Palace of Holyroodhouse tickets: £22 booked, £26 on the day, and shut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

💡 The Short Version: An adult ticket is £22 booked in advance and £26 on the day. From 17 September to 20 May the Palace is shut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (open Thursday to Monday), it is open daily in summer (21 May to 14 September in 2026), and it is closed from 24 to 26 December 2026. It is a working royal palace and can close at short notice. Opening is 9.30, and the Trust advises booking and arriving after 11.00 to miss the morning rush. A free multimedia guide takes about an hour. No photography in the State Apartments and no cloakroom. Buy from the Royal Collection Trust at rct.uk if you want the 1-Year Pass. Or book: GetYourGuide’s entry ticketad is from £22, sold by the Trust, but it cannot be converted to the 1-Year Pass.

The tickets, compared

Prices are the adult rate from the Royal Collection Trust’s Palace page. Search results for the Palace include sites with “holyrood” in their web address that say on their own pages they are independent or fan sites; the Trust sells at rct.uk.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse below Arthur’s Seat, seen from Calton Hill, with the abbey ruins at left. Photo: Gtapp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

• 1-Year Pass: convert your ticket for free re-admission for a year. A £2 transaction fee applies when you pre-book a return visit.
• £1 tickets are available to people on Universal Credit and other named benefits, from the Trust.
• Phone: specialist sales on +44 (0)303 123 7324.

When it is open

Closed from 24 to 26 December 2026, and every Tuesday and Wednesday from 17 September to 20 May. The Palace is the King’s official residence in Scotland, so the Trust lists closures for royal engagements on the palace page and warns they can come at short notice. Check it before you go.

The King’s Gallery next door is open Thursday to Monday, 9.30 to 18.00 (last admission 17.00) to 31 October and 9.30 to 16.30 (last admission 15.30) from 1 November to 6 December 2026, when “The Edwardians” ends.

Which ticket to buy

• Book the £22 ticket if you have a day fixed, which saves £4 and guarantees the day you are going. The Trust says the Admission Centre is busiest from opening and through the morning.
• Buy from the Trust, not a reseller, if you may come back. The 1-Year Pass lets you return free for twelve months.
• Add the King’s Gallery only while “The Edwardians” runs. It is 10% off both tickets and ends on 6 December 2026.
• Don’t plan Holyrood on a Tuesday or Wednesday between 17 September and 20 May. The same rule applies to the Royal Edinburgh Ticket, which does not offer an alternative when the Palace is shut. Edinburgh City Pass: is it worth it? has the sums.

Tours worth paying for

Holyrood’s own ticket is the best-value way in, and the guide is free. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

Entry ticket sold by the Trust

From £22 · 1.5 hours · 6,413 reviews

Edinburgh: Palace of Holyroodhouse Entry Ticketad is the Royal Collection Trust’s own ticket on GetYourGuide, at the same £22 as the Trust’s advance price, with the multimedia guide in nine languages. You exchange the voucher at the ticket office. It is not eligible for the 1-Year Pass.

Royal Edinburgh Ticket

From £81 · 48 hours · 3,167 reviews

Edinburgh: Royal Attractions with Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Toursad combines Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Royal Yacht Britannia with 48 hours on three hop-on hop-off bus tours. The Palace’s Tuesday and Wednesday closure applies and no alternative is offered.

What to see

The visit is a one-way route through the Palace, the abbey ruins and the garden. The multimedia guide is free and runs about an hour; there is a family version for ages 7 to 11.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse and, at right, the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. Photo: Daniel Kraft, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

1. Mary, Queen of Scots’ chambers. She lived here from 1561 to 1567, in the north-west tower, up a narrow winding stair. In the Supper Room she saw her secretary David Rizzio murdered on 9 March 1566. The Trust says the bloodstains are still visible on the floor of the Outer Chamber. The Darnley Jewel is in the Outer Chamber too.
2. The State Apartments. They run from room to room towards the King’s Bedchamber, with plasterwork ceilings and French and Flemish tapestries. The Throne Room is used for receptions and state occasions.
3. The Great Gallery. The largest room in the Palace is hung with portraits of 95 kings and one queen, and in some of them you can see sword marks from the troops who slashed them in 1746. Bonnie Prince Charlie held balls here in the autumn of 1745.
4. Holyrood Abbey and the garden. The roofless nave of the abbey, founded in 1128, stands beside the Palace, and the garden’s path is open on a standard ticket every day, weather permitting.

What to skip: the King’s Gallery, unless “The Edwardians” interests you; it is a separate exhibition next door. The Café at the Palace can be visited without a ticket, and eating is not allowed inside the Palace.

The ruined nave of Holyrood Abbey. Photo: Donna, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Rules and getting there

• Bags: handbags and small backpacks only, up to 45 x 20 x 30 cm. They are checked on arrival and there is no cloakroom. Luggage storage is at Waverley station.
• Photography: not in the State Apartments, including wearable devices. Outside is fine. Drones are banned.
• Charging: phones may not be charged anywhere in the Palace.
• Access: largely accessible, with restrictions in Mary, Queen of Scots’ rooms. Pushchairs can be taken in except at busy periods, and baby-care facilities are in the Mews Courtyard.
• Where: the Palace stands at the foot of the Royal Mile, with Holyrood Park behind it. The Royal Mile walk runs down from the castle to its gates, and Arthur’s Seat is in Holyrood Park, behind the Palace.

Edinburgh Castle is at the other end of the Royal Mile. What to book before you go to Edinburgh has the closed days for every sight. On a Tuesday or Wednesday in winter, the National Museum of Scotland and the Royal Botanic Garden are open. To stay nearby, see hotels near the Royal Mile and where to stay in Edinburgh.