Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a castle in Edinburgh. The register lists it as a scheduled monument. Within 15 km there are 168 more places to visit, starting with National Gallery (400 m).
Castle in Edinburgh
One of the best-known places to visit in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
#19 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (58 Wikipedias). About ↓
Inside Edinburgh
Edinburgh Castle is inside Edinburgh’s locality, with 113 more places to visit within 5 km. Towns near it ↓
Cared for by Historic Environment Scotland
One of the places Historic Environment Scotland looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓
Scheduled monument
On the official list of protected heritage; Edinburgh has 4,435 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓
Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, NRS’s localities and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
The year in Edinburgh
In Edinburgh the warm season is June to August, with highs of 18–20°C.
Edinburgh Castle
Its care is managed by Historic Environment Scotland. It is written up in 58 Wikipedias.
- Type
- Castle
- Run by
- Historic Environment Scotland
- Listed
- Scheduled monument
- Wikipedias
- Covered in 58 languages
- Town
- in Edinburgh
- Official site
- edinburghcastle.scot
Getting in
- EntryA fee is charged
Map of Edinburgh Castle and nearby
Edinburgh Castle sits at the orange dot; the numbered ones are listed below.
© OpenStreetMap contributors · The dashed line is Edinburgh’s locality. · NRS locality 2022
Where to base yourself
Edinburgh is the biggest of the 8 bases nearby (493,794 people). The towns are in order of distance, its own town first.
Edinburgh
Danderhall
Loanhead
Musselburgh
Compare the 8 towns
| Town | Where Edinburgh Castle is | People | Places to visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | It’s in town | 493,794 | 150 |
| Danderhall | 7 km southeast of it | 3,389 | 21 |
| Loanhead | 8.2 km south of it | 7,007 | 16 |
| Musselburgh | 9.4 km east of it | 21,476 | 21 |
| Bonnyrigg | 10 km southeast of it | 18,088 | 16 |
| Dalkeith | 11 km southeast of it | 15,125 | 18 |
| Wallyford | 12 km east of it | 4,493 | 13 |
| Penicuik | 13 km south of it | 16,431 | 5 |
Around Edinburgh Castle
A visit can add 3 art galleries, 2 museums and a historic house, from 168 places within 15 km.
Big drawArt galleryNational Gallery400 m away · 661K visitors a year (2021)2
Historic housePalace of Holyroodhouse1.8 km away3
MuseumNational Museum of Scotland700 m away4
CathedralSt Giles' Cathedral600 m away5
Art galleryScottish National Portrait Gallery900 m away · 313K visitors a year (2015)6
Art galleryScottish National Gallery of Modern Art1.7 km away · 458K visitors a year (2015)7
Abbey or prioryHolyrood Abbey1.9 km away8
MuseumThe Scotch Whisky Experience300 m away · 239K visitors a yearWithin 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.
Know before you visit Edinburgh Castle
Where is Edinburgh Castle?
Edinburgh Castle is in Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, inside the town’s locality.
What is Edinburgh Castle?
Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Who runs Edinburgh Castle?
Historic Environment Scotland, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.
When is the best time to visit Edinburgh Castle?
June to August are the warmest months in Edinburgh, with afternoon highs of 18–20°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).
Is Edinburgh Castle a listed building?
Yes: scheduled monument.
What else is there to see near Edinburgh Castle?
Within 15 km: National Gallery (400 m), Palace of Holyroodhouse (1.8 km), National Museum of Scotland (700 m) and St Giles' Cathedral (600 m).
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the NRS 2022 locality (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (9)
- Edinburgh Castle: Stephencdickson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Gallery: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Palace of Holyroodhouse: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Museum of Scotland: Maccoinnich~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Giles' Cathedral: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scottish National Portrait Gallery: Original uploader was Maccoinnich at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art: Grousebeater2, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Holyrood Abbey: Enric, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- The Scotch Whisky Experience: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.