Edinburgh Castle

We paid £39 for two adults which is the most I've probably ever spent to get inside a castle and I don't think it was worth it. On top of that if you wanted an audio guide or tour it was an extra £5 or £10. We did go when it was cold and raining and a lot of it is outside so I understand this will have had a negative impact for us. Also I think I was expecting more social history, however, didn’t realise the majority was about war which I personally didn’t find very interesting. The crown jewels were cool to see, however, you have to wait in a long line and when you get to the front you literally see them for roughly 2 minutes. I thought the mini museums inside could be more interactive and engaging as I found them to all be cabinets with things inside and writing which I thought was pretty dull. I think for the amount I paid I wanted the displays to be more engaging and fun. Overall, I would say save your money as you’re not missing out. One of the main selling points/positives- the views.

First of all, it is not honest that a national pride as the Scotland’s war museum were incapsulate in the pay for access Edinburgh Castle, obliging therefore visitors interested only in the museum to pay the incredible costly ticket for the Castle, which after all has not too much to offer, since its position is the emerging beauty. Now, I am asking, how much should be the entrance ticket to the Roman Colyseumwhich has two thousand years and requires continuous restructuring of its enormous body? 60 £, 70 £? When you have to pay £17,50 for the Castle ! Come on, Scottish, all tickets in Great Britain and above all in Scotland are ridiculously excessive and with time you will realize that they are bread for today and hunger for tomorrow. Happily, at least some National Museums like the Scotland’s and the Paintings’ wonderful visits are free, but..

Visited on New Year’s Day. Had my first disappointment at the ticket desk when my Defence Discount Card was refused. This is a card issued to verified serving members and veterans of HM Forces. This should be remedied immediately. Veterans are to be given much more recognition for their service by the government and have appointed a veterans minister. Shocked that Edinburgh castle offers no recognition and concession to HM Forces veterans. Next let down was after paying the full entry fee only then to discover that two of the military museums were closed. We should have been informed prior to entry. The rest of the castle experience is pretty boring. Not much imagination or effort has gone into the exhibits. I wouldn’t recommend wasting your money on this but would highly recommend the Royal Yacht Britannia if you want to see how history should be preserved and exhibited!!

Myself and my girlfriend visited Edinburgh for a long weekend in December 2018 for my 18th birthday, and one of the places we really wanted to go and see was Edinburgh Castle.
The admission price to get in is quite dear, but once you’re in, it really is worth the money.
Edinburgh Castle is not just any castle, it overlooks the city on top of an extinct volcano, and we can’t stress enough how incredible the views are from up top. The castle has had a massive influence on not only the kings and queens that called the castle home, but the city and country as a whole! It has also survived many major events in Scottish history and is very much a treasure to Scottish people. Trust me, you’ll learn and find out lots!
We would’ve stayed longer than we did, only time was pretty tight! But I guess that’s all more reasons to go back.
Edinburgh Castle was by far the highlight of our trip to Edinburgh, and we think it should be at the top of every Edinburgh itinerary, without a question.

We visited the castle on our stay in Edinburgh. It was extremely busy the day we went, due to the fact that the castle had been closed the previous 2 days. This meant that there was a lot of queuing to view rooms and areas due to the amount of people there. We did have a good time and learnt a lot, but found it a bit frustrating trying to see things with so many people all squashed into the same place. It is well worth a visit though.

For any new or infrequent visitors to Edinburgh a trip to the castle is a must. Not only is the the history of the city centred around the castle, the views are the best from the high vantage point and there are active military museums to explore. I would recommend membership of Historic Scotland which not only gets you free entry to this but also encourages trips to other amazing landmarks and you quickly get your monies worth.

Plan ahead and buy your tickets online. They're cheaper. We couldn't get online tickets last minute and went to the ticket booth. We didn't have to wait at all at around 11am on a Saturday. Just walk in and join the next tour. We were lucky enough to also see a bit by an "executioner" who gave a little historical performance inside the great hall with costume and props around noon (better double check the time). The self service cafe has great soup to warm you up after the tour and delicious pastries all reasonably priced and with a great view!

A brilliant location and the audio guide is a must - a real shame that so many indoor spaces are shut due to Covid, particularly as we couldn’t get in to see the regimental museums, prison or war museum. Nonetheless the spaces that are open are well worth the entrance price and it really brought history alive for us, taking our time over 3 hours. Don’t miss the one o clock gun!

We visited as a family this week.
The weather was against us, and with the majority of the inside areas closed we got very wet. There is nowhere undercover to wait for others to catch up ect. Had we not had to book in advance, as advised, we probably wouldn’t have gone. The areas that were open were very impressive.
However, many areas were closed, even the museum area. I am sure that some of these could have been open with some one way systems ect. There were certainly enough staff around.
We visited as a family of 6, with 3 older teenagers (all students), and a 21 year old. There is no discount offered for students, so full adult price for us all. Therefore we did feel that it was a lot of money for what we we able to see, and overall were disappointed.

Experience was likely blunted by the weather but would have liked a map that outlined a clear path through the various parts of the castle. Entrances and exits were chaotic with visitor flow in both directions.

Bought the audio tour which was narrated by “actual people” involved with the museum but it was a little heavy on production values and less on facts. Also, we weren’t told there were headphones (as opposed to using regular audio), which was obvious as we returned the units.