The tour maps the social pressures and utopian dreams that birthed this graceful new suburb. Meet the 'men of genius' who thronged its broad avenues and explore a period of history crackling with intellectual excitement and artistic achievement.

In 1766, a young unknown architect called James Craig laid out a vision of a brave new world of reason in the elegant streets and squares of Edinburgh's New Town. Its broad thoroughfares, open vistas and quiet classicism were in stark contrast to the dark crowded labyrinth of the Old Town. The ordered symmetry and spacious grid of Craig's design are Enlightenment values such as truth, reason and secular liberalism set in stone.

Enlightened! walking tours transport you to Edinburgh's Golden Age with a range of richly informative tours of the New Town. Thorough research and incisive commentary bring to life the people, places and ideas that helped shape the modern world.

Expert guides tell the story of Edinburgh's historic New Town from its creation right up to the present day. Our headline tour - Enlightened! A Walking Tour of Edinburgh's New Town in the Scottish Enlightenment - maps the social pressures and utopian dreams that birthed this graceful new suburb. Meet the 'men of genius' who thronged its avenues and explore a fascinating period of history crackling with intellectual excitement and artistic achievement.

In addition to the headline tour, bespoke options tailored to your particular interests are available by arrangement. Throughout its development during the Nineteenth Century until today's masterpiece of Georgian architecture, Edinburgh's New Town has remained a hotbed of genius. From Robert Louis Stevenson to the real Sherlock Holmes, Alexander Graham Bell to Peter Higgs' Boson, Enlightened! is the New Town tour company.