Edinburgh Audio Tour: Echoes of Intrigue

Explore Edinburgh at your own pace

In Edinburgh, secrets linger on every cobbled corner-one moment whispers of medieval treachery, the next, coded messages echo from modern labs. Beneath these gothic spires, tales of ambition, scandal, and silent rebellion shape the city you see.

This self-guided audio tour threads through back alleys and iconic halls. Uncover unexpected histories and campus secrets that many wander past without ever knowing.

What drove a royal murder plot just steps from a university classroom? Which hidden passage still guards traces of student mischief that no faculty ever resolved? Why did a 19th-century discovery at the School of Informatics vanish overnight with no explanation?

Photo: Adam Wilson, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 2.2 km (1.4 miles)
• Stops: 13 landmarks, including King Khalid Building, Murder of Lord Darnley, Southside Community Centre
• Audio: up to 33 minutes of narration
• Starts at: King Khalid Building

Map data by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap contributors

How it works

• Book here and a redemption code arrives by email within minutes.
• Download the free AudaTours app on your phone and enter the code.
• Download the tour once and the whole thing works offline.
• Walk to the first stop and press play. The audio for each landmark starts automatically as you approach it, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

There is no fixed date and no start time. The date you pick at checkout does not matter, and the tour stays on your phone permanently, so you can use it whenever you next visit and walk it again as often as you like.

What is included

• Professionally narrated audio that plays automatically at each stop
• An interactive map showing the walking route between landmarks
• Full offline access once downloaded, so you need no data or signal
• Freedom to start, pause and resume whenever you like
• Lifetime access - your code never expires

Where you will stop

• King Khalid Building
• Murder of Lord Darnley
• Southside Community Centre
• St Andrew's Orthodox Church, Edinburgh
• Word Power Books
• Edinburgh Central Mosque
• McEwan Hall
• Nursing Studies, University of Edinburgh
• Edinburgh University Students' Association
• School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh
• University of Edinburgh School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
• George Square, Edinburgh
• Edinburgh University Library

Image: AudaTours

What is AudaTours?

AudaTours turns a walk through a city into a story. Our guides bring landmarks to life with the history, the scandals and the detail you would never get from a plaque.

• Immersive: real stories about the places in front of you, not a dry commentary
• Offline: download once and use it with no data, anywhere
• At your own pace: start, pause and resume whenever you want
• Accurate: every story is built from verified historical sources and checked before release

Good to know

• This is a self-guided audio tour on your own phone. There is no in-person guide.
• It does not include entry to any building or site along the route.
• The landmarks on the tour are not affiliated with AudaTours.
• You need a smartphone with Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 16 or later.
• Bring headphones and start with a charged phone.

Who it suits

Solo travellers, couples, families and small groups who would rather explore on their own schedule than follow a guide and a fixed departure time. It suits a first visit, and it suits anyone who has already seen the famous sights and wants to know what actually happened in them.

Image credits

Photos: Kate Bielinski, Adam Wilson, Ben Guerin (Unsplash).