor were largely resigned to poverty and neglect by the establishment. These were the days before street lighting and an organised police force – so robberies, burglary and violent crime were rife. Taxes were crippling, and people who could not make ends meet often ended up in slums in the city, which bred crime and disease. Among the more affluent families in Edinburgh was the King family, namely one Alexander King—a lawyer whom the close was previously named after.

When he died in 1619, the close was renamed to honour Mary King (no relation) who was a professional clothes maker and fabric trader, as well as a noted philanthropist. When she was widowed with four children in 1629, she maintained her stature in the community, rather than letting the grief consume her. Mary died in 1644, but it is unclear from what, especially as it was during the early days of the last plague outbreak. Mary was fondly remembered by Edinburgh’s poorer citizens for the work she hid in helping to improve working conditions, and we are proud to honour her memory to this day.

Mary’s Memory Lives On

In 1694, the Edinburgh Town Council recorded in its minutes the existence of Mary King’s Close. Sadly, during the construction of the Royal Exchange in 1753, other closes along with Mary King’s suffered some loss when half were covered over. Exactly one hundred years later, in 1853, much the same thing happened during construction of Cockburn Street and more destruction was brought upon Mary King’s Close. Still, the residents remained, and it was not until 1902 that the last resident left by order of compulsory purchase. In January 1904, a new council chamber opened, right above the close.

The Close Today

In 2003, The Real Mary King’s Close opened as a public attraction, entertaining and regaling visitors with stories of crime, plague, debauchery and murder around the Close. We have become a much loved attraction of tourists around the world. Come along and enjoy the sights and smells of old Edinburgh, and the real historical characters that lived, loved and worked in our city.

Welcome to Edinburgh and University Life

January isn’t just a month for finding a bargain in the January sales; it is also the start of the academic year for many students. Some cities don’t notice the sudden influx of new students roaming around taking in the city sights, but Edinburgh does. Edinburgh pays close attention to all the newbies looking to find their way around and navigate their new home. In fact, as a city, Edinburgh welcomes some six or so thousand students each year, all of which come flocking to Edinburgh looking to soak up the culture on those off-days when studying is the farthest thing from their minds.

Things to do

Navigating your new hometown can be extremely confusing, especially when you don’t always know where to go and what to do. Gathering your new friends together and hitting the streets can be the best way to find your way around your new home town.

If you are looking to learn about the rich history of Edinburgh then you’ll love a day trip to The Real Mary King’s Close. We will guide you through the fearful and disease-ridden historical underground streets of Old Edinburgh. We will transport you back to the 1600’s when crime and mayhem were the order of the day. In those dark days, Edinburgh was an every man for himself kind of city, and these cramped houses were dark places to be. Thankfully nowadays Edinburgh is an extremely friendly city and you will find plenty of people willing to share their local knowledge.

Don’t worry if English isn’t your first language, we also do a Spanish tour allowing you to join in on the experience. Students can also enjoy discounted entry with a valid student ID, leaving some extra cash for a lunch stop at one of the many delicious cafes nearby.

As Real Mary King’s Close is at the top of the Royal Mile, we are in the ideal position to help you enjoy many other tourist attractions. Edinburgh Castle is only a 10 minutes away and we are only a short walk away from the intriguing Camera Obscura. Check out our Visiting Edinburgh pages for more ideas to help you plan a day in the city.

Great Days Out in Edinburgh: Bring the Family to Meet Mary

When visitors come to The Real Mary King’s Close, they find a hidden warren of the ancient streets of Old Edinburgh. As an attraction, The Real Mary King’s Close has welcomed thousands of intrigued locals and tourists that are looking to learn more about the history of our picturesque city.

Special Family Ticket Deals

During December 2014 and January 2015, we are offering a special deal for family days out. Every Sunday, you can purchase a family ticket at a purse friendly price of £35.70 for a family of four. This is a splendid time to bring the kids as the whole family can enjoy time off together. Younger kids might want to skip this attraction however as it can often be a bit a spooky for them.

Looking for something to do inbetween Christmas and New Year can often be difficult as there is a lull after the excitement of Christmas. However, we don’t just provide some good old fashioned fun, the kids can also learn a thing or two about history as real life characters bring your tour to life. They won’t even realise how much they are learning as they hear the stories of families that lived on these streets. You can even entice your hard-to-scare teenagers as you enter a room filled with teddy bears, dedicated to a ghost child nicknamed ‘Annie’. This spooky area was ‘discovered’ by Aiko Gibo, a Japanese psychic, who visited the spot in 1992 and spoke to Annie who told her she had lost her doll. This prompted a trend of visitors leaving a toy for Annie whilst others make a donation to the Sick Kids Friends Foundation in her honour.

Other Edinburgh fun

There are so many things to see and do in Edinburgh that a day is never enough. Our website is full of helpful guides for planning your visit. We are only a stone’s throw away from Edinburgh Castle and the intriguing Camera Obscura and World of Illusions which can help complete a fun day of learning in Scotland’s capital city. We’ll see you soon!

Christmas at The Real Mary King’s Close

As the nights start drawing in towards the darkest days of the year, we have set up a special Christmas tour to get you in the festive spirit.

An Appointment with the Saw Doctor

Your guide for the tour will be Mr Chesney, the latest character to be brought back from the dust of Mary King’s Close. The colourful Mr Chesney was the close’s resident ‘saw doctor’ but today he brings his history to life in order to shock, amaze and entertain our guests. Step back in time to discover how Christmas came to be the celebration we so dearly love today.

Christmas, but not as we know it

Christmas in the back streets of Edinburgh was not the light-hearted festival we know today. Our tour tells the story of Christmas as Mr Chesney himself would have experienced it. Most working people could not afford to take a leisurely Christmas break. For them, Christmas Day was just like any other working day, with Hogmanay being the day they would allow themselves to put their feet up. In fact, the celebration of Christmas was officially banned in Scotland between 1575 and 1958. So much for the season of good will!

The Daft Days

This doesn’t mean that Christmas in Mary King’s Close was all work and no play – quite the contrary. The Victorian era saw the birth of many of the traditions we think of as quintessentially ‘Christmas’. Enter the Christmas tree, popular Christmas carols, Santa Claus and the Christmas pudding. Let Mr Chesney talk about Christmas through his eyes, at a time when the feast day was undergoing some drastic changes.

Step into the ‘daft days’ of Christmas, a twelve-day period when the usual rules of society were turned upside down and mischief and merriment ruled the day. Discover the roots of playground games such as ‘blind man’s buff’ and the humble working-class origins of the sumptuous Christmas meals we enjoy today.

Get into the spirit of Christmas on one of our special historical tours between 19th and 23rd December. Book your tickets online today or pop by the ticket office to book in person.

Experience Old Edinburgh

Whilst, sadly the 2014 Commonwealth Games are over, Scotland showed once again that we can keep up with the best of them by taking 19 gold, 15 silver and 19 bronze medals, landing in fourth place overall.

We at The Real Mary King’s Close had some fantastic visitors this year, who came along to share The Real Mary King’s Close experience in-between watching their chosen events during the Games. We had visitors from many of the Commonwealth countries, and they had a great time as we took them on a historical and spooky trip through the underbelly of Edinburgh life in 1600's.

All about the Dark Truth

We offer a number of bespoke tours that takes guests on an one-hour experience with an interesting spin on all the ‘true' stories of the history of darkest deepest Edinburgh. Normal groups are about twenty in size, but we do also offer private tours for those wishing to experience the close alone. The ‘Dark Truth' tour ran as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe  throughout August, therefore those who stayed after the Commonwealth Games could spend time learning about the darker Edinburgh history. However, despite the gruesomeness of some stories, we’ve been told that many of our foreign visitors went away extremely happy and satisfied with their experience!

Meet Dr. George

You will hear stories about a number of different residents of the close including Dr. George Rae who kept people safe from the plague. You will also meet the Craig family, who were not so lucky, but hey, what are a few sores and warts among family, eh?  Dr. George and his faithful assistant the Foul Clenger will protect our guests from the Black Death that awaited the people of 1600 Edinburgh and see them out safely in the end. Check out our Trip Advisor reviews to see what our summer guests thought and then come along and enjoy the fun for yourself – we’re open all year round!

Sport way back when!

With the London 2012 Olympics in full swing and sporting fever truly sweeping the country, if not the world, we thought this would be a great opportunity to reflect on sporting history in Edinburgh.  Whilst there are no records of Mary King being a particularly great gymnast or Stephen Boyd being a dab hand with a racquet, there are some fascinating tales to behold.

The earliest reference to sport in Edinburgh our historian could find could be found at the 'barras' or the barriers, at the west end of the Grassmarket, where the Royal Tournament yards could be found dating back to the early fourteenth century.  Royal Tournaments were also held near St Cuthberts in the West End, on the north side of the Castle, until the infamous Nor' Loch was created.

In the late 15th century and early 16th, King James IV loved tournaments.  He had married Margaret Tudor whose brother was Arthur, and therefore as a result was fascinated by the Arthurian legend, ordering a Round Table to made for one tournament. His tournaments took place at the 'barras' or outside Holyrood Palace and were celebrated throughout Europe.

In 1456, James's grandfather, James II formally designated the little vallley of Greenside to the west of Calton Hill as the official playing fields of Edinburgh. This became the place for plays, 'mystery plays' and organised games of Holy Fest days.  Strangely there is no commemoration of this at the location, but fittingly the Edinburgh Playhouse continues this tradition at the site today.

The usual place for sports before the declaration of the official playing fields were at the Mercat Cross, the Salt Tron (by the Tron Kirk), and the Butter Tron (by what is now the Hub).  'Real tennis' courts could also be found at nobleman's houses, with a Royal tennis court obviously at Holyrood.  Today's sports fans would have been outraged that football and golf were banned on the orders of James I but continued in some form regardless!

It would be remiss of us to do a sporting blog post and not to congratulate Team GB on their accomplishments to date in particular Mary King, the legendary Olympic equestrian star who yesterday won silver with her team mates.  An epic achievement in her sixth Olympics and following an awful accident in 2001.

With thanks to Chris Aliaga-Kelly for his input into this blog post

More Than Meets the Eye to our Tour Guides

Our tour guides quite rightly receive fantastic praise from our visitors, with 89% of our visitors in June 2012 rating them as 'very good' in our visitor research, but there's more than meets the eye to a lot of our brilliant team.

They come from all walks of life with some guides being students working with us on a part-time basis, a few are Mums returning to work after their little ones have started full-time education, quite a few are training to be actors and some have a background in history and archeology.  What they all have in common however is a passion for our unique attraction and a passion to tell the fascinating truth of Mary King's Close.

Don't be fooled into thinking they just follow a script.  Yes, they all start out with the same script of facts and stories but our guides put their own spin on the part of a full researched one-time resident of Mary King's Close.  

Agnes Chambers The Maid

Each tour guide character has its own distinct theme: Walter King is a Plague Cleaner, or Foul Clenger - a gritty soul who has one of the toughest jobs in Edinburgh's history.  Jonet Nimmo is the youngest daughter of Mary King and has had a comparatively easy upbringing on the Close (as easy as life could be in the 17th Century!).  Jonet is joined by Agnes Chambers, a maid in the Cant family home and witness to all the inside information on one of Edinburgh's most prestigious of families. Stephen Boyd is a wine merchant - who dresses in the finest cloth and will probably sell you some of his finest claret - and Robert Fergusson the Poet will give you the inside scoop on his greatest admirer, Rabbie Burns.

Research is always ongoing - if you have a question about the Close or 17th century Edinburgh you can just ask.  If we can't answer your question straight away, we'll find out the answer and let you know.

Jonet Nimmo, Mary King's Daughter

Anyway back to our tour guiding team, with August and the Festival Fringe in the offing, our team are heading into our busiest time of year (pre-booking strongly recommended at this time of year!).  But if that wasn't enough, some of them are starring in productions as part of the worlds biggest arts festival.  These productions are in no way connected to The Real Mary King's Close but if you're in town in August and looking for something a little bit different why not give these productions a try - 

Marc McKinnon (a Foul Clenger) in Smile-In Production's 'I Got It - An Actors Tale' at Stockbridge Parish Church from August 9th to August 11th 2012 at 7.30pm

Paul Vickers (another Foul Clenger!) in his own absurdist comedy show 'Twonkey's Kingdom' at the Alternative Fringe at the Hive from August 2nd to August 26th 2012 at 3pm (disclaimer: not for the easily offended!)

Connor Jones (Stephen Boyd) stars in Two Squared Production's  'Wind in the Willows' at Paradise in Augustines on George IV Bridge from August 14th to 19th 2012 at 18.50

For more information on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe click here (other productions are available!)