Edinburgh Castle: Guided Walking Tour with Entry Ticket

Overview

Available languages

German

English

Italian

French

Spanish

1 hour 30 minutes

Mobile ticket

Scotland’s second-most-popular tourist attraction as you learn about the bloody history including stories of the kings and queens who lived in this castle.

There is evidence of a fort here for almost 3000 years, and it has been a royal castle since at least King David I’s reign in the 12th century. The Scottish monarchs continued to use it until 1633, and even saw the birth of King James VI within its walls.

Your tour will begin on the Royal Mile, then take you to the castle, where you will hear your guide talking about the origins of the castle and its sieges.

Once inside the castle walls, the guide will take you through the different parts of the fortress and tell you its fascinating history. Inside the complex, you will find three museums, two prisons, a canine cemetery, the Chapel of Saint Margaret, the National Monument to the fallen of Scotland, the Great Hall, and a Royal Palace.(ENTIRE TOUR WILL REMAIN OUTDOORS; buildings are not accessible during the tour.)

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Please note in poor weather conditions the tour will remain outdoors as access to the castle buildings is not available for tour groups

Tour will be inside the castle walls, but outdoors, with free time after the tour to to explore the castle an to go inside every building (Museums, Royal Palace, prisons, and much more). We can not access those buildings during the tour, but the tour will still be carried out within the castle grounds.

The castle is a complex of buildings, not a single building.

On this tour you will be guided around Edinburgh castle, with specific stops assigned by the castle authorities.

Bags over 30L in volume are not allawed inside the castle.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Entrance ticket & Edinburgh Castle Guided Tour

Entre fees

Pet Not allowed. Only guide dog.

Gratuities

What To Expect

Edinburgh Castle

Explore one the most important fortresses in the history of Scotland. Walk inside the castle for 1 hour and 10 minutes to enjoy the wonderful royal palace, where Mary Queen of Scots once lived, and admire the Great Hall of the 16th century where parties and feast took place. After the exploration with a guide, you can spend a free time inside the castle until closing time

1 hour • Admission Not Applicable

Options

Edinburgh Castle Tour, English

German Tour

We also offer the Castle Tour on Thursdays and Saturdays

Italian Tours

Tour du Château d'Édimbourg

Spanish Tour

Spanish Tour : We also have the Edinburgh Castle tour in Spanish, every day at 10am and 1:30 p.m.

Reviews

4.81

5,256 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

4716

287

116

Amazing experience
saeed rahman 420,
Nov 20, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Our tour of Edinburgh Castle with Ignaz was absolutely fantastic. His knowledge of Scottish history was profound, making every stone and artifact come to life. Ignaz navigated the complex history of the Crown Jewels, the Great Hall, and Mons Meg with engaging stories and brilliant wit. He was attentive to our group, answering every question with patience and passion. He is a masterful storyteller and a truly excellent guide. Highly recommended for anyone visiting this iconic landmark.
Aussie David is a legend!!!
ethanbX3316RG,
Nov 20, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
First time in Edinburgh, booked the walking tour of Edinburgh castle. We’d highly recommend this experience, our tour guide Aussie David was fantastic. Amazing knowledge, great character, rocked the hell out of that kilt. We discovered so much about the history of the castle and Edinburgh itself, had great laughs and an overall amazing experience. Advice bring hand warmers to warm up the soul and non slip shoes to avoid catastrophe so all attention is on David.
Nice introduction to the history of the castle
jadepW1215SN,
Nov 19, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00
Melanie was the tour guide today. Unsure how you can book her, as some of the reviews mention a male tour guide. Melanie was very enthusiastic and delivered the tour with a sense of true enjoyment, and made it very funny and lighthearted. I would recommend a 12-12.30 ish start time as that would allow you to view the 1’clock canon firing. My comments for improvement and 4/5 rating: the tour is not that accessibility friendly. Time is limited but I overheard other info from other tours during my free roaming, would be nice for a slightly better use of the time to learn more (eg. I don’t need to know about lack of access to building or photography as that is signposted). But overall, thank you Melanie for the tour today!
Great tour
Gráinne W,
Nov 19, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Our tour guide Raj was absolutely lovely. We were a bit late and had issues with our ticket but he had us sorted out with no bother. He was patient, interesting and made the history of the castle come alive despite the freezing weather. Thank you Raj!
Ask for Jen!
Korin V,
Nov 19, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Jen was amazing - so knowledgeable and kept our interest the entire time. We learned so much and it was the greatest start to further exploring in our own.
Recommended
Amy S,
Nov 18, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Absolutely amazing tour, we learned so much about the castle and history of Edinburgh. Our guide was the daughter of a military man, so she was very knowledgeable. This was quite impressive! :)
This is a must when you're in Edinburgh
Monique d,
Nov 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
You could spend a few hours here. Everything still looks well maintained and you can feel the culture of Scotland here. Beautiful location above the city on the Royal Mile
TOUR
B8725DDkellim,
Nov 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Joe was an awesome tour guide! As two texans we learned so much about the history of Scotland and were entertained the whole time!
Worth doing, dress warm.
johnaY1891MQ,
Nov 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00
We had a good time. The castle tour was the first thing we did after dropping bags off. It was a great intro to Edinburgh and Scottish history. Sonya was our great and knowledgeable guide. The one down side was we didn’t dress warm enough. It’s fun to explore the castle during and after the tour but it’s also one of the windiest spots in town. I recommend dressing a good bit warming than you think you need. You can always drop a layer. We were missing our extra layers we packed as we wondered around. Enjoy! (Tour was in November)
Phenomenal tour & guide
Clyde G,
Nov 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
The tour was well organized from getting sorted for check-in to meeting our tour guide. Sonia was very informative and added hysterical tidbits throughout to keep things interesting. She cared to ensure everyone was always caught up in each new area and made the overall tour more inviting than transactional. Great experience!!