Mercat Tours

28 Blair Street, Edinburgh EH1 1QR, Scotland

44 131 225 5445

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where 'cobbler' worked - see the spark on wall not visible in Bridies pic in same area

85 visitor photos

Ranked #23 of 58 tours in Edinburgh

647 Reviews

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Type: Tours

Activities: Group tours/city tour

Owner description: Mercat Tours is the original, largest, and ONLY 5star walking tour company in Scotland. We provide award-winning history and ghost tours of Edinburgh...... more » Owner description: Mercat Tours is the original, largest, and ONLY 5star walking tour company in Scotland. We provide award-winning history and ghost tours of Edinburgh revealing tales of the city's past, and it's people, with passion, humour and flair. With guaranteed departures, daily, all year round we have tours daytime and evening; Old Town and New Town; above ground and underground; historical and ghostly. We have tours running from midday until and midnight and after 27yrs of trying and testing our tours, we really think we have a tour for everyone. Please get in touch and we'll help you choose the right tour for you.

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647 reviews from our community

Laura S

Austin, Texas

1 review

“A definite to-do thing while in Edinburgh.”

Reviewed May 25, 2012 NEW

We had an amazing time with Mercat tours in Edinburgh. Our guide Harry was an amazing story teller who definitely knew his information. It was really fun and informative and would really recommend everyone to go and try it. More

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danna_alexandra

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Senior Contributor

21 reviews

Reviews in 9 cities

10 helpful votes

“Not for us - but probably good for others”

Reviewed May 25, 2012 NEW

PROS This seems like it would be a fun tour to take your kids on, a mix of history and theatrics Free wine! (one glass with your ticket) Great central meeting point We didn't cover a lot of ground, so this is probably good for people who don't want to do a lot of walking. Cons: Very dramatic tour guide,... More

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barry_bellis

Middlesbrough, United Kingdom

Reviewer

3 reviews

“fascinating tour - have some great pics ( orbs and spark )”

Reviewed May 23, 2012 NEW

visited underground vaults on 16th May 2012 - Lia was an excellent guide (thanks Lia) as we walked through the vaults i took some pics and have 3 pics with orbs and 2 pics which i took where the cobbler worked ( one pic of my friend standing where the cobbler worked, then i took one again without my friend... More

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melbez

Derry, United Kingdom

Contributor

11 reviews

Reviews in 5 cities

3 helpful votes

“Interesting but if you are looking for scary, this isn't the tour for you.”

Reviewed May 23, 2012 NEW

Our guide Alex was definitely entertaining, but I wouldn't call the Hidden and Haunted tour haunted at all. Some interesting stories, but not scary in the least, and I know everyone has their own threshold for terror, but looking around at the other guests on the tour, I saw a lot more smiles and laughs than fear in their eyes.... More

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Thanks for taking time to leave feedback on your tour. We're glad that you enjoyed Alex's storytelling as we promise to 'engage, enthral and entertain' on all our tours. As you mention, it can be tricky trying to 'scare' customers because it can be very subjective. Because of that, after year's experience and responding to customer feedback we deliberately don't... More

seafare012388

Shelton, Connecticut

1 review

“The underground vaults are the highlight of this tour. And most stories are based on recent encounters; not all myth!”

Reviewed May 22, 2012 NEW

The underground vaults are the highlight of this tour. Most stories are based on recent encounters, which makes the experience even creepier! Many people have seen the same three or four spirits in the vaults. I kept looking left and right, almost expecting to see one myself. The tour guides are engaging and vibrant, and add in humor when they... More

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Timothy K

Washington DC, District of Columbia

Senior Reviewer

7 reviews

Reviews in 2 cities

“Standard Theatrical Ghost Tour”

Reviewed May 22, 2012 NEW

My wife and I went on the Ghosts & Ghouls tour which was an OK ghost tour, really nothing too special. Seeing a section of the vaults was fun, however they are not the only tour that takes you there. I found the tour done by the City of the Dead which meets a matter of feet away from this... More

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Many thanks for getting in touch and reviewing your tour. We appreciate that there are other tour companies operating in Edinburgh, however, we are the only company who have exclusive access to the Blair Street Underground Vaults. Our Ghosts and Ghouls tour is our early evening ghost tour particularly for families and those looking for light-hearted entertainment. Based on customer... More

russ_fae_fyvie

Scotland

2 reviews

Reviews in 2 cities

“Vey good, easy to book online as well.”

Reviewed May 21, 2012 NEW

Ella was very good for one so young !! Very well presented and she also took an interest in the Group which was very good, well done ! More

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Thanks for getting in touch - we'll make sure Ella gets your feedback! More

Alannainen

Helsinki, Finland

Top Contributor

51 reviews

Reviews in 16 cities

23 helpful votes

“The horrible part was that we paid for this”

Reviewed May 20, 2012 NEW

I did the Hidden & Haunted night tour with my firends. Starting with the positive things: the rainy night was a perfect set-up for ghost stories and the guide was appropriately dramatic. But that's about it. We wandered around a couple of blocks and heard some old legends. Wet and cold, we finally we proceeded to the vaults (conveniently located... More

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Thank you for taking time to give us feedback on your tour with us. We're very sorry that you didn't enjoy the experience. All our tours focus on the storytelling skills of the guides, audience participation and the visitor's imagination to create atmosphere and bring stories to life. Our tour visits the closes and wynds of the Royal Mile and,... More

Lesley S

Airdrie, United Kingdom

Reviewer

4 reviews

1 helpful vote

“Dull and uninteresting - avoid at all costs”

Reviewed May 19, 2012

person found this review helpful

Guide delivered a dull and monologue version of the Burke and Hare story. Hardly original. My friends one from Holland and another from England were bored silly. Do not do this tour. More

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Many thanks for reviewing your tour with us - we're very sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the experience. Our aim on all tours is to bring the true stories of Edinburgh's past to life and entertain our visitors. We agree that many visitors to Edinburgh have heard the story of Burke and Hare, however, very often it's as 'the... More

HouseHusband78

Hamilton Parish, Bermuda

Senior Contributor

36 reviews

Reviews in 15 cities

15 helpful votes

“Nothing special, was expecting more info re: history/architecture”

Reviewed May 18, 2012

Wife and I did the "Ghost and Ghouls" tour. Maybe we were expecting more information regarding the buildings, architecture and history of the area. We just walked around the different side streets of the Royal Mile, where we were told various stories of murder and torture. Can't even really consider this a scary tour. No real stories of actual hauntings... More

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Many thanks for your review of your ghost tour. We're sorry to hear it wasn't the history tour you expected. Our Ghosts and Ghouls tour is one of three evening ghosts tours we operate and focus on the darker, more sinister history of Edinburgh above, and underground. Given your interest in architectural and social history our daytime history tours, Secrets... More