Landmarks

Palace of Holyroodhouse Entry Tickets

Name: Palace of Holyroodhouse Entry Tickets
Start: 2025-12-16T12:00:00
End: 2025-12-16T13:15:00
Location: Palace of Holyroodhouse

Visitors entering Mary Queen of Scots Bedchamber at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Kings Bedchamber with ornate canopy bed and tapestries at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Mary Queen of Scots Bedchamber with ornate canopy bed and paintings at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Palace of Holyroodhouse exterior with stone towers and courtyard in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Open today

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Choose your entry time, stay as long as you like

Free cancellation

Free cancellation up to 36 hours before the start of your experience

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Book now without paying anything. Cancel for free if your plans change.

Audio guide

Enhance your experience with multilingual audio guide

Guided tour

4.5/5

(5,101)

Agnieszka

Oct 2025

Verified booking

5/5

Definitely a must when you're visiting Edinburgh. The palace of Holyroodhouse was an amazing experience full of beautiful views inside and outside of the castle and an interesting history aspect. The organization here was perfect and the audio guide was just on point, a lot of fascinating information packed in a reasonable amount of time. The whole experience was truly absorbing and the castle was such an incredible place. The service was very friendly. My expectation were high but the quality of the tour and the beauty the castle really suprised me in a great way. Great organization shows the amount of amazing work, effort and talented team of people behind it. Incredible experience, highly recommend!

Rick

Oct 2025

Verified booking

5/5

Crowds were not huge and well managed. The audio tour was very good and simple which works well....but the system would be better if it had links to specific pieces of art and furniture. I do know to ask the wardens but they were often busy and dealing with security issues like picture taking. The grounds were well maintained and a joy to walk through but would love to see small signs on some plants or trees that I was unfamiliar with. Shop staff were great and very knowledgeable. One of the best royal castles to visit.

Jalaguier

Nov 2025

Verified booking

5/5

The bus was great! We were able to travel around the city very quickly, with all the history and monuments in our language (French), thanks to the audio guides. Except on the green bus, where the guide spoke only in English, but very clearly, so it was very easy to understand. Special mention to Tommy for his help, patience and kindness when we had a problem with our ticket to board the bus.

Enjoy full access to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official Scottish home of the British monarch, located at the end of Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile.

Venture into the grand chambers once occupied by Mary, Queen of Scots. Stroll through centuries of intrigue, drama, and royal life that shaped Scotland’s storied past.

Wander through the hauntingly beautiful ruins of 12th-century Holyrood Abbey, steeped in almost 900 years of religious and royal history.

Enhance your visit with complimentary multimedia guides and printed guidebooks, available with select ticket options.

Opt for a Christmas guided tour of the State Apartments or enjoy 48 hours of hop-on hop-off bus travel and admission to Edinburgh Castle and The Royal Yacht Britannia.

Entry to Palace of Holyroodhouse

Multimedia guide in English, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Gaelic, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Spanish

Additional paid upgrades:

2-hour private Christmas tour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse State Apartments

Expert English-speaking Royal Collection Trust tour guide

Complimentary guidebook

Small group of max. 25 guests

48-hour access to 3 City Tours

Edinburgh Tour

Regal Tour

CitySightseeing Edinburgh

Live English commentary on the Edinburgh Tour

Audioguide on the CitySightseeing bus and the Regal Tour in 9 languages

Entry to Edinburgh Castle

Entry to The Royal Yacht Britannia

Transport

Food and drink

You can cancel these tickets up to 36 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.

4.5
5,101 reviews
How do we collect reviews?
These ratings include verified reviews from both Headout guests and our trusted partners who operate this experience locally. All reviews come from real travelers who've taken this experience.
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Guests from United States, France, Spain and over 10 countries have loved this experience
What our guests say
Charles
Dec 2025
Verified booking
4/5
The palace was not too busy and was beautifully decorated for Christmas. A nice shop and tea room completed the vist nicely. The gardens and Abbey were also good and wether help off for some good photos.
Angel
Dec 2025
Verified booking
5/5
It is very well organized visit, the audio and information system is the best we have used, all excellently maintained, a visit that can not miss on your visit to Edinburgh.
Piera
Dec 2025
Verified booking
5/5
Visited the royal palace from 14:00 to 16:00. Few people and perfect audio guide. All very interesting and beautiful. The abbey splendid and also the park
Bradley
Dec 2025
Verified booking
5/5
Friendly staff, great seating and easy to follow routes. We saw all of the main attractions and learned a great deal along the way.
Julie
Dec 2025
Verified booking
5/5
The audio guide was very informative and just long enough. All staff were very helpful

Step into royal history with entry to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, The King’s official residence in Scotland.

Getting started

Begin with your entry ticket to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Just present your voucher at the entrance and enjoy direct access to centuries of royal history.

What to expect

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Discover this working royal palace nestled at the end of Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile. From State Apartments to the haunting ruins of Holyrood Abbey, explore the historic site that played a central role in Scotland’s monarchy, once home to Mary, Queen of Scots and still used by the royal family today.

Features:

State Apartments: Tour grand rooms with elaborate plasterwork, historic furnishings, and elegant tapestries still used for official functions today.

Mary, Queen of Scots’ chambers: Step into the private chambers where dramatic moments in Scotland’s royal history unfolded.

Holyrood Abbey: Stroll through the atmospheric ruins of this 12th-century abbey, once a major religious centre in medieval Scotland.

Multimedia guide: Enjoy an included multimedia guide that brings the Palace’s rich history and royal stories to life through engaging audio and visuals.

Extras

Christmas guided tour: Embrace the festive spirit with a special seasonal guided tour of the Palace’s State Apartments. Discover royal Christmas traditions as you admire royal rooms decked in holiday décor.

Royal Edinburgh Ticket: Upgrade to a 48-hour sightseeing experience including:

Edinburgh Castle: Visit the hilltop fortress home to the Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny.

Royal Yacht Britannia: Step aboard this former floating palace, now docked in Leith, and explore its State Apartments and royal quarters.

Hop-on Hop-off bus pass: Enjoy unlimited travel for 48 hours on three major sightseeing tours—Edinburgh Tour, Regal Tour, and CitySightseeing Edinburgh—with onboard commentary and stops near major attractions.

Edinburgh Castle

Monday	09:30am - 05:00pm	last entry 04:00pm
Tuesday	09:30am - 05:00pm	last entry 04:00pm
Wednesday	09:30am - 05:00pm	last entry 04:00pm
Thursday	09:30am - 05:00pm	last entry 04:00pm
Friday	09:30am - 05:00pm	last entry 04:00pm
Saturday	09:30am - 05:00pm	last entry 04:00pm
Sunday	09:30am - 05:00pm	last entry 04:00pm

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Monday	09:30am - 04:30pm	last entry 03:15pm
Tuesday	Closed
Wednesday	Closed
Thursday	09:30am - 04:30pm	last entry 03:15pm
Friday	09:30am - 04:30pm	last entry 03:15pm
Saturday	09:30am - 04:30pm	last entry 03:15pm
Sunday	09:30am - 04:30pm	last entry 03:15pm

What's not allowed

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Bags larger than 45cm × 20cm × 30cm are not allowed in this experience.

Due to venue restrictions, pets cannot tag along for this experience.

Photography is strictly not allowed inside the State Apartments.

Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is not permitted in the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

In consideration of other visitors, mobile phones must be switched off inside the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Accessibility

Palace of Holyroodhouse

This experience is wheelchair and pram/stroller accessible, except in some parts of Mary, Queen of Scots' rooms.

Your guide dogs are welcome at the venue.

Concessionary rates for disabled visitors and a complimentary companion ticket are only available to book directly with Royal Collection Trust.

Royal Edinburgh Ticket

Only parts of Edinburgh Castle are wheelchair accessible. The Royal Yacht Britannia experience and the Hop-on Hop-off buses are wheelchair accessible.

Mobility scooters are allowed if they can be folded and stored as luggage.

Your guide dogs and pet dogs are welcome aboard.

Additional information

Palace of Holyroodhouse

As the Palace of Holyroodhouse is a working royal palace, security and opening arrangements may be subject to change at short notice.

You may be subject to security checks. Some items may have to be checked in and reclaimed at the end of your visit.

For safety and security reasons, a one-way route operates inside the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The palace is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Last admission time is 3:15pm.

Under 5s must be booked with a paid ticket.

Royal Edinburgh Ticket

This ticket guarantees entry to the Castle during the 48-hour validity of the tour; it does NOT guarantee entry on the day that the ticket is purchased. The last entry slot for the Castle is 2:30pm.

Children aged 15 and under must be accompanied by an adult or senior citizen during their visit.

You can board your Hop-on Hop-off bus anytime between 9am to 6pm and visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh Castle, and the Royal Yacht Britannia within 48 hours.

First departure from Stop 1 at 8:45am and last departure from Stop 1 at 6pm. Please click here for detailed route maps and boarding points.

Kids go free! Up to 3 kids can travel for free per adult ticket. Child tickets must be added to the basket when purchasing tickets.

Your voucher will be emailed to you instantly.

Display the voucher on your mobile phone with a valid photo ID at the meeting point.

Redemption Point

Show your ticket at Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Address: Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8DX, United Kingdom..

Get Directions to the Meeting Point