Real Mary King's Close

Mary King's Close is a series of narrow underground streets that were built over in the 17th century when the Royal Exchange (now the City Chambers) was constructed on top of them. The result is a preserved section of 17th-century Edinburgh frozen in time: the tenement buildings (truncated at the level of the new construction above), the narrow close, the rooms where families lived and worked, all sealed beneath the modern street. Guided tours run for 75 minutes and cover five or six of the rooms: the anatomy chamber (where the bodies from the anatomy trade were prepared), a room associated with the plague outbreaks of the 1640s, and the preserved domestic spaces of a 17th-century merchant family. The guides are costumed and the storytelling includes both factual history and the ghost stories that have accumulated around the close since the 18th century. The tour is underground and slightly claustrophobic in places: the closes are genuinely narrow (two people can barely pass) and the ceilings are low. GBP 19 adult, booking ahead is essential in summer. The entrance is on the Royal Mile, marked by a discreet sign at 2 Warriston's Close. Tours run from 10 AM to 9 PM in peak season. The close is approximately 10 metres below the current street level.