What is a close in Edinburgh?

A narrow alley off a main street

What happened to Mary King's Close in the 1750s?

It was built over by the Royal Exchange

What is Mary King's Close today?

An underground tourist attraction

Edinburgh Closes Quiz: Royal Mile Alleys and Mary King's Close

Dozens of narrow alleys run steeply off the Royal Mile, and this Edinburgh closes quiz explores what lies down them. Play 10 interactive questions on the meaning of close and wynd, tall tenements, Mary King's Close, the Royal Exchange, Lady Stair's Close and the Writers' Museum, Advocate's Close, Fleshmarket Close, plague legends and UNESCO's Old Town.

Start Edinburgh Closes Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Close
What is a close in Edinburgh?
Wynd
How does a wynd differ from a close?
Mile
Which street links the castle to Holyrood Palace?
Tenements
What were the tall Old Town buildings called?
Mary
What happened to Mary King's Close in the 1750s?
Today
What is Mary King's Close today?
Writers
Which close is home to the Writers' Museum?
Novel
Which close gives its name to an Ian Rankin novel?
Legend
Which disease is tied to legends of Mary King's Close?
UNESCO
What are the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What is a close in Edinburgh?
Answer: A narrow alley off a main street
Many run downhill from the Royal Mile.
Q2: How does a wynd differ from a close?
Answer: A wynd was an open thoroughfare
Closes could be gated.
Q3: Which street links the castle to Holyrood Palace?
Answer: The Royal Mile
Closes branch off it.
Q4: What were the tall Old Town buildings called?
Answer: Tenements, or lands
Some rose many storeys high.
Q5: What happened to Mary King's Close in the 1750s?
Answer: It was built over by the Royal Exchange
Parts survive underground.
Q6: What is Mary King's Close today?
Answer: An underground tourist attraction
Guides tell its stories.
Q7: Which close is home to the Writers' Museum?
Answer: Lady Stair's Close
It celebrates Burns, Scott and Stevenson.
Q8: Which close gives its name to an Ian Rankin novel?
Answer: Fleshmarket Close
It is a Rebus mystery.
Q9: Which disease is tied to legends of Mary King's Close?
Answer: Plague
Ghost stories grew from it.
Q10: What are the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh?
Answer: A UNESCO World Heritage Site
They were listed in 1995.

Edinburgh Closes Quiz – Royal Mile Alleys and Mary King's Close

Edinburgh's Royal Mile runs from the castle to Holyrood Palace, with dozens of narrow alleys called closes branching off it. A close could be gated, while a wynd was an open thoroughfare. Tall tenements, sometimes called lands, rose along them.

Mary King's Close was partly built over in the 1750s when the Royal Exchange, now the City Chambers, was constructed. Its surviving streets are now an underground attraction, wrapped in legends of plague and ghosts.

Lady Stair's Close houses the Writers' Museum, celebrating Burns, Scott and Stevenson, and Fleshmarket Close gave its name to an Ian Rankin novel. The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995.

What This Quiz Teaches

History and travel fans will enjoy these questions.

What closes are
How they differ from wynds
What lies beneath the city
Which closes are famous
How the area is protected

Did You Know?

Many closes are named after former residents or trades.
Steps make many closes steep.
Guided ghost tours explore the Old Town.
Some tenements had a dozen or more storeys.
Advocate's Close offers views toward the New Town.