Palace of Holyroodhouse
Palace of Holyroodhouse
4.5
Monday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
About
The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence in Scotland of Her Majesty The Queen. Open throughout the year, the Palace of Holyroodhouse stands at the end of Edinburgh's Royal Mile. Explore the Palace's close associations with some of Scotland’s most well-known historic figures such as Mary, Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie, and learn how today it is used by The Queen when carrying out official engagements in Scotland.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Southside & Holyrood
Many of Edinburgh’s student hangouts gather around university buildings in Southside, the sort of neighbourhood that supports a long string of second-hand shops and eateries serving ethnic food for just a few pounds. In August the student population is replaced by vast numbers of boisterous visitors here for the Fringe, Edinburgh’s world-class comedy and arts festival which headquarters itself here. Flanking Southside are two great parks. The Meadows is a vast flat and sporty space where football, rugby, tennis, cricket, croquet, and golf often all take place side by side. Kids in its big playgrounds add to the joyful noise. Far bigger and much wilder, Holyrood Park extends to the east and provides a real hike up Arthur’s Seat, but the district is best known as the site of Scotland’s Parliament and its premier Royal Palace—and their steady stream of sightseers.
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Best nearby
Restaurants
1Â 988 within 5 kms
Attractions
512 within 10 kms
See what travellers are saying
- CjeanBMound, Minnesota35 contributionsRelaxing and informative visitSpent about 2 hours here. The free audio tour was wonderful! Spent a very relaxing time enjoying the gardens and Abbey ruins. Stairs in the palace are very steep and narrow, but even with a cane I made it up. So glad I did as that was where Mary’s room wasVisited March 2023Travelled with familyWritten 8 April 2023
- chris bPortsmouth, United Kingdom409 contributionsOn the list of Royal residences visitAs we'd been to Windsor & Buckingham Palace, this was next. We'll worth the visit. Lovely grounds. Plenty of history & Interesting how England & Scotland became united. There is a good cafe, clean with a good selection of drinks etc. Nice shop, expensive, but nice.Visited April 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 10 April 2023
- JboylandChard, United Kingdom48 contributionsGreat interactive tourGreat tour of the palace and grounds. The interactive video/ audio guide tells you everything you need to know whilst touring the palace. Good value for money, would have liked to have seen more of the palace particularly the more modern and in use rooms.Visited April 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 14 April 2023
- kaztinCodsall, United Kingdom218 contributionsWell worth a visit!Really great place to visit. The staff give out headphones and handheld commentary and visual consoles which are great to learn about the history of the palace. The staff were all very friendly and helpful too. The history is amazing and it’s a really great place to visit to learn about the past. £18 per adult is reasonable and the onsite cafe was good too. A nice place to spend the afternoon and beautiful gardens too.Visited April 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 17 April 2023
- Chucky_2_its_backLiss, United Kingdom11 contributionsBeautiful architecture and very interesting audio tourSpent a lovely afternoon walking around the Palace and Abbey. The audio tour was very informative and lunch in the cafe was delicious. Sadly the Abbey is undergoing renovation and covered in scaffolding but what we could see was beautifulVisited April 2023Written 25 April 2023
- JenniferOrlando, Florida27 contributionsDon't Miss When in EdinburghThis was my favorite attraction in Edinburgh! The palace and grounds are beautifullly kept. I really enjoyed the history--from the time of Mary, Queen of Scots to more recent times seeing how the palace is used by the monarchy today. This is definitely a "must see" when in Edinburgh!Visited April 2023Written 29 April 2023
- thegees1Reading, United Kingdom189 contributionsAmazing. The best thing about EdinburghDefinitely one not to miss. The Palace is beautiful and has many sumptuous rooms beautifully furnished which look superb. The Palace is still used today by royalty when they visit and also serves as a venue for lavish garden parties and investitures. The gardens are stunning too. The Palace was built attached to the Abbey which dates back to the 1100's although is a ruin now. The audio guide is included in the entry price and was very informative. On leaving we told the man collecting the guides how much we enjoyed our visit to which he merely grunted. There is also a cafe onsite.Visited April 2023Written 2 May 2023
- SueWestYorkshire_10Wakefield, United Kingdom829 contributionsFabulous visitFabulous afternoon visiting Holyrood after walking to Arthur’s seat. Cafe was nice: we had lovely soup with crusty roll then ventured into palace. Very well laid out/organised: you get a free audio guide and move from room to room learning about the history of the rooms and it’s contents. Mary Queen of Scots history I found very interesting and the rooms including her bed chamber you walk through. It’s a fabulous way to spend an afternoon and well worth entrance fee. The abbey at the side of the palace is being renovated currently so you can only see part of that. I would highly recommend this attractionVisited April 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 3 May 2023
- Zhyla134 contributionsTerrific tour and teaWe thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Palace. The audio tour was filled with great information about this historic and still actively used royal home. How fascinating to see Mary Queen of Scots bed and the throne of Bonnie Prince Charlie. So much more! After this amazing palace visit we had a delicious tea in the cafe.Visited May 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 4 May 2023
- Amanda S16 contributionsA must see for those with an interest in royal historyFor those interested in royal history, this palace offers a store of information and artefacts related to historical royals all the way to today's royal family. I have a particular interest in the Tudor period, so this palace was quite a treat. I'm not typically one to rely on audio guides, but here they are a must, as there are very few placards throughout offering information about the palace. The audio guide, on the other hand, is a treasure trove of information - very thorough, very detailed. I will say - and this is not at all the palace's fault - some seem to lose their sense of spatial awareness once they slip their headphones on and will plow right into you while you're standing still, often without apology. For those like me who prefer to protect their personal space, it was very jarring. Finally, just as interesting as the palace itself were the gardens. A stroll through the beautiful gardens was a great way to end the tour. Highly recommend!Visited May 2023Travelled soloWritten 8 May 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
12Â 004 reviews
Excellent
7Â 447
Very good
3Â 537
Average
842
Poor
125
Terrible
53
shackleston
Redcar, UK814 contributions
Mar 2024 • Friends
Worth a visit even if you don't buy a ticket. Impressive gates and towers. Not far from city centre. You can also see the Scottish Parliament and Arthur's Seat.
Written 14 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pakabay
Adelaide, Australia2Â 141 contributions
I’m not into royalty in any way, but my other half is so a visit to the palace was always going to happen.
Our entry was included in our 48 hour City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus package, as was the castle.
We visited on a Monday morning and it wasn’t crazy busy, in fact, in hindsight there were no crowding issues anywhere on the visit.
A self-guided audio guide is included in the standard entry, available in a number of languages. This was self paced, easy to operate and easy to follow, and equally important for me, easy to skip bits that didn’t interest. It was one of the best audio guides I have used.
The buildings are of course impressive and the original abbey ruins quite beautiful, as were the gardens.
We probably spent close to 2 hours, but you could certainly do it in less and still see everything.
Our entry was included in our 48 hour City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus package, as was the castle.
We visited on a Monday morning and it wasn’t crazy busy, in fact, in hindsight there were no crowding issues anywhere on the visit.
A self-guided audio guide is included in the standard entry, available in a number of languages. This was self paced, easy to operate and easy to follow, and equally important for me, easy to skip bits that didn’t interest. It was one of the best audio guides I have used.
The buildings are of course impressive and the original abbey ruins quite beautiful, as were the gardens.
We probably spent close to 2 hours, but you could certainly do it in less and still see everything.
Written 14 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stefanie
Peterborough, UK41 contributions
We visited Edinburgh just for 1 day and always wanted to see this place ! Nice surroundings with mountains and large garden a lot information on audio guide ! Find a little bit annoying some staff very loud speaking with each other and distracting from audio guide but it’s probably just people manners!
Written 10 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
alex turner
Edinburgh, UK1 contribution
Mar 2024 • Friends
I have set up a trip advisor account just so I can leave a review of the palace as I could not find any customer service contact details online and I wanted to let the management there know about how rude 2 of their staff members were to me when I visited this Monday ( 03 / 04 / 2024 ) as part of a tour to Edinburgh. It was a gray haired woman with a French accent and another woman with long black hair who also spoke with an accent but I don't think French. They made fun of me to my face and laughed at me and spoke to me with such rudeness. There was another member of staff there who had long red hair and she intervened and was very nice to me, treating me with kindness and respect, but by that point my visit was already ruined as I had been made to feel so stupid and I spent the rest of the day feeling so angry and embarassed.
Written 6 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joan E.
Boston, MA6 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
Really excellent part of my trip to Edinburgh - I wasn’t sure weather to prioritize a visit to Holyroodhouse during a short trip, but I’m so glad I did. A truly excellent experience for history lovers. The audio tour guide makes it really do-able in about 2 or so hours (could go faster if you only want to do the high level content), and apparently you can get docent lead tours at certain times of day too (my timing didn’t work for that). I’d recommend including it as part of a Royal Mile/Edinburgh Castle day, since you can walk up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle from the Palace and would be perfect to stop and get lunch somewhere along the way as a break and do morning at one place and afternoon at the other.
Written 4 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
acharrison13
Olive Branch, MS102 contributions
Really enjoyed this tour, even better than Windsor (ssshhhh). The audio tour was very informative, and the tour was not crowded. A really good time!
Written 26 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mike
Glossop, UK616 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
On arrival you’re given headphones and an audio guide. The self guided tour takes you around the state apartments and then out to the abbey ruins in the garden.
The commentary is good but fairly brief and it would have been nice to get a bit more information in each room as an option. You can always ask the staff though.
The abbey is currently undergoing repairs and is largely scaffolded out so there’s not a great deal to see.
Interesting displays about Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The commentary is good but fairly brief and it would have been nice to get a bit more information in each room as an option. You can always ask the staff though.
The abbey is currently undergoing repairs and is largely scaffolded out so there’s not a great deal to see.
Interesting displays about Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Written 9 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
her_maj64
London, UK191 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
A working palace with past and present coming together. Audio guide helped anchor the history as you walked through the different sections. Knowledgeable staff who made the information relevant.
Written 8 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Seaside07647404189
Ontario, Canada7 contributions
Aug 2023 • Friends
Another Edinburgh attraction I have visited numerous times. And every time I learn something new, it never disappoints. I look forward to returning again this coming August.
Written 5 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Roving17843669394
5 contributions
Feb 2024 • Family
Don’t miss this! Beautiful palace and the audio tour is very informative ! The grounds are wide but in February it was just green and blustery. Definitely worth a visit to walk through the palace, see the rooms and get info via the audio guide.
Written 4 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are buying tickets for the Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. If we for some reason are late to the time we picked, can we go in when we get there? Is there a time limit for how long we can stay?
jcgdublin
Dublin, Ireland206 contributions
We went in August and the ticket was for the day but when we ended up arriving shortly before closing they allowed us to go the following day with no issues on same tickets. Excellent staff and definitely the customer is at the heart of all of them so they will do whatever required to make it an excellent visit.
I am on an early flight to Edinburgh. Can I store my suitcase while visiting, Already bought tickets
jaimeelsabio
Maryland4Â 320 contributions
I don’t recall anyplace to store luggage, however, your hotel should be able to store it until check in.
We are on an early flight to Edinburgh. Can you store a large suitcase at Holyrood Palace while visiting?
Luciano242
Edinburgh, UK487 contributions
Hi Eva A, not sure if there is a secure room to keep your suitcase, sorry
kind regards
san20sg
Singapore560 contributions
any promo code or discount promo for winter months? Please also advise how much time to allocate for winter entry?
Thanks!
jaimeelsabio
Maryland4Â 320 contributions
No promo codes I’m aware of. We spent about 1.5 hours inside the palace. We didn’t spend any time walking the gardens, for a reason. The temperature and weather will determine how much time you may want to spend walking the gardens. During the winter months there will be little to see regarding flowers, so I doubt much time would be needed.
Hello, I am asking if there is an audio recording available for purchase of the tour of Holyrood Palace? Thank you. I live in the United States.
Hello...I am asking if there is a audio version of the tour of Holyrood Palace available for purchase? Thank you!
weekak
Edinburgh, UK1Â 081 contributions
Can someone tell me where the entrance is to the palace?
Rahel L
Community of Madrid, Spain579 contributions
Se puede visitar solo los jardines y la capilla por el exterior gratis? O hay que pagar también si solo quieres pasear y no entrar.
Richard H
Regensburg, Germany93 contributions
Hola, soy no seguro, porque hemos tenido entradas por la palacio y el jardim fue includo. Creo no es posible solo visitar el jardim y la capilla sin entrada.
Grannypammy
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK6 contributions
How wheelchair friendly is this ?
James123
Gold Coast, Australia58 contributions
It would be wheelchair friendly.
Ingeborg B
5 contributions
Hallo,
wenn man die Tickets online kauft, muss man dann noch in der Schlange stehen?
Gilt das Ticket nur für einen bestimmten Tag?
Christine L
Laval, Canada183 contributions
Nous avions acheté notre billet avec notre billet d’autobus rouge qui visite la ville. Je ne sais pas s’il est bon pour une journée spécifique. Par contre, avec les billets achetés d’avance, ce sont des billets coupe-file. Nous n’avons pas attendu en ligne, ni là , ni au château.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Palace of Holyroodhouse
- Hotels near Palace of Holyroodhouse:
- (0.02 km) Holyrood Palace Apartments
- (0.12 km) Cheval Abbey Strand Apartments at Holyrood
- (0.18 km) location! location! location!
- (0.57 km) 24 Royal Terrace
- (0.27 km) Free private parking, near Royal Mile, free wi-fi
- Restaurants near Palace of Holyroodhouse:
- (0.04 km) The Cafe at the Palace, Palace of Holyroodhouse
- (0.10 km) Cafe at the Palace
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- (0.30 km) Oink Delicious Hog Roast Rolls
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- Attractions near Palace of Holyroodhouse:
- (0.03 km) Abbey Sanctuary
- (0.06 km) The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse
- (0.15 km) Holyrood Abbey
- (0.13 km) The Scottish Parliament
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