Walking tours and audio guides
Explore Kirkwall, Orkney’s connected island hub, where Norse earls, medieval church power, island trade, and everyday civic life meet in a compact centre. From St Magnus Cathedral to Bishop’s and Earl's Palaces and the Orkney Wireless Museum, the town’s harbour, memories, and communications reveal why this small capital feels outsized.
Tour languages
Better in the app
Get the smoother mobile experience and save tours offline before you head out.
A town-and-harbour walk about Kirkwall as Orkney's connected island hub: radio and wartime communications at the Orkney Wireless Museum, the harbour and bay, civic memorials, local shops and benches, and the way Scapa Flow memory sits behind everyday Kirkwall. Keep the route walkable from the centre and harbour; do not drift into a scattered island driving tour.
A tighter heritage walk focused on medieval and early-modern Kirkwall: the cathedral as the anchor, the ruined palaces as political theatre, narrow lanes and older civic buildings as the texture, and small historic remnants such as Watergate House or the Groatie Hoose where they fit. The narration should feel like decoding a tiny Norse-Scottish capital, not simply listing old buildings.
A first-visit walking tour through Kirkwall's compact historic centre: begin with the red sandstone presence of St Magnus Cathedral, move through the Bishop's and Earl's Palaces, cross into the Orkney Museum and Tankerness House Gardens, then finish by the civic streets and harbour that made Kirkwall Orkney's working capital. The tone should explain why this small town feels outsized: Norse earls, medieval church power, island trade, and everyday Orkney civic life all compressed into a few streets.
Featured route
A town-and-harbour walk about Kirkwall as Orkney's connected island hub: radio and wartime communications at the Orkney Wireless Museum, the harbour and bay, civic memorials, local shops and benches, and the way Scapa Flow memory sits behind everyday Kirkwall. Keep the route walkable from the centre and harbour; do not drift into a scattered island driving tour.
City tour collection
These routes turn Kirkwall into a place you can explore more slowly and remember more vividly, whether you want history, architecture, local neighborhoods, or a first-time orientation tour.
A town-and-harbour walk about Kirkwall as Orkney's connected island hub: radio and wartime communications at the Orkney Wireless Museum, the harbour and bay, civic memorials, local shops and benches, and the way Scapa Flow memory sits behind everyday Kirkwall. Keep the route walkable from the centre and harbour; do not drift into a scattered island driving tour.
A tighter heritage walk focused on medieval and early-modern Kirkwall: the cathedral as the anchor, the ruined palaces as political theatre, narrow lanes and older civic buildings as the texture, and small historic remnants such as Watergate House or the Groatie Hoose where they fit. The narration should feel like decoding a tiny Norse-Scottish capital, not simply listing old buildings.
A first-visit walking tour through Kirkwall's compact historic centre: begin with the red sandstone presence of St Magnus Cathedral, move through the Bishop's and Earl's Palaces, cross into the Orkney Museum and Tankerness House Gardens, then finish by the civic streets and harbour that made Kirkwall Orkney's working capital. The tone should explain why this small town feels outsized: Norse earls, medieval church power, island trade, and everyday Orkney civic life all compressed into a few streets.
Yes. Odisea currently offers 3 free self-guided audio tours in Kirkwall. You can open a route in your browser and start without joining a scheduled group.
Start with “Kirkwall Harbour, Wireless Stories, and Island Memory” for our strongest first introduction to Kirkwall. You can compare its distance, duration, and stops with every other route before setting out.
Choose a route, open its map on your phone, and follow the numbered stops at your own pace. Audio stories are available at the stops, and you can pause or leave the route whenever you like.
No booking is required. Tours work in a mobile browser, while the Odisea app offers a smoother experience and lets you save a tour before heading out.