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Greyfriars Kirk

The first church built in Edinburgh after the Reformation, opened on Christmas Day 1620, where the National Covenant was signed in 1638.

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Greyfriars Kirk stands on Greyfriars Place in Edinburgh's Old Town, with its old kirkyard around it.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

It was the first church built in the city after the Reformation, opening on Christmas Day 1620, and the National Covenant was signed in front of its pulpit in 1638.

Entry is free, with donations welcome. Information boards give a self-guided tour in a variety of languages, and volunteer Welcomers are there to answer your questions. In the museum you can see an original copy of the Covenant and an oil painting of Greyfriars Bobby dating from 1867. Overhead is a ceiling of Californian redwood, and much of the stained glass is mid-Victorian.

The kirkyard is open day and night, and the Flodden Wall runs along its edge. Bobby's headstone is just inside the gate, where visitors leave sticks for him. The kirk's visiting days and hours change from day to day, so check the calendar on its Visit page before you go.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
Before you go

The kirk is free to enter, with donations welcome, and the kirkyard is open day and night.

The kirk's visiting days and hours change from day to day and are in the calendar on its Visit page.

Where
Greyfriars Place, Edinburgh EH1 2QQ, in the Old Town.
Open
The kirkyard is open to visitors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The kirk's open days and hours change from day to day and are shown in the calendar on its Visit page, which on 21 October 2026 showed it closed from 21 December 2026 to 31 January 2027. It is closed for general visiting on many days in August, when it is a Fringe venue.
Price
Entry to the kirk is free, though donations are encouraged. History Tours ask for a donation of whatever you can; a bespoke tour has a recommended donation of £10 a head.
Booking
History Tours can be booked in advance on Eventbrite or joined on the day; bespoke tours are arranged through the Kirk Office on 0131 225 1900.
Getting there
Buses 2, 9, 23, 27, 35 and 45 stop close by, and Edinburgh Waverley is a 10-minute walk.
Parking
Car parking is available nearby on Chambers Street and Lauriston Place. The kirk is within Edinburgh's Low Emission Zone.
Access
The kirk has level access and toilet facilities for visitors with limited mobility. Blue badge parking can be made available on request through the office.

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Did you know

Blossoming cherry trees frame old gravestones at Greyfriars Kirkyard, the Old Town skyline behind.
Did you know

Named for the friars' robes.

The kirk stands where a Franciscan friary stood before the Reformation, and takes its name from the grey robes of the friars. Mary Queen of Scots gave the ground to the town council as a burial ground.

A stone building with a banner hangs beneath overhanging trees, people seated on a bench outside.
Did you know

Opened on Christmas Day.

Work began in 1602 on the first church built in Edinburgh after the Reformation, but it went slowly, and the kirk did not open until Christmas Day 1620.

A shaded path winds between old gravestones and tall trees at Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Did you know

Signed before the pulpit.

In 1638 the National Covenant was presented and signed in front of the pulpit here. An original copy is on show in the kirk's museum.

A domed stone mausoleum with iron railings stands in a kirkyard beneath tall tenement buildings.
Did you know

A barracks for Cromwell.

During Cromwell's invasion of Scotland, the kirk was used as a barracks, from 1650 to 1653.

Weathered gravestones stand before tenement buildings at Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Did you know

The gunpowder in the tower.

The town council kept its gunpowder in the kirk's squat tower, and in 1718 it blew up, wrecking the west end. Look for the join: a vertical crack in the wall, and lancet windows in two styles.

A stone building with a banner hangs beneath overhanging trees, people seated on a bench outside.
Did you know

Stained glass after the fire.

After a fire gutted the kirk in 1845, its new windows were filled with stained glass, the first in any Scottish parish church since the Reformation.

A shaded path winds between old gravestones and tall trees at Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Did you know

A ceiling of redwood.

When the two churches that shared the building were made one in the 1930s, a ceiling of Californian redwood was built over the old kirk. Much of the inside dates from 1938.

Blossoming cherry trees frame old gravestones at Greyfriars Kirkyard, the Old Town skyline behind.
Did you know

Bobby, in oils.

Among the things in the kirk's museum is an oil painting of Greyfriars Bobby, painted in 1867.

A domed stone mausoleum with iron railings stands in a kirkyard beneath tall tenement buildings.
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Where it is

On Greyfriars Place in Edinburgh's Old Town, EH1 2QQ, beside the kirkyard.

Close byThe places nearest the kirk, in the Old Town.
  1. Magdalen ChapelMagdalen ChapelA small chapel of the 1540s on the Cowgate, guildhall of the hammermen, holding the only stained glass in Scotland that survives whole from before the Reformation.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The painted 'No Half Measures' sign on the pale green wall inside Half-Cut Coffee, above a rack of prints and cards.Half-Cut CoffeeA bright green coffee shop on Candlemaker Row, opened in 2026 in the old Half-Cut barbershop, a few steps from Greyfriars Bobby.Under a mile as the crow flies
  3. Dolly the SheepDolly the SheepThe first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell, born at the Roslin Institute in 1996 and now on show in the National Museum of Scotland.Under a mile 2 min by road
  4. Greyfriars BobbyGreyfriars BobbyThe bronze terrier on a granite fountain at Candlemaker Row, set up in 1873 for the dog said to have watched his master's grave for fourteen years.Under a mile 3 min by road
  5. Flodden WallFlodden WallThe last standing tower of the town wall Edinburgh built in the years after Flodden, at the head of the Vennel steps above the Grassmarket.Under a mile 3 min by road
  6. The long pale stone front of the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge.National Library of ScotlandScotland's national library on George IV Bridge, free to enter, with exhibitions from its collections, a cafe and a shop.Under a mile 4 min by road
Directions
The red front of W. Armstrong & Son at 83 Grassmarket, established 1840, with a vintage bicycle and dressed mannequins outside.ShoppingW. Armstrong & SonA step away
Green booths and mustard chairs fill a café with exposed stone walls and black pendant lightsCafeHula Juice BarA step away
The green front of Maggie Dickson's on the Grassmarket, gold lettering over the door.AttractionsMaggie Dickson’sA step away
Red-fronted shop "The Enchanted Galaxy" on Victoria Street, EdinburghShoppingThe Enchanted GalaxyA step away
Blue, pink and grey terraced buildings above the Oink hog roast shopRestaurantsOinkA step away
Green corner shopfront reading "I.J. Mellis Cheesemonger" with cream awning and wooden bench outsideShoppingI.J. MellisA step away
Bicycle parked outside The Red Door Gallery, edinburghart.com, on cobbled streetShoppingThe Red Door GalleryA step away
Restaurant dining room with laid tables, wrought-iron balustrade and stocked bar behindRestaurantsHowies Victoria StreetA step away
The blue front of The Bow Bar at 80 West Bow, its name in gold script between Spirit and Merchant, with the lit bar inside.BarsThe Bow BarA step away

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the kirk, and when each is next free.

A round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
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Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
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Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
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Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from Greyfriars Kirk
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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