Pride History Tours
- 1st - 30th Jun 2026
- 16.00 | 17.30
- 1 hour
- £28.50 per adult & £23 per child
- No under 5 year olds
- Audio guides are available for our tour in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish and Hungarian.
Exclusive tours to celebrate Pride Month at The Real Mary King’s Close
To celebrate Pride Month, The Real Mary King’s Close shares its research in a series of educational and thought-provoking ‘Pride History Tours’. These tours have been designed to reveal the hidden histories of LGBTQIA+ community life in Edinburgh from the mid-16th century until 1912.
The LGBTQIA+ community tend to be missing in history books, and it can be difficult to imagine the struggles they had to face throughout the centuries.
It is important to remember that terms such as “gay”, “lesbian”, and “bisexual” didn’t exist until around the mid-20th century. When talking of homosexuality from the 16th to 19th century it was described in various terms such as “buggery” and mainly “sodomy”. Furthermore, the death penalty for Sodomy was not abolished until 1887.
Step Beneath The Royal Mile
The tour takes visitors deep beneath the Royal Mile to explore the preserved streets of Mary King’s Close. Through immersive storytelling, guests uncover powerful, true stories of real people who shaped Edinburgh’s cultural and scientific history.
Meet the Voices of Edinburgh's Past
Robert Fergusson
Marie Maitland
Join us as we celebrate real people who pioneered Edinburgh’s history.
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