• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

You’ve probably heard that Edinburgh is well-known for its ghosts tales, myths and legends, but do you know the stories and origin behind it? Or how much influence it has on the locals daily life? On this private city tour, you are in for a cultural treat!

Destination

Edinburgh, Scotland

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

2.5 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Dansk, Svenska, Español

Included

• Private guide
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 8 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Outside of the gates to the main entrance of the Canongate Kirk - Edinburgh to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Culture of the City

   On this private tour, you’ll experience and discover Edinburgh through its culture. Whether it’s focused on a tradition, a special part of town with a story to tell, cultural beliefs, or around a cultural activity that shaped the city into what it is - this tour will be a cultural awakening you can’t miss!

4. Ghosts, myths and legends in Edinburgh

   Your tour will focus on ghosts, myths and legends, a very important cultural subject in Edinburgh. Thanks to your local host, you’ll learn and see how ghosts, myths and legends made an impact in Edinburgh, making you experience the city from a different perspective.

5. Cultural Highlights

   As you deep dive into the subject of your tour, you’ll make stops to visit unique spots that will give you a full picture of the city. Visit the Robert Fergusson statue, Canongate Kirkyard, Greyfriars Kirkyard, and more and see how these cultural highlights are part of the local life but have so much history behind them!

6. Storytelling Journey

   As you discover the cultural side of Edinburgh, you’ll be able to embrace it thanks to the amazing stories and storytelling skills of your local host. Feel free to ask any questions and feel as if you are relieving history in the present time.

7. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

JILL

(About local Alice)

2 January 2025

Rebekah🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

(About local Alice)

19 October 2024

We had a fantastic tour with Alice. She was knowledgeable, funny, and accommodating throughout our tour. We learned so much about Edinburgh and Alice gave great recommendations for places to visit. The amazing stories really made our experience there all the more magical! Thank you, Alice!Amazing storyteller

Erin🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alec)

6 October 2024

Alec was a delight. Witty, professional and knowledgeable- couldn’t ask for anything more from a tour. We had the best time learning about Edinburgh from him. Absolutely book Alec. Exceptional guide & tour!

Jennifer

(About local Xavier)

4 October 2024

Loved the historical perspective! Great Tour

Elizabeth🇺🇸 United States

(About local Sara)

20 July 2024

Sara was fantastic and tailored our ghost and legends tour perfectly to our group (3 adults/1 child), including an abundance of Harry Potter facts and trivia. We would definitely recommend this experience if you’re looking for something a little different but still loaded with historical facts & finds from a local who loves her city! Highly recommend!

Catriona 🇦🇷 Argentina

(About local Alice)

9 July 2024

We had the best tour with Alice!!! She was a fantastic storyteller and kept the kids mesmerised with all her tales throughout the entire tour. She is very welcoming and joyful!!! Thank you very much Alice for a wonderful afternoon!!!!Wonderful fun tour with Alice

Nicholas🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

22 June 2024

Our family had a wonderful tour with Alice. We all agreed she was the best guide we have had on trips. At each stop she shared a story which helped us understand the history of Edinburgh. Alice was fun and charismatic which made it a highly enjoyable walking tour of a great city.Edinburgh walking tour

Erin Christine🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

13 June 2024

After a delightful tour with Alice when here last summer, I knew I needed to book another tour with her while here this summer. She is so good at not just telling you information but also helping you live the stories she is telling about the city and its people. A wonderful evening tour, and Alice is great. Great tour

Tom🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

3 June 2024

Out evening with Alice was everything we could have hoped for. My wife and I have enjoyed many a walking tour over the years, but the the rest paled in comparison this one. Alice brings genuine talent and enthusiasm to her craft as she walks her guests through some of the rich, dark history and lurid tales of colorful characters who have walked the streets of Edinburg. Her presentation was gripping and her knowledge deep. Highly recommended!A true artist--captivating and fun!

Dr Bruce🇺🇸 United States

(About local Svend-Erik)

16 May 2024

Melissa🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

5 May 2024

Alice was a fantastic guide and story teller. We spent 2.5 hours exploring old town Edinburgh, through cemeteries and back alleyways, hearing stories ranging from disturbing to chilling along the way. Alice and friendly and easy to talk with, when she gets into a story she is very expressive and we were all invested in the stories. Even my husband who was doubtful he’d be interested in “ghosts, myths and legends” hung on to her every word and has raved about her storytelling since. We would definitely book another tour with Alice and highly recommend her.Captivating stoeyteller!

Greg🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Sara)

29 March 2024

Pleasant experience with going off the beaten path and seeing and hearing some great stories Informative walk

María del Mar

(About local Xavier)

22 January 2024

Hicimos dos tours con Xavi, mi familia y yo. El tour corto por la cuidad y el de los fantasmas. Ambos imperdibles, Xavi es extraordinario para contar historias y hasta actuarlas. El tour de los fantasmas nos tocó mucha lluvia y viento y aún así no pudimos dejarlo, súper recomendable. Un placer haber conocido Edimburgo con Xavi. Muchas gracias Fantastico

Alexander🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Sara)

5 December 2023

Sara is a gifted story teller and the tour was amazing. We had some good laughs. Listening to one of her songs at night is an event in itself. She told us a lot of detailed stories about some famous Edinburghians. Don't want to spoil too much here, you need to take the tour! She also reacted to our questions and interests and spontaneously changed the tour a bit to make it fit even better. Also, the places we visited are really worth to see them at night and hear the stories about some famous and some notorious Edinburgh poets, misfits as well as about the lucky and unlucky ones, not to forget the development of the city and its underworld. Also, if you are interested particularly (as we were) into the stories of body snatching and grave robbery, this is your tour! Also, Sara patiently waited at all sites we went to, to give me a chance to translate for my dad, who also very much enjoyed the tour. So, overall, that's a tour, which also gives you a lot of inspirations to come back to the places and explore them in more depth (as we did the day after). Highly recommended! The night is dark & full of... stories

Martina🇩🇰 Denmark

(About local Alice)

27 November 2023

I absolutely loved being guided on the spooky tour of Edinburgh by Alice. She is a captivating storyteller, with impeccable timing and just the right amount of words in every sentence to keep it interesting, flowing and engaging. She was masterful in navigating the fine line between story and fact, weaving them seamlessly together. In the end, it didn't actually matter whether all of it were true or not, because I wanted to believe it! And isn't that the power of a truly good story? I can highly recommend Alice as a guide for an authentic and well-timed experience of Edinburgh's myths, ghosts and legends. Brilliantly spooky tour

Nanna🇩🇰 Denmark

(About local Svend-Erik)

25 October 2023

Vi havde en rigtig sjov og interessant tur rundt i Edinburgh med Svend-Erik. Han ved rigtig meget om byen og kan fortælle dens historie (og røverhistorier) på fornemmeste og mest underholdende vis. Han går virkelig op i det han laver, og involverer sig i sine fortællinger, så man kommer ikke til at kede sig i hans selskab. Han var også imødekommende og fleksibel i forhold til at tilpasse ruten, så det passede bedst i forhold til vores startsted og efterfølgende planer for dagen, så det var alt i alt en helt perfekt formiddag - og han deler i øvrigt gerne ud af sine gode tips til lokale spisesteder, pubber osv. Det var fedt i forhold til vores planlægning af turen for en gruppe på 14. (P.s. - selvom alle vi der var med i gruppen taler fint engelsk, så var det nu også dejligt at få en rundvisning på dansk :-) Så alle vores bedste anbefalinger af Svend-Erik).Super guidet tur med Svend-Erik

Dominique🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Svend-Erik)

22 July 2023

Very interesting tour filled with humour, nerdy facts and good times. We enjoyed the tour very much and would definitely recommend Svend's tour to anyone looking for some gritty and essential stories from Edinburgh. He is a great storyteller who can get the whole tour group immersed through his suspensful and immersive storytelling skills.Great tour

Stacie🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

16 July 2023

We had a wonderful time with Alice and highly recommend her tour if you enjoy storytelling and like hearing less known tales of Edinburgh. We thoroughly enjoyed walking through the city with her and seeing the places as she told true legends of the sites. It was a highlight of our trip.Excellent tour and storytelling

Claire🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Alice)

13 July 2023

We had a wonderful tour with Alice ! She shared so many myths, legends and truths about the history of Edinburgh that it captured my family instantly ! She tailored the stories so that they were interesting to both our 10 and 12 yr olds and to us ! Thank you, Alice ! Would definitely recommend this tour to others ! Wonderful dark tour of Edinburgh!

Jeanine🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

6 July 2023

We had such a lovely time with Alice last night (July 5th) on our private History, Ghosts and Legends walking tour of Edinburgh! She was a font of knowledge, and really made the histories and legends come alive with her engaging storytelling style! 😀Alice is AMAZING!!

Mark🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

25 June 2023

Perfect introduction to the darker side of Edinburgh, both in location and tales. A very well tailored tour for our needs.

Yannicke🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Alice)

19 June 2023

Alice was very lovely and a great storyteller!

Femke🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Svend-Erik)

27 May 2023

In the following 2 days we frequently got reminders of the great stories that Svend told us. Edinburgh is full of these stories and Svend was for us the best person to tell them. Very pleasant! A great story-teller.Great way to get to know the coty

Tobias🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Alice)

11 April 2023

Alice is a great storyteller with a great passion for Edinburgh history. We did a 2 hour walking tour of the old town and had a lot of chilling fun with the eight or nine stories Alice told us and we learned a lot of interesting details about the history of the city. The tour started at Canongate Kirk and ended with Bobby's story at Greyfriars. Important for us as non-native speakers: Alice was wonderful to understand and also responded to our children. Definitely our best of many good experiences "with locals" so far! Strong recommendation!Fantastic Storyteller

Lex

(About local Alice)

1 March 2023

We had a great evening Tour with Alice in Edinburgh. Great stories, wonderpil told zo us and a very nice and interesting tour which brought us to unexpected places. Great stories flexibel tour

Mike🇺🇸 United States

(About local Svend-Erik)

2 January 2023

Svend was great. He was very knowledgeable about the many areas in Edinburgh we wanted to explore and told his stories in a fun and engaging way. Would definitely recommend! Fantastic tour

Hege Angelica🇳🇴 Norway

(About local Svend-Erik)

22 November 2022

We had lovely tour, and we learned a lot about Edinburgh and it’s people in the old days. Svend-Erik is engaging and tells stories in a fun way. Now, every time we pass by certain places we remember his stories. Time went by fast. Great experience and great guide

Jennifer🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Alice)

5 November 2022

Alice was great - stories were so interesting and linked, mixing history and a bit of spookiness (it is Edinburgh after all!). Learnt lots of interesting tidbits - thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, would happily do another!Such a great personalised experience!

Rita🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

21 September 2022

Five of our family followed Alice through closes and graveyards in the dark. She told us fascinating stories about characters in Edinburgh's past, both rumored and true. She set a pace that was doable for a couple of us with knee issues; Greatly appreciated that. And her warmth and humor. Had a great time!Engaging

Sandra 🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Svend-Erik)

14 September 2022

What a crazy and more than worthy Experience. Svend with his huge Amount of Knowledge was Just Amazing !!! We did have a Great Time with. Lots of Laugh and Stories. Thanks so much !!‘ Great Start into a 3 Week Scotland Trip Sandra with Oli Fun and a lot of Information

Shannon🇺🇸 United States

(About local Svend-Erik)

21 August 2022

Svend-Erik is an excellent storyteller-- full of interesting facts and energy. We very much enjoyed our tour with Svend, and highly recommend him for anyone who likes a good story told in situ. Svend even changed the planned tour for us a bit, because we had already seen some things on the original itinerary, and he customized the stories for things that were interesting to us. An excellent way to spend an evening!

Fiona🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Sara)

6 August 2022

I’ve been to Edinburgh before (I have family in the area) so I was looking for a tour for my mother and I that would go beyond the standard tour. Sara did not disappoint. She took us to places I’ve never been and shared stories and history I did not know. She was lovely to spend time with and a talented singer. I highly recommend her tour! Fantastic tour with a bit of beautiful singing

Michelle🇪🇸 Spain

(About local Svend-Erik)

20 July 2022

Scend-Erik was great. We enjoyed very much our time and learn many interesting things Svend-Erik was great.

Carolin🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Alice)

14 June 2022

Our walking tour with guide Alice was really a delight! All three of us are students here in Edinburgh and have been staying here since last year, however, on this tour we learned many new things about Edinburgh's history and legends. Alice is a great storyteller and really brought the stories to life. You will visit some dark closes and graveyards, which adds to the spooky atmosphere. All in all a really fun tour that I would highly recommend!Treasures of Edinburgh Walking Tour

Jenny🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

28 May 2022

My husband and I had arrived in Edinburgh that afternoon. Our tour with Alice that evening was the absolute perfect way to get acquainted with some of the curious and frightening history in this beautiful city! Alice was an absolute delight and really brought the stories to life! We both had such a wonderful time. We most definitely recommend booking this fascinating and fun tour!A perfect walking tour with Alice!

Kitty🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Svend-Erik)

28 April 2022

We met Svend-Erik for his tour of the ghosts, myths and legendes of Edinburgh. Our sons (8&12 y/o) were engaged and entertained throughout the walk and loved his stories, as did we! When the youngest got too tired, we finished the tour a little early with one last creepy story. Svend-Erik is a great story teller and knows a lot about the city. We had a great time, thanks for a great evening Svend-Erik! We had a great time with Svend-Eriks and his great ghost stories!

Emmy🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Svend-Erik)

24 April 2022

Thanks for the great tour Svend-Erik. This was a wonderful way to explore the city :)Loved it!

Gabriella🇮🇹 Italy

(About local Svend-Erik)

23 April 2022

Svend-Erik really knows how to tell a story. Sure, Edinburgh has fantastic myths and legends, but they become so much better in the hands of a proper storyteller, knowledgeable and fun. It is a must-do tour if you want to find out about Edinburgh's dark (but light too) side.So entertaining!

Pia S.🇩🇰 Denmark

(About local Svend-Erik)

10 April 2022

Our little family had the most amazing, interesting and breathtaking hours with Svend-Erik. He’s an amazing story teller, funny and present and is able to keep the attention. of everyone, no matter their age. We’ll definitely go straight for Svend-Erik next time we visit Edinburgh and need a tour guide . Thank you! :-)What a night!

Joanna🇮🇪 Ireland

(About local Svend-Erik)

9 April 2022

Really enjoyed our evening walking tour with Svend-Erik. Great with our kids, knowledgeable, funny and entertaining. Would highly recommend. Come on the vikings!

griffithsjac🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Alice)

28 October 2021

Alice provided a great tour for us with two adults and an 11 year old to entertain. The stories had to capture all our attention and they did. We picked the spooky tour and would recommend this. With stories told in the cemetery and in dark alleyways it is really fun. Great Storyteller

Conor🇯🇲 Jamaica

(About local Alice)

1 August 2021

Alice was brilliant fun and the tour was fascinating. Great stories to add colour to some of the details of Edinburghs history. Highly recommended.Story tour

Mhairi🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Sara)

25 July 2021

With two 16 year old girls in Edinburgh for a weekend shopping, our options were limited as to how we would spend our time after dinner. I found Withlocals and was delighted when I was able to book our guide Sara for a two hour tour from 8.30-10.30. We found Sara to be friendly, informative and entertaining. The girls loved their tour and as they’d been looking forward to it all day, I was delighted with the outcome. I would highly recommend Sara who has a wealth of knowledge about her home town, which she clearly loves.Wonderful tour of Edinburgh

Aniek🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Sara)

17 January 2020

Hou je van een stadstour, luguber, duister en met humor? Dan moet je Sarah hebben! Een geweldige verhalenverteller die inzoomt op kleine zwarte pareltjes. Bijzonder om een keet zon tour in het donker te doen!Een leuk mens, een geweldig verhalenverteller!

Angela 🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Alice)

10 December 2019

Alice is a wonderful storyteller! My sister and I met her on a very cold winter's night for the Spooky Edinburgh Night Tour. Having landed in Edinburgh only a few hours before Alice gave us a very kind and warm welcome. Time flew by so quickly as we wandered through Edinburgh's spooky kirkyards and old narrow streets listening to her fascinating tales and myths. We loved every moment of it! Thank you for the interesting insights, Alice!Spooky Edinburgh Night Tour

Salvör🇮🇸 Iceland

(About local Xavier)

17 October 2019

We were really happy with Xavier tour and can totally recommend him. He was really friendly with good presence and knew for sure much about Edinburgh spooky history.

Maj-Britt🇩🇰 Denmark

(About local Svend-Erik)

23 September 2019

We had the great pleasure of being guided around Edinburgh by Svend-Erik on two tours. He is an amazing and very mesmerizing storyteller. More of our students found that his tour was the best of all the things we did and saw in Edinburgh. We can highly recommend that you spend an hour or two in Svend-Erik's company and benefit from his extensive knowledge about underground Edinburgh.Highly recommended storyteller

Volcy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Sara)

15 September 2019

We really enjoyed the tour with Sara. She was very friendly and knowledgeable. She stayed a bit longer with us as we had to translate for non English speaker friends. Thank you again Sara for this fantastic experience. Very very good time!

Lydia🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Sara)

13 September 2019

We had a lovely tour with Sara. She took us to remarkable places and told us great stories that will stuck in our heads. She was very energetic, lively and the nicest guide you could wish for. If you planning a vacation in Edinburgh go take a chance and book one of her tours. Highly recommend it. And btw she also has a really great singing voice 😀 so thx again Sara we had an amazing time with you. Must have tour

Alejandra🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Xavier)

13 September 2019

I booked a night tour for me and my friend (both Italian speaking) during our stay in Edinburgh with Xavier and It was the first time booking with "withlocals" for me. Meeting Xavier was like meeting up with an old friend: he made us feeling so comfortable and we enjoyed chatting as well. The tour has been extremely exciting and interesting despite the silly weather and Xavi was very clear on all his explanations, very knowledgeable about everything and also regarding Scottish language. The tour, even if a thematic one, enlightened a lot about Edinburgh's history and curios facts thanks to Xavi's approach. If I'll ever come back I'd like to do a daily tour with him.Interesting, funny and creepy at the same time!