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The front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, a golden stone range with two pointed towers, seen across the forecourt.
Edinburgh

Holyrood Palace

The royal family's main home in Scotland, at the foot of the Canongate beside Holyrood Park, grown from an abbey founded in 1128.

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Welcome

The Palace of Holyroodhouse stands at the foot of the Canongate in Edinburgh, beside Holyrood Park, and a walk down the street to its gates is a good way to arrive.

It is the royal family's main home in Scotland, and it grew out of Holyrood Abbey, founded in 1128.

Visiting the abbey means buying a ticket for the palace, so the two make one visit. The abbey's nave was spared at the Reformation in 1560 because it served as the parish church of the Canongate, and its west front is counted among the most impressive Gothic facades in Scotland. The doorway on the east side is the only part left of the original monastery. The palace sets its own opening days through the year, so check the Royal Collection Trust's page before you set off.

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The Daily for 4 November, from Scotland with love. A pink sandstone castle bristling with conical turrets and a Union Jack flag rises above a gravel forecourt, autumn-tinged ivy climbing one wing beside cannon displayed on the lawn.
Close byRoom & RumoursA coffee shop and doughnut bakery in one of the railway arches of East Market Street, by Waverley, with fresh doughnuts every day.3 min by roadSee itRoom & Rumours
Before you go

Tickets, prices and opening days are on the Royal Collection Trust's page, which runs the palace.

Where
At the foot of the Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8DX, beside Holyrood Park.
Booking
Tickets are sold by the Royal Collection Trust on its page, or by phone on 0303 123 7306. The abbey is visited with the palace ticket.
Dogs
No dogs except assistance dogs at the abbey.
Getting there
Reached by public transport; Traveline Scotland plans the journey.

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Where it is

At the foot of the Canongate in the centre of Edinburgh, beside Holyrood Park.

Close bythe foot of the Canongate.
  1. Physic GardenPhysic GardenA public garden behind the Abbey Strand at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, telling 900 years of the palace's gardens, from monks' herbs to Scotland's first physic garden.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, a long stone building with a pointed-roof tower at each end, seen across the forecourt.Holyrood PalaceUnder a mile 1 min by road
  3. White Horse CloseWhite Horse CloseA white-harled courtyard of crow-stepped houses at the foot of the Canongate, a 17th-century close rebuilt in the 1960s to look as it once did.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Scottish Parliament BuildingScottish Parliament BuildingThe home of the Scottish Parliament at the foot of the Royal Mile, a campus of boat-shaped roofs by Enric Miralles that won the Stirling Prize in 2005.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Antique plates and framed portraits line the walls of a lace-tabled tea roomClarinda's TearoomA tearoom on the Canongate since 1976, named for Robert Burns's Clarinda, with homemade scones, lace tablecloths and china cups.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. Dynamic EarthDynamic EarthEdinburgh's science centre and planetarium, under a white tented roof at the foot of Salisbury Crags, telling the story of the planet.Under a mile 2 min by road
Directions
Wrought-iron gates with sign reading "Palace of Holyroodhouse" and opening timesAttractionsPalace of Holyroodhouse0.2 miles
The counter at Santu on the Canongate, green tiles below and an espresso machine behind, with canelés and croissants on wooden boards.CafeSantu0.3 miles
A table laid for two by candlelight in Montrose, with wooden chairs and a fire burning in the old stone fireplace behind.RestaurantsMontrose0.3 miles
The pale blue front of Polentoni, Italian bakery and kitchen, on Easter Road, with a bicycle leaning by the door.CafePolentoni0.4 miles
Pink and pale blue hydrangea blooms among dense green leavesAttractionsDunbar's Close Gardens0.4 miles
Cobbled courtyard with trimmed box hedges beneath overhanging trees near stone buildingsAttractionsDunbar's Close Garden0.4 miles
Roofless nave of Holyrood Abbey, gothic tracery window framing bare stone ruinsAttractionsHolyrood Abbey0.4 miles
Sandstone mansion with tall chimneys and turret, fronted by a lawnAttractionsLauriston Castle0.4 miles
Painted figure of a newsboy shouting above The People's Story signAttractionsThe People’s Story0.4 miles

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Stay nearby

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

A 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
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the palace
Check datesA 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
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the palace
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 the palace
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from the palace
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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