The Palace of Holyroodhouse began as the guest house of an abbey. David I founded Holyrood Abbey here in 1128; Scotland’s kings preferred its comfortable lodgings to the windy castle, and in the early 1500s James IV built a proper palace alongside. Most of what you see now was rebuilt in the 1670s for Charles II. It remains the King’s official residence in Scotland, used each summer for Holyrood Week.
Its best-known resident was Mary, Queen of Scots, who lived here from 1561 to 1567. In her private rooms in the north-west tower, in March 1566, her secretary David Rizzio was dragged from her supper table and stabbed to death by a group of nobles led by her husband, Lord Darnley.
What to see and do: Palace of Holyroodhouse & Scottish Parliament
The State Apartments
A sequence of increasingly grand rooms leading to the Throne Room and the Great Gallery, hung with portraits of Scottish kings — real and legendary — painted by Jacob de Wet in the 1680s. A multimedia guide is included with the ticket.
Mary, Queen of Scots’ chambers
A narrow spiral stair climbs to the queen’s bedchamber and the tiny supper room where Rizzio was seized. These are the oldest and most evocative rooms in the palace.
Holyrood Abbey and the gardens
The roofless nave of the abbey church adjoins the palace. The roof fell in during a storm in 1768 and was never replaced. Beyond it, the gardens open on to a fine view of Arthur’s Seat.
The King’s Gallery
Beside the palace entrance, the King’s Gallery shows changing exhibitions from the Royal Collection. It has a separate ticket, or a combined one with the palace.
The Scottish Parliament
Enric Miralles’s building, opened in 2004, is one of the most discussed pieces of modern architecture in Britain. Entry is free; you can see the debating chamber, visit the exhibition and, on sitting days, watch a debate from the public gallery. Free guided tours can be booked in advance. Next door, Dynamic Earth is a science centre about the story of the planet, popular with families.
How to get to Palace of Holyroodhouse & Scottish Parliament
- The palace is at the bottom of the Royal Mile, about 15–20 minutes’ walk downhill from Waverley station or 25–30 minutes from the castle.
- Lothian buses run along the Canongate and Holyrood Road to stops near the Parliament. Use the Lothian app for the current route.
- All the hop-on hop-off sightseeing buses stop at Holyrood, which saves the uphill walk back.
Insider tips
- The palace closes for royal visits, notably around Holyrood Week in late June and early July, and on certain other days. Check dates before you plan around it.
- Outside the summer peak it is usually closed on some weekdays — check the current schedule.
- Pair it with Arthur’s Seat: the main path into Holyrood Park starts across the road.
- Photography is not allowed inside the palace; it is in the abbey and gardens.
Best tours & tickets for Palace of Holyroodhouse & Scottish Parliament
These top-rated experiences pair well with a visit to Palace of Holyroodhouse & Scottish Parliament:
Entry ticket from €26 Edinburgh: Palace of Holyroodhouse Entry Ticket
The King’s official residence in Scotland, at the opposite end of the Royal Mile from the castle. The ticket covers the State Apartments, the rooms where Mary, Queen of Scots lived, the roofless 12th-century abbey and the gardens. The palace closes during royal visits — check dates when you book.
- The State Apartments and Mary, Queen of Scots’ chambers
- The ruins of Holyrood Abbey and the gardens
- Multimedia guide included
Bus tour from €21 Edinburgh: City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
A loop of the Old and New Towns on an open-top bus, with commentary and the freedom to get off at any stop. Useful on a first day, for saving your legs on the hills, and for the long downhill-then-uphill haul to Holyrood.
- Open-top double-decker
- Stops at the castle, Royal Mile and Holyrood
- Audio commentary in several languages
Guided hike from €28 Edinburgh: Guided Hike to Arthur’s Seat and Holyrood Park
A two-hour guided walk from Holyrood through the park to the top of the city’s extinct volcano and back, with the story of the hill and the view explained. Highly rated, and one of the lowest-priced guided hikes in Edinburgh.
- The 251 m summit of Arthur’s Seat
- Geology, history and legends explained
- Small group
