What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 10pm Tuesday 9am - 10pm Wednesday 9am - 10pm Thursday 9am - 10pm Friday 9am - 10pm Saturday 9am - 10pm Sunday 9am - 10pm

Mercat Tours

Home
United Kingdom
Edinburgh
Mercat Tours

'History is a damn good story, what it needs is a damn good telling' - and Mercat does! Local, indep
(1467)

'𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 '

𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙣! �
Enjoy immersive storytelling experiences as you explore Edinburgh's Old Town.

𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩 �
You'll have a deep connection with the people and places of the past and build remarkable memories of Scotland's ancient and beautiful capital.

𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙔𝙤𝙪, 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 �
Choosing us, a local, independent family

business and Living Wage employer, means you support an ethical 'Good to Go' team rooted in our local community since 1985. We respect and support like-minded people to ensure everyone's experience of Edinburgh is the very best it can be.

28/06/2025

Tour like it's 1985 🎉

Join us the first week of July for special Secrets of Edinburgh's Royal Mile and Evening of Ghosts & Ghouls tours. Priced at £19.85 in honour of the year it all began!

Celebrate 40 years of storytelling with us on our original ghost tour and Royal Mile walking tour. Details here. https://ow.ly/z8Km50Whnp2

26/06/2025

Have you been on a thank you tour this year?

To thank our Edinburgh community, we’re hosting special tours and events every month. So far this year, we’ve brought back: Sin in the City, Talking Statues, Edinburgh Outlander Experience, Symbols of Scotland at the National Museum of Scotland and Enlightenment Edinburgh.

💬Share your favourite Mercat Moment in the comments for a chance to join Kat and Des Brogan on our Legends Tour in Edinburgh on 01 July.

25/06/2025

💖 Have you supported Our Stories, Your City?

We believe stories connect people, the past and the city and your donations have helped make our walking tours accessible to disconnected Edinburgh residents.

💬 Comment with your Mercat Memory and tell us why supporting this initiative mattered to you, for a chance to join Kat and Des Brogan on our Legends Tour in Edinburgh on 01 July.

Grassmarket Community Project, The Welcoming Edinburgh

24/06/2025

Do you have a scrapbook somewhere with an old Mercat Tours ticket, leaflet, clipping or souvenir? This one’s for you. 🎫

If you've ever joined us and enjoyed a little retail therapy (maybe it’s a wee ghost Worrywort, COCO Chocolatier orange milk chocolate, a Mercat t-shirt or a book of ghost stories) or stashed that old entry ticket away somewhere safe, we want to hear from you.

💬Share photos of your Mercat mementos in the comments for a chance to join Kat and Des Brogan on our Legends Tour in Edinburgh on 01 July.

23/06/2025

Have you joined us on tour beyond our home here in Edinburgh?

Through our sister company, Mercat Tours International, Des, Kat and the MTI guides share powerful, scenic and thought-provoking journeys across the battlefields of Belgium and France. They bring to life the stories of the First World War and the brave souls of the Pals Battalions.

Have you ever walked those historic paths with MTI? Do you still remember Tyne Cot Cemetery, Newfoundland Park, Sanctuary Wood, the Menin Gate and Hill 60? Then this one’s for you.

💬 Share your favourite Mercat Moment, the name of your Pals Battalion or the most memorial place you visited on a battlefield tour in the comments for a chance to join Kat and Des Brogan on our Legends Tour in Edinburgh on 01 July.

22/06/2025

Our pals are helping us (and you!) celebrate our birthday in style! 🎂

We’re grateful for the friends who’ve helped us put together a very special giveaway this year, including:
🏠 A two-night stay at The Balmoral, a Rocco Forte Hotel, a 5-star, iconic Edinburgh landmark
🍹 Decadent Duo: Gin and Chocolate Pairing with Edinburgh Gin
🏰 Secrets of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile tour, including entry to the majestic Edinburgh Castle, with Mercat Tours
☕ Afternoon tea in the elegant Tea Rooms of Edinburgh Castle
🚌 Grand24 tickets, with access to three hop-on, hop-off bus tours: CitySightseeing Edinburgh, Edinburgh Tour, and Regal Tour with Edinburgh Bus Tours. Travel even further with ease using Operator of the Year, Lothian Buses

If we've entertained guests or created magical experiences together, we’d love to hear from you.

💬 Tag your company or your colleagues and share your favourite moment with Mercat for your chance to join Kat and Des Brogan on our Legends Tour on 01 July.

19/06/2025

Calling all friends and partners of Mercat: you know who you are!

From Gladstone's Land NTS to the Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage, Edinburgh Castle to The Georgian House NTS, we’ve got friends all over Edinburgh.

🏰 To all our pals on the mile, partners, festivals and more. Have we crossed paths, entertained guests, helped make memories together?
💬Tag your company, your colleagues and share your favourite moment with Mercat for your chance to join Kat and Des Brogan on our Legends Tour on 01 July.

18/06/2025

Have you ever donned the cloak as a Mercat Tours Storyteller? 👻

Once a Mercat Storyteller, always part of Mercat’s history. From Number 17 to Tweeddale Court to The Cobbler, did you have a favourite story to tell?

Ailsa, Katherine, Frances, Andrew, Dougie and long-time Mercat veteran Jared feature in some of the archive photos we've been digging out recently.

💬If you ever took to the cobbles in a cloak (or jacket!), comment with your favourite Mercat Master Storyteller moment or photo for a chance to join Des and Kat on our Legends Tour on 01 July.

17/06/2025

Kat Brogan has held almost every possible role here at Mercat. From Support Team and Storyteller to apparent Burke & Hare victim to Managing Director and force for good in tourism, she’s checked off an impressive number of roles.

If you ever worked with her or witnessed her masterful storytelling on tour, now’s your chance to relive those moments!

Did you once have Kat as a Storyteller, go on a WWI battlefields tour with her or even once pose with her in questionable (if entertaining) photoshoots (Gary and Paul, we’re looking at you 👀)?
💬Comment your favourite memories of Kat below for a chance to join her and her father, Des, on our Legends Tour on 01 July.

UKinbound Scottish Tourism Alliance Tourism Cares VisitScotland Visit Edinburgh Grassmarket Community Project Living Wage UK

16/06/2025

📚 Were you ever in Mr Brogan’s history class?

Do you remember his favourite teaching aid, 'Fred'? Maybe you first met the Jacobites in one of his lessons or learned the tale of Charles II’s horse at Parliament Square? Perhaps his storytelling sparked your imagination and brought the Royal Mile of the 1800s to life.

Now’s your chance to experience that magic again. Don’t miss this opportunity to walk the Royal Mile with the man who inspired students to see Scottish history differently.

💬If you were ever a student of Des Brogan’s, (or taught beside him!), share your favourite memories in the comments for a chance to join him and daughter Kat on our Legends Tour on 01 July.

16/06/2025

📣 We’re celebrating 40 years of storytelling, and you’re invited to join The Legends!

This July, we’re marking 40 years of Mercat Tours and we’re celebrating the best way we know how… with a walk through history.

01 July, our 40th birthday: for one tour only, join Des Brogan (former history teacher & a founder of Mercat Tours) and daughter Kat Brogan (current MD) on a very special Legends Tour.
🚶‍➡️🚶‍♀️‍➡️Expect a walking tour of their favourite stories of the Royal Mile. You’re invited to join Des and Kat as they guide like it’s 1985!

How to join? Over the coming weeks we’ll post questions that connect us all: our history, people, partners and purpose.

👉 Comment on any post with your Mercat Memory or favourite story and you could be one of the walking legends.

Let’s celebrate the people who made these 40 years unforgettable, starting with YOU.

First image © Tony Marsh

Address

28 Blair Street
Edinburgh
EH11QR

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 10pm
Tuesday	9am - 10pm
Wednesday	9am - 10pm
Thursday	9am - 10pm
Friday	9am - 10pm
Saturday	9am - 10pm
Sunday	9am - 10pm

Telephone

+441312255445

Website

http://www.mercattours.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mercat Tours posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Mercat Tours:

Shortcuts

A passion for the past

We’re the original, largest, & only 5 star walking tour company in Scotland. For over 32 years, our award-winning history & ghost tours share the tales of the Edinburgh's past. For us - it’s all about telling the fascinating stories of Edinburgh’s people with passion, humour & flair.

28/06/2025

26/06/2025

25/06/2025

24/06/2025

23/06/2025

22/06/2025

19/06/2025

18/06/2025

17/06/2025

16/06/2025

16/06/2025

Address

Opening Hours

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category

A passion for the past