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All 344 Edinburgh Attractions »

Mercat Tours

28 Blair Street, Edinburgh EH1 1QR, Scotland
44 131 225 5445
Ranked #23 of 58 tours in Edinburgh
4.5 of 5 stars 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. « less
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647 reviews from our community

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Date Rating
Austin, Texas
1 review
5 of 5 stars 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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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Senior Contributor
21 reviews 21 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars 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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See 3 more reviews by danna_alexandra for Edinburgh
Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
5 of 5 stars 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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See 2 more reviews by barry_bellis for Edinburgh
Derry, United Kingdom
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars 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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MercatToursLtd, Manager at Mercat Tours, responded to this review
May 24, 2012

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

Shelton, Connecticut
1 review
4 of 5 stars 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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Washington DC, District of Columbia
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
3 of 5 stars 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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See 5 more reviews by Timothy K for Edinburgh
MercatToursLtd, Manager at Mercat Tours, responded to this review
May 24, 2012

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

Scotland
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
5 of 5 stars 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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MercatToursLtd, Manager at Mercat Tours, responded to this review
May 24, 2012

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

Helsinki, Finland
Top Contributor
51 reviews 51 reviews
Reviews in 16 cities Reviews in 16 cities
23 helpful votes 23 helpful votes
1 of 5 stars 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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MercatToursLtd, Manager at Mercat Tours, responded to this review
May 21, 2012

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

Airdrie, United Kingdom
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
1 of 5 stars Reviewed May 19, 2012
1
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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See 3 more reviews by Lesley S for Edinburgh
MercatToursLtd, Manager at Mercat Tours, responded to this review
May 21, 2012

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

Hamilton Parish, Bermuda
Senior Contributor
36 reviews 36 reviews
Reviews in 15 cities Reviews in 15 cities
15 helpful votes 15 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars 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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See 3 more reviews by HouseHusband78 for Edinburgh
MercatToursLtd, Manager at Mercat Tours, responded to this review
May 21, 2012

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

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