Edinburgh Castle

PricingHalf price in your first year of English Heritage membership, then freeEH memberHalf, then freeNon-member£26

EH members: half price, then freeInfo

Half price, then free, for English Heritage members

This place is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland. First-year English Heritage members get 50% off the ticket price; members who have renewed get in free. Bring your valid membership card, and any pre-booked tickets, to ensure entry.

Pre-booking is recommended at Edinburgh Castle, Skara Brae, Stirling Castle, Blackness Castle, Urquhart Castle, Doune Castle and Maeshowe. Bookings are limited to six people per membership.
Bring the card itself: joint and family memberships admit the named holders only.
Historic Scotland does not offer reciprocal admission to National Trust properties, and a National Trust card is not accepted here.

More information

Entry

Non-member prices

Adult (aged 16 to 64)£26.00

Child (aged 7 to 15)£13.00

Concession (aged 65 and over, or unemployed)£21.00

Pricing details

Walk-up price; £23.50 booked online, and booking is needed to guarantee entry. One undated price table is published; recheck in spring 2027. Children under 7 free but need a ticket; up to two carers free per transaction; serving HM Forces free with MOD 90 card; Young Scot card holders pay £1 online; online flexi ticket valid any day within seven days £38. Audio guide £4 extra. Explorer Pass accepted. No car-free GOOD25 discount here. English Heritage members: half price in your first membership year and free after your first renewal, on showing a valid card; bookings capped at six people per membership. Historic Scotland members free.

Walk-up price; £11.50 booked online; under-7s free with a ticket; under-16s must be accompanied by an adult. English Heritage members: half price in your first membership year and free after your first renewal, on showing a valid card; bookings capped at six people per membership. Historic Scotland members free.

Walk-up price; £19 booked online; proof required; not for students. English Heritage members: half price in your first membership year and free after your first renewal, on showing a valid card; bookings capped at six people per membership. Historic Scotland members free.

ParkingPay to park

No public parking at the castle; the nearest car park is the NCP Castle Terrace multi-storey (750 spaces, 2.08 m height limit), £7 for an hour to £38 for 24 hours, 250 m below the esplanade; a few accessible bays on the esplanade by arrangement. Not a Trust car park, so membership does not cover it.

Parking details

Historic Scotland says there is no public parking at Edinburgh Castle and that Castle Terrace NCP is the nearest car park. NCP Edinburgh Castle Terrace (October 2026): open 24 hours, 750 spaces, 5 disabled bays, maximum height 2.08 m, pay on the day £7.00 for 1 hour, £14.00 for 2, £21.00 for 3, £28.00 for 4, £36.00 for up to 9 and £38.00 for up to 24 hours, early bird £17.50; NCP is in administration but this car park is trading, so check the tariff. A small number of accessible spaces on the esplanade can be used on arrival or booked by emailing ecparking@hes.scot, with availability limited from May to October by the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Coaches drop off in Castle Terrace.

Driving pin: the NCP Castle Terrace car park, 247 m west of HES's pin on the castle. By rail: Edinburgh Waverley, 0.4 miles uphill, or Haymarket about a mile. By bus and tram: Lothian Buses to the Mound or George IV Bridge, the Princes Street tram stop 0.4 miles, Airlink 100 and trams from the airport. Bike racks on the esplanade from November to April only.

About

Edinburgh Castle has dominated the city's skyline for centuries from its volcanic plug, defended by Iron Age warriors, home to Scottish royalty for 1,000 years and besieged more times than any other castle in Europe; it is the chief element of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site. Thomas Randolph and 30 men scaled the rock by night to retake it in 1314. Inside are St Margaret's Chapel, the city's oldest building, raised by David I around 1130; the Great Hall built for James IV around 1510; the Royal Palace, where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI in 1566 and the Honours of Scotland, Britain's oldest Crown jewels, are shown; the six-tonne siege gun Mons Meg; the Prisons of War vaults; the Scottish National War Memorial; and the National War Museum. The One o'Clock Gun fires daily except Sundays. Book a timed ticket well ahead, allow two to four hours and expect steep cobbles.

Check today’s timesPick a day for times and prices

Until 23 Dec: Daily 09:30–17:00, last entry 16:00
24–30 Dec: Mon, Tue, Wed, Sun 09:30–17:00, last entry 16:00; Thu 09:30–16:00, last entry 15:00
31 Dec–31 Mar: Daily 09:30–17:00, last entry 16:00

Later dates are in the calendar.

Today, Saturday 24 October

Edinburgh Castle09:30 – 17:00last entry 16:00

Prices, non-members

Ticket	On the day	Online
Adult	£26.00	£23.50
Concession	£21.00	£19.00
Child	£13.00	£11.50

Book tickets

Opening times may change at short notice.

1 April to 30 September daily 9.30am to 6pm; 1 October to 31 March daily 9.30am to 5pm; open 9.30am to 4pm on 24 December and from 11am on 1 January; last entry one hour before closing; closed 25 and 26 December. All visits must be booked in advance to guarantee entry: tickets often sell out far ahead, especially in summer, and once online tickets are gone none are sold at the castle; Historic Scotland names Edinburgh among the busy sites where partner members should pre-book, with bookings capped at six people per membership. Notice: the National War Museum is partly closed for essential building repairs. The One o'Clock Gun fires at 1pm except Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day. Allow at least two hours.

Approach across the esplanade, 110 m of smooth tarmac uphill, then a steep curved cobbled route of about 350 m to Crown Square, up to 15 degrees at Foog's Gate; a mobility vehicle runs to Crown Square (not between 12.15 and 1.15pm) and manual wheelchairs are lent first come first served; the Great Hall and war memorial are ramped, the Palace apartments and Prisons of War reached by short flights with handrails, the battlement walk by many steps. Adapted toilets by the entrance and in Crown Square; step-free Redcoat Cafe and Portcullis gift shop; audio guide £4 in 13 languages (20 per cent off for HES members and Explorer Pass holders, free to blind and partially sighted visitors); sensory backpacks, ear defenders and BSL tours. No suitcases or rucksacks of 30 litres or more, no luggage or pushchair storage, bag searches possible. Pet dogs are not admitted.

Photo: Edinburgh Castle on Castle Rock above the Old Town rooftops, seen from the east with the Pentland Hills behind. Saffron Blaze, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edinburgh_Castle_Rock.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.