Edinburgh Castle
Attacked 26 times over 1,100 years — research calls it the most besieged place in Great Britain.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Edinburgh offline.
The castle has served as Scotland's royal residence, mint, treasury, prison, and national archive. The Honours of Scotland — the Scottish crown jewels — are kept here, alongside the Scottish National War Memorial and three regimental museums (Royal Regiment of Scotland, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and Royal Scots). Most buildings standing today date from after 1573, when artillery levelled the medieval defences during the Lang Siege.
What to look for
- St Margaret's Chapel, built in the early 12th century and the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh
- The Honours of Scotland — crown, sceptre, and sword of state — the Scottish regalia on permanent display
- The early 16th-century Great Hall, one of the few structures to survive the 1573 Lang Siege bombardment
Scotland's second most visited attraction drew over 2 million visitors in 2025 — book tickets in advance.
Edinburgh Castle is one of 28 sights worth the detour in Edinburgh, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Edinburgh pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Edinburgh
- Holyrood PalaceScotland's working royal residence since the 1500s — the actual rooms where Mary, Queen of Scots lived are open to walk through.
- The National (Scottish National Gallery)Since 1912, two near-identical neoclassical buildings have stood side by side on The Mound — visitors have been walking into the wrong one ever since.
- National Museum of ScotlandDolly the sheep, one of Elton John's extravagant suits, and a Victorian cast-iron hall — all under one free roof on Chambers Street.
- Murrayfield StadiumScotland's largest stadium opened in 1925 with a Grand Slam win — 70,000 people watched it happen.
- St Giles' CathedralA prayer book read here in 1637 caused a riot that sparked a rebellion pulling three kingdoms into war.
- Holyrood AbbeyA king nearly gored by a charging hart founded this abbey in thanksgiving — the ruin now stands beside the palace that grew from its own guesthouse.