I knew that on my trip to Edinburgh, Scotland we absolutely had to stop at Edinburgh Castle. Actually, on this trip I knew I wanted to stop at every castle we came across, but this one made my official itinerary. If you are planning a trip to Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Castle is definitely a must see attraction.
5 Tips for Visiting Edinburgh Castle
- Purchase your tickets online and skip the queue! The day we visited was busy, however I’m not sure if this is the norm or not because there were two cruise ships in port. We waited approximately 30 minutes in line to get our tickets because we didn’t plan in advance and could have used that time to explore the castle.
- Visit the crown jewels and Mary Queen of Scots’ chambers first. These two attractions were very popular and had large lines to get in to see them. You can wander around the castle and grounds however you like, so head there first to beat the crowd.
- Get fantastic photos of Edinburgh from the castle lookout points. There were excellent views around the castle walls of the city below so make sure you bring your camera!
- Don’t miss the live canon demonstration! The canon goes off at 1:00pm in the main courtyard area, and this is the only demonstration of the day. It’s loud – so maybe not the best for small children.
- Reserve your afternoon tea time in advance. On your way to the crown jewels and Mary’s chambers try to reserve your tea time. The wait times were over an hour when we went so we ended up missing out on tea at the castle.
Other points to note:
- There are 2 different lines to get in to the Crown Jewels display – which really slows down the traffic. You also must go up a flight of stairs, so this part is not accessible.
- If you require a wheelchair or scooter, the other following areas are not accessible: the prisons, chapel, king’s dining room, Mary’s Chambers.
- You need at least 2 to 3 hours to see all of the sights here – more if it is busy.
- There is a café to purchase food and drinks, you can also have afternoon tea in the tea rooms (quite expensive to do so).
- You can listen to an audio tour in English (not sure about other languages) or explore on your own.
- As goes for most attractions, arrive early to avoid lines/crowds!
As I mentioned in my Edinburgh, Scotland in a Day post, we really enjoyed our time here and exploring. We found that the audio tour provided a great overview of the history and interesting information as you walked through the castle and grounds, so you definitely don’t need a guided tour. The prisons were quite interesting as well as the displays talking about the conditions of prisoners back in the day – definitely not somewhere you would want to spend your time in a dark, damp cellar. We did experience very large crowds and long lines, but aside from that we had a fantastic time and would definitely recommend it.
