Travellers begin beneath Edinburgh Castle, rising dramatically from ancient volcanic rock. This opening stop sets the scene for the city: why Edinburgh developed along a narrow ridge, why the Castle became such a powerful defensive site, and how geography shaped everything that followed. Guests will view the Castle from the outside, hear stories of fortress, royal stronghold and national symbol, and enjoy time for photographs before continuing into the Old Town. Castle entry is not included, but can be arranged separately if required.

Visitors will explore the atmospheric heart of medieval Edinburgh, walking through narrow streets, closes and wynds that reveal how people once lived in a crowded ridge-top town. This part of the tour focuses on daily life: housing, sanitation, trade, crime, survival, ambition and social contrast. Guests will see hidden corners, historic buildings and dramatic viewpoints while discovering how the Old Town grew upwards as much as outwards. The pace is relaxed, with time for questions, photographs and small detours based on the group’s interests.

Travellers will follow the historic route linking Edinburgh Castle with the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Rather than treating it as one street, we will explore the Royal Mile as a changing sequence of places: the Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street and Canongate. Guests will see former marketplaces, civic buildings, courtyards and narrow closes while learning how the route carried processions, trade, public announcements, punishment, ceremony and everyday life. It is the best way to understand Edinburgh as a living timeline.

At St Giles’ Cathedral stop, the visitors will discover one of Scotland’s most important religious and political buildings. This stop focuses on faith, reform and national identity: from medieval worship to the Scottish Reformation, John Knox, the Covenanters and the conflicts that shaped the Church of Scotland. Guests will view the building and hear how events connected with St Giles’ helped change the direction of Scottish history. Interior visit depends on opening hours and route timing.

Old Town of Edinburgh and some of it's secrets that survived up to these days.

Travellers will visit Victoria Street, one of Edinburgh’s most photographed streets, known for its colourful shopfronts, curved descent and dramatic levels. This stop adds a lighter, visual chapter to the tour: architecture, independent shops, urban design and the way Edinburgh layers streets above streets. Guests will have time for photographs while learning how this striking street links the Old Town with the Grassmarket and why it has become such a favourite with visitors, photographers and film/literary fans.

Travellers will see Tron Kirk, a 17th-century church built to serve the growing and overcrowded congregation of St Giles’. Set at one of the busiest points of the Old Town, it became part of Edinburgh’s public life and was later strongly associated with Hogmanay gatherings. Today, the building has been repurposed as an indoor market, showing how the city continually adapts its historic spaces. From here, guests can also understand the vital link between the Old and New Towns, including the bridges that reshaped Edinburgh and created hidden spaces below—later associated with vaults, poverty, body snatchers and darker urban stories.

Travellers will explore the Canongate, once a separate burgh from Edinburgh, with its own identity, trades and institutions. This lower stretch of the Royal Mile brings together several layers of the city: remnants of its monastic past near Holyrood, old workshops and industrial life, elegant townhouses, and the modern home of the Scottish Parliament. Guests will also discover links to Scottish poetry, romance and storytelling, including connections that help explain why Edinburgh and Scotland continue to inspire books, films and series such as Outlander. This is a quieter but deeply atmospheric part of the route, leading naturally towards Holyrood.

At the Palace of Holyroodhouse, travellers will encounter Edinburgh’s royal residence at the foot of the Royal Mile. This stop focuses on monarchy, court life and political drama, especially the world of Mary, Queen of Scots, as well as the continuing role of the Palace in modern royal life. Guests will view the Palace from the outside and understand how it connects the Old Town with royal ceremony, Holyrood Abbey, Arthur’s Seat and the wider story of Scottish kingship. Entry is not included unless arranged separately.

At the National Galleries Scotland: National, travellers will see how art connects Scotland with wider European culture. This stop introduces the gallery as part of Edinburgh’s cultural landscape, with its classical setting between the Old and New Towns. Depending on interests and opening times, guests may hear about Scottish artists, European masters, collecting, taste and national identity. This is a flexible cultural stop, ideal for travellers interested in art, architecture or Edinburgh’s role as a refined capital of ideas.

Travellers will see the dramatic Scott Monument, one of Edinburgh’s most recognisable landmarks and one of the largest monuments to a writer anywhere in the world. Dedicated to Sir Walter Scott, it reflects the enormous influence of his novels and poetry on the romantic image of Scotland. From the outside, guests will learn how Scott helped shape the way Scotland was imagined in the 19th century, from tartan and Highland identity to historic storytelling. Its dark Gothic design also gives Edinburgh’s skyline one of its most distinctive silhouettes, making this an ideal stop for photographs and literary context on the way between the Old and New Towns.

Travellers will step into the elegant contrast of Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town, part of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the largest continuous expanse of Georgian-era buildings in the world. This part of the tour explores why Edinburgh expanded beyond the crowded Old Town, and how order, symmetry, Enlightenment thinking and social ambition shaped its streets and squares. Guests will see refined 18th-century architecture, broad streets and carefully planned views while learning how Edinburgh presented itself as a modern, intellectual and fashionable capital.