There are two places to picture: a covered Old Town street at Mary King’s Close, and chambers built into South Bridge. Blair Street is part of the South Bridge vaults, with its own entrance and tours run by Mercat. You visit these sites separately.
How South Bridge acquired its hidden rooms
Built in the 1780s, South Bridge carried a growing city across the valley below. Buildings concealed much of its structure, while rooms inside the arches became workshops and storage spaces. From the pavement above, there is little to suggest how much space sits underneath.
Damp eventually drove businesses out. Some rooms found other uses, including a tavern and an illicit whisky still, while people unable to find housing took shelter below ground.
Why a street survives beneath the City Chambers
Mary King’s Close began as an open street, lined with homes and places of work. Later construction of the Royal Exchange, now the City Chambers, covered part of the older neighbourhood. The surviving rooms and sloping close are the setting for today’s guided visit.
On the guided visit, a former-resident character introduces life in the close: earning a living, sharing crowded homes and coping with disease. The surviving lane and rooms give those accounts a place you can walk through.
Are there catacombs to visit?
The underground tours compared here visit bridge vaults or a preserved close, rather than a burial-catacomb network. If you are picturing rows of tombs, these visits will be different: the interest lies in the rooms, their changing uses and the lives connected with them.
For burial-ground stories, look for a walking tour that explicitly includes Greyfriars or Canongate graveyard. Graveyard entry is not an automatic extra on every underground tour.
How to visit the places you have read about
For the bridge’s history, start with the 75-minute Historic Blair Street Vaults tour: a guide, recovered objects and the Vaults Museum connect the empty rooms with their past uses. Book Mary King’s Close for the preserved neighbourhood and character-led visit.
If the ghost stories are what draw you underground, choose an evening vault tour. Check the named operator and route: Mercat uses Blair Street, while other companies enter different sections of South Bridge.
Step inside the bridge chambers
Find the Historic Blair Street tour alongside preserved-close visits and ghost-led alternatives.
Compare underground toursSources and updates
Material visitor facts were checked on 5 November 2026. Operational details can change, so verify the exact provider before booking.
See what lies beneath your next Old Town walk
Choose a history-led visit to the bridge vaults, a ghost-story evening or a guided hour in Mary King’s Close.
Compare Edinburgh underground tours