Exclusive Tours of The Palace of HolyroodHouse

Located: Edinburgh, Scotland

Related Content: Tour Information Reel | Gift Shop Review

When visiting Edinburgh this past October (2025) the concierge at my hotel suggested the Palace of Holyrood House. I lucked out that the Palace is closed to the on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but offers exclusive tours for groups of up to 25 people and had 2 dates left for their fall tour schedule.

I loved this tour my biggest gripe is you couldn't take photos or videos inside which is a SHAME because it is STUNNING. This tour is £55 a person with standard admission £21 ( there is an upcharge for buying on the day so book in advance.

What you get:

Included in the exclusive tour is a expert guide led tour of not the route that the standard tour takes but access to a few off tour rooms. You start by following the historic processional route through the palace designed to get more ornate the closer a guest was to a private audience with the Monarch.

Then you'll go through the Great Gallery which has one of my favorite facts about the palace. Largely reconstructed under Charles the 2nd who notoriously launched a pretty intense PR campaign for himself and the monarchy, commissioned Dutch artist Jacob De Wet to paint the entire royal lineage. The only problem was there was little to know references available as to what many of the historic rulers looked like. Undeterred Charles the 2nd instructed de Wet to just make them up with the only stipulation that they resembled him. This is how most of the 95 portraits all share Charles the 2nd's rather large nose.

Past the Great Gallery you climb the stairs to the apartments of Mary Queen of Scots and potentially see the remnants of a grizzly murder.

Your tour ends in the Ruins of the original Abbey complex and a walk through the garden. When you leave you are given a complementary guide book full of pictures and more information about the palace.

Photos