Highlights
Edinburgh is a city bursting with history, but also with bookishness; so much so that it was the first city in the world to be awarded UNESCO’s ‘City of Literature’ title. Now, for the first time, you can take a tour which delves deeper than ever before into both our history and our literary connections, from Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter! Come with 7 Hills Tours and your guide, Edinburgh native Dr Moray Grigor, on the deepest, most comprehensive coach tour ever offered in Edinburgh, traversing the whole city from the sea to the hills (with short tea break) to bring you our historic and literary secrets, all presented in the engaging style that has won 6 complete years of 5 star review for Moray's other tours. Together we'll be imagining the scenes and events that made history, and there will be chocolate prizes on offer for correct answers to our history and literature quiz questions! Historic and literary surprises absolutely guaranteed – plus the warmest of Scottish welcomes!
About This Deal
Departure Point
- The tour departs from the coach stances right beside the Burns Monument.
Return Details
- The tour departs from the coach stances right beside the Burns Monument.
Duration
3 hours
Languages Available
- Human tour guide - English
Points of Interest
Stop At: The Burns Monument
1759 Regent Rd, Edinburgh
This memorial to our national Bard is in the form of an ancient Greek temple, and is the start point of our tour.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Irene Forte Spa, Edinburgh
1 Princes Street, Edinburgh
Landmark Edinburgh hotel, famous for its clock running three minutes ahead to help rail passengers catch their trains - also where J.K. Rowling completed the 'Harry Potter' saga!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Scott Monument
E. Princes St Gardens, Edinburgh
The world's biggest literary memorial, to the 'Man who invented Scotland' - superstar romantic author Sir Walter Scott.
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Saint Andrew Square
George Street, Edinburgh
Grand 18thC square, one of the twin focal points of Edinburgh's 'New Town'. Crowned with statue of Henry Dundas - 'the uncrowned king of Scotland'
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: New Town
Edinburgh
We'll proceed along upscale George Street, meeting a young man who would gain literary fame and fortune in Canada, and passing the site of Edinburgh's greatest religious schism - the Disruption of 1843. Turning into Hanover Street we'll pass the Royal Society of Edinburgh - where James Hutton's seminal paper on the age of the earth was presented. We'll also pass Milne's Bar, haunt of the 1950's poetry scene!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Old Town
Edinburgh
Ascending the Mound and crossing the Old Town, we'll meet Edinburgh's most notorious criminal and its greatest philosopher, and see the cafe where Harry Potter was 'born' and the site where the disastrous Darien Scheme was hatched in the 1690s.
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Bristo Place
Bristo Place, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1
We'll pass Edinburgh's world-renowned Medical School, where we'll hear of some famous alumni, both inside and outside medicine! Next we'll pass George Heriot's school, inspiration for Hogwarts and site of Scotland's first hot air balloon flight! Passing into East Fountainbridge we'll hear of a night club bouncer foiling a gang attack, and later reaching global fame!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: West Princes Street Garden, Edinburgh
Princes Street, Edinburgh
We'll meet a world famous woman author getting married in virtual secret, and hear why cemeteries in old Edinburgh needed security towers! Also we'll hear a story of a tough young nightclub bouncer foiling an attack - and later rising to global fame!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Charlotte Square
West end of George Street 40 Charlotte Square, , Edinburgh
In this twin to St Andrew's Square we'll meet a little boy with a VERY big future - and his very unusual birthday present; also we'll unearth the pub haunt of Edinburgh's top contemporary crime writer!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: New Town
Edinburgh
Continuing into Queen Street we'll meet another little boy, destined for literary greatness, pass the house where a historic medical discovery was made and the site of possibly the most 'steam-punk' attraction ever made - all will be revealed!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Newhaven Harbour
Pier Place, Edinburgh
Heading north now, we'll hear of greyhounds, speedway riders, and perhaps the greatest tragedy ever to affect the city, before reaching the sea at Edinburgh's delightful fishing port of Newhaven, birthplace of a warship that was the world's biggest!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Leith
, , Edinburgh
Continuing along the coast, we'll enter Leith, hearing of whisky, red wine, Oliver Cromwell, Rabbie Burns, a cannibal family, and a young queen's return to Scotland...plus, the first of two of the world's first golf courses we'll pass on our tour, with the story of the first Open Champion, surgeon John Rattray, nearly killed by his trade, but saved by his hobby!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Portobello Beach
1 Promenade, Edinburgh
Heading east still, (and stopping for a short refreshment break) we'll hear of the world's greatest ever assembly of warships, and also solve the puzzle of which navy were menacing Edinburgh in 1779! We'll meet two of the greatest stars of the early 20th century stage, one who was born in Edinburgh, one who died here, and also reveal perhaps Edinburgh's greatest culinary secret!
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Holyrood Park
Holyrood Park Education Centre 1 Queen's Drive, , Edinburgh
Returning to the city we'll cross Holyrood Park, site of our Royal Palace and historic Abbey, and also encampment for Bonnie Prince Charlie's Highland army of 1745. Coming out of the park, we'll pass the first of two girls' schools which became world famous in fiction!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: The Pleasance
60 Pleasance, Edinburgh
Crossing the street which becomes The Pleasance, we'll encounter historic Jewish Edinburgh, and see a famous architect's first, very beautiful Edinburgh project. We'll also hear the tale of when Scott met Burns for the one and only time!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: The Meadows
Melville Dr, Meadows Compass, Edinburgh
Crossing this beautiful green space, we'll hear stories of its history as a loch, its present as a student playground, and of the great 18th century intellectuals who lived and walked in the area.
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Merchiston
Edinburgh, Scotland EH11 1NQ
Heading now towards upscale Merchiston, we'll surprise you with a very famous American visitor of the 1840's, and also reveal a couple of Edinburgh's industrial firsts, also passing close to the estate of Scotland's greatest mathematician and the home street of our most famous present-day writer, J.K. Rowling.
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Craiglockhart
Edinburgh, Scotland EH14 1DE
Passing through 'Happy Valley', we'll encounter Great War poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, who met in 1917 during recovery at the pioneering military psychiatric hospital founded in a converted hotel here.
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Morningside Road
Morningside Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH10
Making our way cross-town now, we'll pass close to the lodgings of a pre- WW1 German naval spy, and along the home street of Robert Louis Stevenson's beloved nanny Alison Cunningham, whose resting place is nearby. In the legendary suburb of Morningside we'll find out what happened when rich and poor lived as near neighbours, but also of riots, wars against the English, and Oscar Wilde, among other stories!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Bruntsfield
Edinburgh, Scotland EH10 4JT
Returning towards downtown Edinburgh, we'll meet a young Sunday school teacher who achieved sporting immortality in a life cut tragically short, before reaching literary Bruntsfield and our tour's second former girls school, one which inspired one of the great Edinburgh novels, 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'.
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Lauriston Place
Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, Scotland
Here we'll see our former maternity hospital, the first to be purpose-built in the city; birthplace of a world-famous actor and site of the UKs first ante-natal clinic. Just across the road we'll pass our historic fire station, HQ for what was the world's first municipal Fire Service!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Grassmarket
21 Grassmarket, Old Town, Edinburgh
Here in the capital's unofficial town square we'll hear of some of Edinburgh's most notorious crimes and an unexpectedly explosive event late one night, not to mention find out what Edinburgh lads of the 1600s did for their Saturday entertainment!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: Cowgate
Cowgate, Edinburgh, Scotland
We'll travel the length of the 'poor relation' of the Royal Mile, meeting revolutionaries and poets, and seeing the building which houses the only surviving pre-reformation stained glass in the whole of Edinburgh - bearing the coat of arms of a very important lady in our history!
Duration: Not Available
Stop At: The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
Nearing the completion of the tour now, we'll pass the famous but initially controversial modern home of the reconstituted Scottish Parliament, opposite Edinburgh's own royal palace - Holyrood.
Duration: Not Available
Additional Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Mobile or paper ticket accepted
The tour identified in this promotion is made available through Viator. Groupon is not affiliated with or sponsored by the 7 Hills Tours Edinburgh in connection with this deal. Please contact Groupon customer service for all inquiries related to this offer. Inquiries placed to Viator will be directed back to Groupon.
This offer is not eligible for promo codes.
Fine Print
14-day cancellation rights do not apply; no refunds or exchanges permitted. Voucher valid only for date and time listed; may not be exchanged or redeemed for other dates. Purchaser name and phone number must be provided at checkout; this information will be shared with Viator and the tour operator for purposes of order fulfillment. Groupon promo codes may not be used for this offer. Groupon voucher Terms of Sale do not apply. See the tour operator's terms and conditions for this offer here.
Offer is not eligible for our promo codes or other discounts.