Attraction buried beneath Edinburgh’s most historic street welcomes almost 300,000 visitors

The Real Mary King’s Close said it had attracted guests from 147 countries during the course of 2025, underlining the venue’s global appeal. The total for last year marks a 5 per cent increase on 2024, when the attraction welcomed 282,525 visitors.

Bosses said the close continued to draw strong interest from both domestic and international audiences keen to explore the capital’s hidden history.

Alongside its core offering, the attraction expanded and diversified its programme in 2025, launching two new tours while seeing strong ongoing demand for its established special experiences. Introduced in April, Carnage and Contagion: The Plague Tour welcomed 574 guests; Coffee & Closes, in partnership with John’s Coffee House, attracted 884 guests in its first year.

These new additions sat alongside the continued success of specialist and limited-run experiences, which allowed returning visitors the opportunity to delve into different facets of Scotland’s history.

Paul Nixon, general manager at the Real Mary King’s Close, said: “Achieving another record-breaking year is a fantastic milestone and demonstrates the overwhelming appetite for immersive, high-quality historical experiences in our capital city. Our dedicated team welcomed nearly 300,000 guests in 2025, from 147 countries.

“We are continuing to evolve our offering through new tours and experiences while staying true to what makes The Close distinctive - its powerful storytelling, authenticity and a deep connection to Edinburgh’s past. It’s so encouraging to see consistent growth across both the peak and shoulder seasons, and we’re excited to build on this momentum,” he added.

Retail performance also remained strong last year, with historically inspired merchandise proving particularly popular. Best-selling items included the Plague Dr Shopper bag, with 5,363 units sold, and the Plague Ducktor, which sold 3,538 units during the year.

The visitor site’s reputation was further reflected in its online performance over the past year, now boasting almost 6,000 reviews across Google and Tripadvisor, with 93 per cent rated four stars or higher, positioning it among Edinburgh’s highest-rated cultural experiences.