Private Tours
Enjoy our premium packages at The Real Mary King’s Close! By booking a private tour, you and your guests will go on a journey through time on hidden, underground streets.
Scroll down to discover Edinburgh’s history and choose from our available tour options.
If your group totals a higher amount than the capacity we can provide per tour, you must book an additional private tour.
Private Tours
Take a stroll through the underground alleyways of Edinburgh, where you’ll get to know the everyday lives of the people who once called these streets home. Avoid the cries of, “Gardyloo!”, get acquainted with royal visitors, and meet Edinburgh’s most infamous physician, the Plague Doctor…
Follow a former resident to discover the lives of those who lived, worked and died on Mary King’s Close.
- 1-hour guided tour
- Up to 20 guests
- From £475 per tour
17th Century Medicine Experience
Meet Dr Arnott and discover the bizarre cures and remedies of the past.
Get a taste of history (almost literally!) in this immersive 30-minute workshop exploring the fascinating world of 17th-century medicine.
Meet Dr Arnott, a physician who practised on Mary King's Close and specialised in internal medicine. Like many doctors of his day, he diagnosed illness by examining his patients' urine through its colour, smell and even... taste.
Become one of Dr Arnott's medical students as you put your senses to the test, investigate historical remedies, diagnose patient samples and create your own traditional herbal concoction.
It's a pee-culiar experience you won't forget!
- 1-hour guided tour + 30min workshop
- Up to 20 guests
- From £715 per tour
Whisky Tour & Tasting
During a one-hour guided tour, discover the secrets of Edinburgh’s illicit stills and explore over 400 years of whisky production in Scotland. The tour will be followed by a 30-minute whisky tasting. Become a nosing expert while you try two specially selected single-malt Scottish whiskies.
- 1-hour guided tour + 30min whisky tasting
- Include 2 drams
- Up to 16 guests
- From £725 per tour
Herstory Tours
Meet some of the remarkable women who shaped Edinburgh’s history and hear their real stories. Discover why Mary King’s Close was once “a haven for independent women” and how Mary King herself obtained voting rights 300 years ahead of her time.
During your tour, you will be introduced to three former residents of The Close, Jonet Nimmo, Mary King and Janet Chesney.
- 1-hour guided tour
- Up to 20 guests
- From £625 per tour
Pride History Tours
The educational and thought-provoking Pride History Tour was designed to reveal the hidden histories of LGBTQIA+ community life in Edinburgh from as far back as the mid-16th century until 1912.
Led by acclaimed 18th century poet, Robert Fergusson or 16th century Sapphic poet, Marie Maitland, discover the hidden lives of real people who contributed to life in Edinburgh for the better.
- 1-hour guided tour
- Up to 20 guests
- From £600 per tour
True Crime Tours
The closes of the Old Town have been shrouded in shocking tales of crime and punishment for centuries… but our True Crime Tours reveal a more honest story, rooted in fact. As is often the case, the reality ultimately proves darker and more fascinating than any amount of fiction.
Are you brave enough to enter the darkest period of Edinburgh’s history?
- 1-hour guided tour
- Up to 20 guests
- From £600 per tour
Medical History Tours
Explore some key moments in history that defined medicine, all of which happened in or around Mary King’s Close. Edinburgh has famously been a focal point for medical innovation and experimentation. The city’s medical school is the oldest in the English-speaking world and was at the heart of the Scottish Enlightenment.
The Medical History Tour promises to educate, inspire and encourage the next generation of innovators in science and medicine.
- 1-hour guided tour
- Up to 20 guests
- From £600 per tour
Unlocked – Free Flow
Discover Mary King’s Close from a fresh perspective—your own. Encounter beloved denizens like the mysterious plague doctor, John Paulitious, the Merchant Prince, and the matriarch of the last family to live on Mary King’s Close, Janet Chesney.
Immerse yourself in their captivating true narratives and freely explore the once-restricted labyrinth of concealed alleys and chambers, all on your own terms.
- Exclusive use of the site
- 2-hour experience
- 11 costumed guides
- Up to 200 guests
- £38/guests (based on 200 guests)
Contact us to book one of our premium packages or tell us about your ideas.
Register for updates
Be the first to hear about our events and receive priority access to ticket sales.