Edinburgh Castle

Crown jewels, a volcanic crag and the one o'clock gun

⚠ Cheaper booked online

Hours: Daily from 9:30am. 1 Oct–23 Dec closes 5pm (last entry 4pm); Apr–Sep closes 6pm (last entry 5pm). Closed 25–26 Dec (official, Oct 2026)
Tickets: Online adult (16–64) £23.50, walk-up £26; 65+ £19/£21; ages 7–15 £11.50/£13; under 7 free. Flexi ticket (any day within 7 days) adult £38 (official, Oct 2026)
Address: West end of the Royal Mile on Castlehill; you enter across the Esplanade

The castle on the black crag is visible from almost everywhere in town. Once through the gate, the cobbled road spirals up past tiny St Margaret's Chapel from the 12th century, the huge old siege gun Mons Meg, and the Crown Room with Scotland's crown and the Stone of Destiny. From the battlements you look over the New Town roofs to the Firth of Forth. Every day except Sunday a gun fires at exactly 1pm, a habit that started as a time signal for ships.