How Mary King's Close tickets work

What you're actually booking

Every ticket is for one thing: a guided tour lasting about an hour. The operator describes it as a walk through preserved underground streets and rooms, led by a character guide based on real historical figures. Your guide plays a former resident who lived, worked and died on the closes of the Old Town, and the stories mix historical fact with strong storytelling. There's no self-guided option. You go down with your group, at your time, and come back up with them.

Tours start from the Admissions Office on the Royal Mile, at 2 Warriston's Close, opposite St Giles' Cathedral and the Mercat Cross. From there you descend into a warren of former homes and shops below street level. The operator says no two tours are ever quite the same, because each guide brings a different character and a different set of stories. Annie's Room, the source of the close's best-known ghost story, is part of the standard one-hour tour.

Tours are led in English. If English isn't your first language, there are free web-app audio and multimedia guides in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Polish, Dutch, Mandarin and Cantonese, plus British Sign Language and International Sign Language versions. You open the guide in your phone's browser by scanning a QR code, pick a language and follow along as your guide talks. There's one thing you need to bring for it, which we cover further down.

Tours every 10 minutes, and picking yours

The operator says tours typically run every 10 minutes from the opening hour to the closing hour. When we read the live calendar in October 2026, the times sat on a ten-minute grid, so you choose a specific start such as 12:30 or 12:40 rather than a loose window. Each group leaves at its slot and the next one follows shortly behind. A grid like that gives you plenty of choice, but each slot has limited capacity.

Opening hours change through the year. In October 2026 the site runs from 09:00 to 22:30, with last tour entry at 21:00. November and December days are shorter on most weekdays, and the close is shut on Christmas Day. Our opening times guide sets out the month-by-month pattern. The site, including the gift shop, opens half an hour before the first tour of the day.

Start with your own day when you choose a time. The tour lasts about an hour, and you need to be at Admissions at least 10 minutes before it starts. Add time to find the entrance on a busy Royal Mile, and to use a locker if you're carrying bags. From Waverley station the walk is about 10 minutes, but the quickest route climbs the 100 steps at the foot of Warriston's Close.

Think about who's with you, too. An hour of standing and stairs is harder for anyone tired or hungry, and food and drink aren't allowed on the close. Avoid booking the slot right after another fixed plan, like a train arrival or a timed castle entry, because a delay elsewhere can cost you the tour. A buffer of half an hour or so is the calmer choice. The time you pick is the time on your e-ticket.

Adult and child tickets, and who can't go in

There are two everyday fares on the standard tour: adult and child. The child fare covers ages 5 to 15. The operator's booking system has no separate senior, student or family fare, so everyone aged 16 and over goes on an adult ticket. When you book with us, you choose the number of adults and children and the tour time, and that's all we need to secure your places.

Children under 5 can't go on the tour at all. The operator gives safety as the reason, and with steep stairs, uneven floors and dim light underground, it's easy to see why. Under-5s are welcome in the gift shop and café upstairs, but not on the close itself. If one of your party is under 5, plan for one adult to wait upstairs, or split the group across two tour times.

Children aged 5 to 15 must be with an adult on the tour. A 15-year-old can't join a group on their own, however mature they are. Plan your party with that in mind before you book. Our guide to visiting with children has more on making the tour work for a family, from timing to how to talk through the darker stories beforehand.

Why tours sell out, and how far ahead to book

The operator is clear about this. It describes the close as a 5-star attraction that frequently sells out, and strongly recommends booking in advance. Its opening-times page goes further, saying tours can sell out quickly and suggesting you book a few days or weeks ahead of your visit. The booking calendar also notes that when a tour can't be booked, it means the ticket allocation for that tour has sold out.

What we saw backs that up. On 21 October 2026 the live calendar showed that day sold out, and every other remaining date in October was marked as limited. Looking at the following day, the morning tours and everything after 15:30 had already gone. Those are autumn figures, not peak summer. October still has long opening hours, and even so, the slots were filling.

So the practical advice is simple. If Mary King's Close matters to you, book it before you plan the rest of the day. Pick the date first, then the time, and build your other Royal Mile plans around the tour. If your dates are fixed and soon, check now rather than the night before. Turning up at the door and hoping for space is the riskiest way to go about it.

Arrival, lateness and changes

The operator asks every visitor to arrive at least 10 minutes before the tour time and check in with the Admissions team. This isn't a formality. Its booking terms reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone who arrives after their scheduled tour time, and say late arrivals can be charged the full booking. If you miss your slot, don't count on being moved to a later one.

Operator tickets are non-refundable. Changes are limited, and any change has to be made at least 4 hours before your tour start time. If you booked with us, ask us rather than contacting the attraction, and we'll tell you what's possible for your booking. A new time also depends on there being space on the tour you want, and on busy dates there may not be.

No-shows are treated in the same way. The operator's terms say visitors who don't arrive for their tour can be charged in full. The simplest protection is time. Aim to be on the Royal Mile 20 minutes before your tour, find the entrance next to the flags and arches of the City Chambers, and then relax with a few minutes to spare.

Carers go free

The close offers free admission for one carer per paying visitor who needs assistance. The operator asks for documentation and gives examples such as proof of DLA, PIP, Carer's Allowance or a Blue Badge. Bring ID and the paperwork with you on the day, because staff can ask to see it when you check in.

If you're booking with us and need a carer, tell us when you book. We add a carer place to your booking at no charge, so the carer is on the same tour time as the person they're supporting. It isn't a priced ticket, and you don't pay anything extra for it. Just remember the documentation, as the check at the door is made by the attraction's own team.

Before you decide, it's worth knowing the site. The tour involves 58 steps down and 38 up, uneven surfaces and steep inclines, with handrails on all staircases and in the close. Wheelchairs can't be used on the tour, though visitors who can transfer or walk with support are welcome. Support chairs are available on request, and guides carry radios if anyone needs to be taken back upstairs.

What to bring and what to leave

If anyone in your group is using the audio or multimedia guide, bring your own headphones or earphones. The operator says they're mandatory when using the audio guide on the tour. Without them, you can still follow by reading the translated text on your phone. Charge your phone before you arrive, since the guide runs in your browser. If you don't have a smartphone, speak to a member of the team before the tour begins.

Food and drink aren't allowed on the close during the tour, so finish snacks and coffee beforehand. There's a coffee cart on site, named after Mary Ogle, who ran the Royal Exchange Coffee House above the close in 1740. Large bags and luggage can go in one of more than 20 courtyard lockers, which come in different sizes and open with a QR code. Arrive a little early if you plan to use one.

Photography and filming aren't permitted on the tour, and that includes phones, cameras, GoPros and smart glasses. Phones stay in pockets. Towards the end, staff take a souvenir photo at the close with a bright flash, which you can buy afterwards if you like it. If anyone is photosensitive, tell a member of staff before you go down. Wear shoes with good grip for the stairs and uneven floors.

What happens on the day

Your e-ticket comes by email once your booking is confirmed. Keep it on your phone or print it out. On the day, head to the Admissions Office on the Royal Mile, opposite St Giles' Cathedral, and check in at least 10 minutes before your time. If you need a locker, do that first. If you're using an audio guide, open it and choose your language while you wait.

Your costumed guide then gathers the group and leads you down. Expect dim light, stairs, enclosed spaces and a fair amount of walking and standing for about an hour. You move through former homes and shops while your guide tells the stories of the people who lived there, from Mary King herself to the plague of 1645. If you feel claustrophobic or unwell, tell your guide, who can radio for someone to take you back upstairs.

Towards the end comes the souvenir photo, and then you're back at street level. The gift shop stays open for 90 minutes after the last tour begins, so there's time to browse if you'd like a guidebook or a gift. From there, the rest of the Royal Mile is on your doorstep, with St Giles' Cathedral directly across the street.