What facilities are available for non-English speakers at Mary King's Close?

Tours are conducted in English; however, if you speak French, German, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Dutch, Polish, Hungarian or Portuguese, we offer free multimedia and audio guides via our mobile app.
We also now offer British Sign Language (BSL) and International Sign Language (IS) guides to make the experience more accessible.
Click here to download. Please note that earphones are mandatory on tours.

Related FAQs

The tour lasts one hour.

The tour typically runs every 10 minutes from the opening hour to the closing hour.

Please note that bookings for The Real Mary King’s Close are non-refundable as per our Terms and Conditions. If you have booked a Flexi Ticket, you can change the date and time of your booking an unlimited number of times up to 4 hours before your tour.

Standard tickets can also be changed up to 4 hours before your tour, but there will be an additional £15 admin fee per booking.

Contact us to change your booking.

Yes, we do! if you are bringing 15 people or more you could be entitled to a group discount – visit our Groups pages for all the information you need.

The nature of the tour does not make the tour suitable for animals. If you require the assistance of a Guide Dog please contact us to arrange your visit and we will be happy to accommodate you.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of our site, pictures are not allowed. A photo is taken for you at our iconic close with a static camera. It is, of course, optional for you to purchase once the tour has finished. As an alternative, you may consider purchasing a souvenir guidebook at the time of the booking or just before your tour starts.

We are proud to offer language translation multimedia and audio guides for a variety of spoken languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese Dutch, Polish, Hungarian & Portuguese. We also now provide guides in British Sign Language (BSL) and International Sign Language (IS) to support greater accessibility.
More information about audio guides and translation services can be found here

We operate a fully cashless system at The Real Mary King’s Close. We do not accept cash payments, nor card payments via American Express. Please make sure to bring a valid debit or credit card along with you on the day of your tour.

The tour is suitable for all ages from 5+ onwards. Entrance to The Real Mary King’s Close historic site is prohibited to anyone below the age of 5 due to health and safety reasons. However, everyone is welcome to use our Burgh Courtroom Gift Shop and Café. Please keep this in mind before booking tickets to the attraction.

Unfortunately, there is no car park nearby the attraction as The Real Mary King’s Close is located on Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile. However, we recommend checking our How to Find Us page for detailed information about alternative transport options.

You can enjoy a delicious beverage from Mary Ogle’s Coffee Cart. Our cold drinks and snacks stand is named after the original proprietor of the Royal Exchange Coffee House, a favourite institution among locals located above Mary King’s Close in 1740.

For those looking for food, there are numerous restaurants nearby, but not on-site.

Food and drink is not permitted on the close during the tour.

All of our gift vouchers must be redeemed online. Simply proceed to checkout on our Book Now page, and enter the unique booking code displayed on your gift voucher. Please keep in mind that gift vouchers are only valid for ONE YEAR from the date of purchase. For more information, see our Gift Voucher T&Cs here.

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