St Giles' Cathedral

Overall rating

4.08

About

St Giles’ Cathedral is the historic City Church of Edinburgh. With its famed crown spire it stands on the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, it is the Mother Church of Presbyterianism and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle (Scotland’s chivalric company of knights headed by the Queen). Admission to the Cathedral is currently free. Visitors are invited to make a donation of £10.00 per person. Volunteer guides are on duty each day to welcome visitors, answer questions and conduct guided tours on request. There ia an information desk situated at the main West entrance.

Visitor charging is going to be introduced in October 2026

Reviews

Overall rating

4.08

(6 reviews)

Overall rating breakdown

5 0
4 5
3 1
2 0
1 0

Access (avg.)

4.16

Parking (avg.)

2.08

Toilets (avg.)

0.5

Staff (avg.)

4.75

mrsmollyc

Jun 2026

Stunning cathedral with beautiful features

St Giles Cathedral is a popular place to visit and it’s clear why. It’s absolutely beautiful inside and I really enjoyed exploring it. The stained glass windows and the organ were my favourite parts. It’s free to enter and I was able to see the main parts of the cathedral thanks to some ramps. There were a couple of places that had a step or two that I wasn’t able to reach.

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djarmbe

May 2022

4.5

Continues to be the Jewel in the High Street Crown.

Having reviewed St. Giles as one of the Volunteer Guides there, this is a continuation of my role and also a post covid review. There is a peace and serenity and a real busyness that has returned to St.Giles, since fully reopening. As a Guide, the footfall is up, donations to maintain the wonderful legacy of 900 years of history has risen and events and concerts are reestablished. .

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djarmbe

Jun 2017

3.5

Don’t judge a book by its cover

The Cathedral which is not Roman Catholic, Anglican, or Episcopalian but a Church of Scotland Presbyterian fully functioning place of worship. It’s imposing outside walls and spectacular crown spire is Grey limestone, looks very dull and underwhelming for many, as the name is Cathedral, many visitors expect splendour, opulence and an ambundance of religious reliquary. This of course is not the Presbyterian way, once you enter via the ramps on either side of the main entrance, there is a quiet, welcoming serenity, what strikes people is the outside light that streams in through the stained glass, in any season, the interior stone highlights the colourful windows. The majority of the Church is on one level with wide access, it’s a fully working congregational Church, it has 3 services on a Sunday and everyday there is a lunchtime service of 15 minutes for prayer, reflection and to hear scripture. There are regular choir, musical and choral performances after this service which are free, further info is on a very detail website. The Church has a shop, a welcome desk with free written guides in 47 languages, volunteer guides are on hand to offer free tours of the whole church with a comprehensive history thoroughly explained. There is no entrance charge though a photo permit of £2.00 is requested to assist in the maintenance, the heating, lighting and preservation of the Church. Donations are also welcome.

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Disabled Access Information Provided by St Giles' Cathedral

Disabled Access at St Giles' Cathedral

At the main West entrance there are steps, flanked by two ramps leading into the building. The buildings operates a one-way visitor flow with entrance from the south ramp and exit via the north ramp. Once inside, the main route is past the welcome desk and up a ramp onto the floorof the building. Within the cathedral, the Thistle Chapel is the main area which can only be reached via steps. Several small aisles or chaples on the north side of the building also have steps into them. Currently, the main toilets are on the lower ground level and only accessed via two flights of stairs. A small toilet with step free access is available from the main floor of the church (please ask!), however, this is not wheelchair accessible. The nearest accessible public toilets are in the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge.

Disabled access

Seating at regular intervals

Seating is available at regular intervals.

Step-free entrance

There is step-free access at the main entrance or an alternative entrance.

Accessible parking at St Giles' Cathedral

There are places to park around the cathedral, parking consists of street parking providing a disabled parking badge is displayed, and some disabled parking operated by the council to the East of the cathedral.

Dedicated on site parking

Transport nearby St Giles' Cathedral

We are a short walk from North, South and George IV Bridge bus stops and Waverley train station. Please take note that from North and South Bridge and Waverley Station, the walk is up hill and the paving is uneven (stone setts).

Bus station or stop

There is an accessible bus station or stop nearby with suitable boarding areas and facilities for disabled passengers.

Train station

There is an accessible train station nearby with suitable facilities and assistance available for disabled passengers.