When the palace is open
The Royal Collection Trust (the charity that runs visits for the royal household) sets a fresh timetable each year. We checked it in October 2026 on its Holyrood visitor page. The pattern was:
- Days: usually Thursday to Monday. The Trust says the palace is usually closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
- 1 April to 31 October: 9:30am to 6pm, last admission 4:30pm.
- 1 November to 31 March: 9:30am to 4:30pm, last admission 3:15pm.
- Busiest time: the Trust says the admission centre is busiest from opening and through the morning, and suggests arriving after 11am.
That Tuesday and Wednesday gap catches people out. If you are in Edinburgh midweek outside summer, the palace will be shut, so plan Holyrood for a Thursday to Monday and use the other days for things like Edinburgh Castle or the Royal Mile.
Check before you go
Hours and dates change every year, and we do not republish exact timetables here. The visitor page above and the Trust’s “opening times and closure list” (linked from that page) are the sources to trust. Royal Collection Trust: Palace of Holyroodhouse is the starting point.
Closures: when the King is in residence
Holyrood is the monarch’s official residence in Scotland. Visitors are welcome for most of the year, but not while the royal family is staying.
The big one is Holyrood Week, usually at the turn of June and July. The King holds events in the palace and gardens, such as the Ceremony of the Keys and a garden party, according to the royal family’s own website. On the 2026 closure list the palace was shut from 26 June to 3 July.
The Trust’s opening-times panel lists the palace as closed from Thursday 24 to Saturday 26 December 2026. That is the only closure it showed for the rest of the year when we checked. Other dates can be added at short notice for official events, so look at the visitor page before you buy anything, and again a day or two before you travel. We never guess closure dates on this site.
The King’s Gallery, a separate exhibition space with its own ticket, runs to its own timetable. Check it on its own page rather than assuming it matches the palace.
How long you need
The multimedia guide that comes with entry runs for about an hour. Add time for the abbey ruins and gardens, which are part of the same ticket. The GetYourGuide listing for the entry ticket quotes about 1.5 hours.
A sensible plan is two hours for the palace, abbey and gardens, plus extra time if you want the café or the King’s Gallery. The inside Holyrood guide breaks down what each part takes.
Best time to go
We have no crowd figures, so this is judgement rather than data. Arriving at opening time is likely to be quieter than the middle of the day. In winter the short days make early arrival even more sensible: the palace closes at 4:30pm from November.
Pairing the palace with a walk helps. Holyrood sits at the bottom of the Royal Mile, so an easy day is castle at the top, the Royal Mile on the way down, then the palace. When to visit Edinburgh covers the seasons more widely.
Bags, photography and security
Expect a bag check on arrival, and a one-way route through the palace. There is no cloakroom: handbags and small backpacks are fine, but bags larger than 45cm by 20cm by 30cm cannot go in. The Trust points to luggage storage at Waverley Station.
Photography and filming are not allowed in the State Apartments, and that includes wearable devices. Drones are banned anywhere at the palace. Outside, non-commercial photography is welcome, and the palace front and the gardens are the places to use it.
Accessibility
The Royal Collection Trust describes the palace as largely accessible, and disabled visitors can book a free access companion ticket. For lift and route details, use the Trust’s detailed access guides.
The main limit is Mary, Queen of Scots’ rooms, where the Trust notes some restrictions. Bench seating around the palace is limited. Accessible toilets are in the Café at the Palace, which you can use without a ticket. Accessible parking is on Horse Wynd, outside the palace, and registered assistance dogs are welcome.
Disabled visitors pay a concession price, and an access companion goes free (the Trust’s sales team arranges the companion ticket). The multimedia guide comes in British Sign Language and with subtitles, and an audio-described version is available.
Café and toilets
The Café at the Palace is in the Mews Courtyard, close to the entrance, and you can use it without buying a ticket. Accessible toilets are in the café. Once you have a ticket, more toilets and baby-care facilities are in the same courtyard, along with a tap for refilling water bottles.
Inside the palace you can carry bottled water, but no other food and drink. Put anything else in a closed bag before you go in.
Families
Children under 5 go free and children aged 5 to 17 pay a reduced price (checked October 2026). The Trust runs a free family multimedia tour and a Family Room with dressing-up and hands-on objects, which gives younger children something to do between the long rooms. Plan around the stair to Mary’s chambers if you are using a pushchair, since it is the one place that is hard to reach with wheels.
Adding the King’s Gallery
The King’s Gallery is a separate exhibition space at the palace entrance, formerly called the Queen’s Gallery. It needs its own ticket, though the Trust offers 10% off both tickets when you book them together. The current show, The Edwardians: Age of Elegance, runs until 6 December 2026, and the gallery keeps Thursday to Monday hours in the autumn. If you are short of time, the palace comes first.
What to skip
Skip paying the on-the-day price if you can plan ahead. Adult tickets bought in advance cost less than the same ticket on the day, as the tickets page explains.
Skip the idea that you need a full day. Holyrood suits a morning or an afternoon, which leaves room for the Royal Mile and the Scottish Parliament on the Canongate. And skip buying a ticket for a date you have not checked against the closure list.
