Literary Tours in Edinburgh

Discover a literary tour, where every street has a story to tell. Trace the footsteps of famous authors and explore the locations where they lived, worked and found inspiration for their greatest works.

Edinburgh Literary Pub Tours

The award-winning Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour was the first literary tour launched in Edinburgh in 1996.

This popular tour is informative and highly entertaining, conducted by professional actors. Guests will be taken on a comedy drama through the twists and turns of the courtyards and pubs in Edinburgh’s Old and New Town. The tour covers well-known figures such as Burns, Scott and Stevenson as well as 300 years of Scottish literary history.

Edinburgh Book Lover’s Tour

Edinburgh Book Lover’s Tour travels through time and infiltrates the city’s ancient wynds, closes and graveyards.

Accompany Allan Foster, author of ‘The Literary Traveller In Edinburgh’ & ‘The Literary Traveller In Scotland’, on a book lovers’ odyssey around the Old Town to explore more of literary Edinburgh’s fascinating and never-ending story, complete with commentary, readings, dramatisations and lots of laughter. Learn about historical to contemporary writers as you learn about Edinburgh’s fascinating stories in a fun and unique way.

City of Edinburgh Tours

Step into the world of some of Edinburgh’s literary greats with The City of Edinburgh Tour’s Charles Dickens Edinburgh Literary Tour. On this tour you will retrace the steps of some famous names such as Dickens, Scott, Burns, Hogg, Defo, Stevenson, Hume and many more.

The tour will last for 1 hour and 30 minutes, inviting visitors above the age of 5 to attend.

Edinburgh Poetry Tours

Join Edinburgh Poetry Tours and weave in and out of streets, closes, gardens and graveyards of Edinburgh as you learn of poets, their poems and their history.

On this tour you’ll explore the Old Town whilst hearing works by many famous poets, such as Robert Burns, Dorothy Wordsworth, Victor Hugo and Robert Louis Stevenson. Choose between the option of a public or private tour and leave with unique knowledge and appreciation of poetry in the past.