Edinburgh Audio Tour: Underground Echoes and City Secrets

Explore Edinburgh at your own pace

Beneath the cobblestones of the Royal Mile, the cries of rebellion, sermons, and secret agreements still echo. Edinburgh stands proud, but the city hides a darker and stranger layer.

Follow a self-guided audio tour through alleys and squares, from St Giles' Cathedral to the Old College at Edinburgh University and on towards St Cecilia's Hall. Hear the stories most people walk past, the scandals that were polished away, and the forgotten moments that shaped power and faith.

Who dared defy the crown when conflict simmered at St Giles', and what did it cost in blood and reputation? What trace of a lost secret is still said to be hidden in the university courtyard's stone? Why did a certain concert in St Cecilia's Hall let a wrong note turn into a political quarrel?

Photo: Adam Wilson, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 2.0 km (1.2 miles)
• Stops: 13 landmarks, including The Scotsman Hotel, City Art Center, Museum on the Mound
• Audio: up to 33 minutes of narration
• Starts at: The Scotsman Hotel

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

• The Scotsman Hotel
• City Art Center
• Museum on the Mound
• Makar's Court
• Justiciary Building, Edinburgh
• St Giles' Cathedral
• Parliament Square, Edinburgh
• John Dowie's Tavern
• Bells Wynd
• St Cecilia's Hall
• Edinburgh Vaults
• Adam House
• Old College, Edinburgh University

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: Jörg Angeli, Adam Wilson, Ben Guerin (Unsplash).