In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The big free sights are the National Museum of Scotland (10.00 to 17.00 daily), the National Galleries of Scotland, the Writers’ Museum, Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat (open 24 hours), Calton Hill and the Royal Botanic Garden. St Giles’ Cathedral is not free: it has charged £12 since 5 October 2026 to visitors aged 16 and over who do not live in Scotland. The Palm Houses in the Botanic Garden are £5.50 and timed. Special exhibitions inside the free museums can charge. Or book a tour: Little Fish Tours’ Old Town walkad (from £18) takes in the Royal Mile with a guide.
Free, and what to know
| Free thing | Hours | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| National Museum of Scotland | 10.00 to 17.00 daily | Closed 25 December. Some special exhibitions charge |
| The National and the other National Galleries | The National: 10am to 5pm daily | Some exhibitions charge |
| The Writers’ Museum | 10.00 to 17.00, last entry 16.30 | Lady Stair’s Close, off the Lawnmarket |
| Arthur’s Seat and Holyrood Park | Open 24 hours | The Radical Road is closed |
| Calton Hill | No ticket | The Nelson Monument on it is a paid climb |
| Royal Botanic Garden | From 10.00; closes 15.30 to 17.00 by season | The Palm Houses are £5.50 and timed |
| The Royal Mile | Always | The street is free; the sights on it mostly are not |
The Nelson Monument, the City Observatory and the National Monument on Calton Hill, above the Firth of Forth. Photo: Saffron Blaze, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
Museums and galleries
The National Museum of Scotland is free and open 10.00 to 17.00 every day; Forever Edinburgh’s free-attractions guide picks it as the one museum to see on a short visit. All three National Galleries of Scotland sites (the National on the Mound, Portrait on Queen Street and Modern on Belford Road) are free, and so is the Writers’ Museum. Forever Edinburgh adds the Museum of Childhood, the People’s Story, the Museum on the Mound and the City Art Centre, next to Waverley station. Charges apply at all of them for special exhibitions: “Catherine Opie: To Be Seen” at the Royal Scottish Academy was £3.50 to £14 until 1 November 2026.
Hills and gardens
- Arthur’s Seat (251 m) is in Holyrood Park, open 24 hours and free. The Arthur’s Seat hike gives the routes: the shortest is from Dunsapie Loch, and the full loop from Holyrood takes 2 to 2.5 hours. The Radical Road and the climbing areas are closed. A free audio guide is on the Geotourist app.
- Calton Hill has the National Monument, modelled on the Parthenon in Athens, and the Nelson Monument. The hill is free; the Nelson Monument is a ticketed climb, open 10.00 to 15.30, and its time ball is lowered as the One O’Clock Gun is fired.
- The Royal Botanic Garden is free to enter and open from 10.00, closing at 17.00 from February to October, 16.00 in November and January, and 15.30 in December. It has the Rock Garden, the Woodland Garden, the Chinese Hillside, the Rhododendron collection and the Scottish Native Plants Collection. The reopened Palm Houses are the part that charges.
- The Water of Leith Walkway is a 13-mile path from the Pentland Hills through Dean Village to the docks at Leith, according to Forever Edinburgh.
- Saughton Park has 34 acres of formal gardens, a skate park and chess tables.
- Dunbar’s Close, off the Royal Mile, is a garden laid out in the style of a 17th-century garden.
The Water of Leith in Dean Village. Photo: Craig Wallace, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Streets and walks
The Royal Mile walk is free to do from the castle to Holyrood and costs only what you go into. The Writers’ Museum on the way is free. Forever Edinburgh also points to the Colinton Tunnel, a former railway tunnel painted with a mural of local history.
What has started charging
- St Giles’ Cathedral: £12 from Monday 5 October 2026 for visitors aged 16 or over who do not live in Scotland. It includes the Thistle Chapel and the guided tours. Pages that still call the tours free predate the change. See St Giles’ Cathedral tickets.
- The Palm Houses: £5.50 for an adult since they reopened on 2 October 2026, with a timed slot. The garden around them stays free.
- The Nelson Monument: ticketed.
Closed days that change a free day
- 25 December: the National Museum of Scotland and the Botanic Garden are closed, and the Garden is closed on 1 January too.
- 26 December and 1 January: the National Museum of Scotland opens at 12.00.
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 17 September to 20 May: Holyroodhouse is shut, and the free sights fill the day.
What to book before you go to Edinburgh has the paid sights and their closed days. The best views in Edinburgh separates the free viewpoints from the paid ones. To stay near the free sights, see hotels near the Royal Mile and where to stay in Edinburgh.
Common questions
Is St Giles' Cathedral free?
No. From Monday 5 October 2026 general admission is £12 for visitors aged 16 or over who do not live in Scotland. Residents of Scotland and children under 16 enter free.
What are the best free things to do in Edinburgh?
The National Museum of Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Writers' Museum, Arthur's Seat and Holyrood Park, Calton Hill and the Royal Botanic Garden. The Palm Houses inside the Botanic Garden are £5.50.
Is the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh free?
Yes, garden entry is free. The reopened Palm Houses need a timed ticket: £5.50 for an adult, and under-16s are free.
Is Arthur's Seat free?
Yes. Holyrood Park is open 24 hours a day, year-round, and free to visit.
Do the free museums in Edinburgh charge for anything?
Some special exhibitions. The National Museum of Scotland says free entry with charges for some special exhibitions, and the National Galleries charge for some exhibitions.
