What to wear in the Edinburgh Vaults

Short answer: a layer and shoes with grip. The chambers hold a steady cool temperature all year, so they are cooler than the street in summer and milder than the street in winter, and they are damp either way. Floors are stone, uneven and sometimes wet, and you reach them by a spiral staircase after a cobbled walk downhill. Closed shoes, something over your arms, and nothing you would mind brushing against a brick wall.

Underground temperatureSteady, cool, year-round

In summerCooler than the street

In winterMilder than the street

AirDamp

FloorsStone, uneven, sometimes wet

FootwearClosed shoes with grip

Are the Edinburgh Vaults cold?

Cool rather than cold, and the same in August as in February, which is the part visitors find hard to believe. A stone chamber with no windows and no heating settles at its own temperature and stays there. So the sensation depends on where you have come from: on a warm July evening the vaults feel like a relief for about four minutes and then like a cellar, and in January they feel milder than the wind coming up the Cowgate. Damp is the constant. It gets into a thin jacket faster than the temperature would suggest.

What to put on

What works

A jumper or a jacket you can carry if you overheat on the walk
Closed shoes with a bit of grip — the listings ask for comfortable shoes
Something waterproof for the walk down, since tours run rain or shine
A phone with the voucher already loaded

Worth knowing

Heels or smooth soles on a spiral stair and wet stone
Sandals, in a room with a gritty floor
Your best coat, given the brickwork
Relying on phone signal underground — there is none

Insider tip

Whatever the weather is doing above ground is irrelevant once you are down, but it decides the walk to get there, which is cobbled and downhill. Dress for the street and carry the layer for the chamber.

The bits people forget

Bags are fine but you will be standing in small rooms in a group, so a rucksack the size of a weekend is unwelcome. Some operators forbid video recording, and photography rules are the guide’s call, so ask rather than assume. If you are booking the two-hour evening tour there is a sit-down stop with a drink, so a little more time still and a little more cold. The Blair Street history tour mentions uneven surfaces on its listing specifically, and means it. More on the ground itself in accessibility.

Check availability & book

Frequently asked questions

Are the Edinburgh Vaults cold?

Cool and damp rather than cold, and much the same temperature all year — cooler than the street in summer, milder than it in winter. A layer is enough.

What shoes should I wear for the vaults tour?

Closed shoes with grip. The floors are stone, uneven and sometimes wet, and there is a spiral staircase on every vault tour — see accessibility.

Do I need waterproofs?

For the walk down, in Edinburgh, usually. Tours run rain or shine and the underground part is dry of weather but damp of air. The season barely matters underground.