- Location: The Real Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh Royal Mile underground.
- Popularity: One of Edinburgh’s top tourist attractions.
- Visitor Record: Hit record-breaking numbers for third year.
- Connection: Deep ties to city’s historical past.
- Details: 296,726 visitors from 147 countries in 2025.
Edinburgh (Edinburgh Daily News) January 15, 2026 – A popular Edinburgh attraction has recorded its highest visitor numbers to date, highlighting strong tourism growth in the city.
In 2025, 296,726 visitors from 147 countries came to The Real Mary King’s Close to discover the secret alleyways beneath the Royal Mile.
The ancient monument continues to induce a lot of attention from both original and foreign cult eager to discover the megacity’s secret history, according to the rearmost figures, which indicate a 5% growth from 2024.
Along with major sightseer destinations in Europe, North America, and Asia, foreign callers came from as far down as the Åland islets, Belize, French Polynesia, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Namibia, and Nepal.
With over 5780 reviews on Google and Tripadvisor, 93% of which are rated four stars or over, Real Mary King’s Close is one of Edinburgh’s most widely regarded artistic guests , demonstrating its adding fashionability.
He 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 different 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.”
Following the debut of two new tours in April of last year, record visitor numbers were announced. In its inaugural year, the Carnage and Contagion: The Plague Tour drew 574 visitors, while the Coffee & Closes, in collaboration with John’s Coffee House, drew 884.
The Dr. Arnott Experience, which attracted 3043 visitors, and four Underground Unlocked free-flow events, which collectively attracted 976 guests, were among the specialized and limited-run events that these new additions ran alongside. According to the organizers, these events will allow returning visitors to explore various aspects of Scotland’s history.
How does this record compare with pre-pandemic numbers?
Edinburgh Castle’s rearmost record- breaking caller figures for 2025, marking the third successive time, surpass pre-pandemic highs from 2019 and earlier. Pre-COVID peaks included about 2.1 million callers in 2019 and a 2016- 17 record of 1.7 million, with the castle’s sustained growth reflecting robustpost-pandemic tourism recovery.
The castle constantly ranks as Scotland’s top paid magnet, drawing nearly 2 million callers in 2023 despite once dislocations like the epidemic. Previous records include 1.7 million callers in the 2016- 17 fiscal time and a peak summer of 767,566 in 2014.
While specific 2025 numbers from The National align with this third- time band, broader trends show sustained growth, including busiest days like July 16, 2016, with 11,368 callers.
