People's Story
People's Story
4.5
Speciality MuseumsHistory Museums
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The People's Story gives an unique insight in to Edinburgh's working class people from the 18th century to the late 20th century. The displays include tableaux, original objects, images and personal stories to reveal their fascinating history of the city. The collection focuses on the history, culture, crafts and trades, and the people of Edinburgh but also as a place to explore more contemporary issues, events and opinions.
Duration: < 1 hour
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The area
Address
Neighborhood: Old Town
Few Edinburghers live in the Old Town, but its labyrinth of dank alleys and steep streets suggests this was not always the case. Today, it’s mostly visitors, tartan-flavored souvenir shops, and pipers that you’ll find on its cobbled streets. This is the place to get a feel for Auld Reekie (Old Smelly), as the town was once nicknamed, and stroll the Royal Mile, the thoroughfare that links the castle with the royal palace – two of Edinburgh’s great set-piece attractions. But there’s lots more exploring to do here down dozens of little alleys, or wynds, while at night the city’s busiest clubs erupt along the Cowgate which is closed to traffic for this purpose.
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See what travelers are saying
  • KC_Adventuring
    Atlanta, Georgia62 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Edinburgh museum with a good overview of the ordinary citizens
    Excellent overview of the way ordinary people lived in Edinburgh over the centuries. Museum displays are interesting and the stories are well told. It's an easy museum to walk through and you learn a lot about the lives of regular people in the city. Admission is free, but I was disappointed to not see an obvious place for donations anywhere in the museum.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 28, 2023
  • matthew p
    Edinburgh, United Kingdom102 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    just a look about.
    its okay place when you walk inside here you get to see a mannequin of a town guard and a cell which was probably a vagrant cell in the past. there are different things to see on each floor you go too. one rooms shows how people would lived in the past then the next floor you go up to has a exhibition about the Newhaven fisher wives and other such trades. and you also get to see banners from the past then there is another room which you can watch a video about Edinburgh and its past there are toilets on the ground floor and also there is a ramp at front door so that people with buggies or wheel chair users can access the building. p.s - be careful when going to the video room as the spiral stair case is dimly lit.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written March 2, 2024
  • AADDH
    Grantham, United Kingdom60 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    One of the more interesting museums
    Really interesting collection of artifacts, with a focus on the lives of ordinary citizens of Edinburgh. Lots of direct quotes which allowed people to tell their stories in their own words. Great history of the Labour movement in Edinburgh and the fight for better pay and living conditions. Just a pity that the video wasn’t working on the day we visited
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written March 3, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles403 reviews
Excellent
182
Very good
176
Average
37
Poor
5
Terrible
3

Melanie A
18 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
I visited the People's Story at the end of a long day of touring. As I walked through I quickly began skimming the paragraphs and paragraphs of writing on the walls. On the top story of the museum the display explained that this museum was created to tell the story of the normal people in Edinburgh. A great idea, but in an outdated format. It is always interesting to learn about what life was like for people in the past, but I am not willing to stand there and read essays about it. They interviewed hundreds of people to collect these stories, but I think they would benefit from changing how they present them. This is a great place to visit if you are interested in learning about how Edinburgh has been shaped by the working class.
Written January 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KC_Adventuring
Atlanta, GA62 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
Excellent overview of the way ordinary people lived in Edinburgh over the centuries. Museum displays are interesting and the stories are well told. It's an easy museum to walk through and you learn a lot about the lives of regular people in the city. Admission is free, but I was disappointed to not see an obvious place for donations anywhere in the museum.
Written October 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chrissie G
Alnwick, UK224 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
What an interesting museum. We loved the fact that they had used real stories in the exhibits which gave you slices of history. Very bubbly receptionist but the gentleman on the 2nd floor was plying on his phone the whole time we were there
Written January 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

AADDH
Grantham, UK60 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
Really interesting collection of artifacts, with a focus on the lives of ordinary citizens of Edinburgh. Lots of direct quotes which allowed people to tell their stories in their own words. Great history of the Labour movement in Edinburgh and the fight for better pay and living conditions.
Just a pity that the video wasn’t working on the day we visited
Written March 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter D
Glenfarg, UK139 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Solo
I was born in Edinburgh....a long time ago...and have to say was unaware of the People’s Story. I was over in Edinburgh and saw the sign, free entry and was intrigued by the place. It is a lot bigger than I had anticipated.....and have to say really enjoyed my time there.
Written March 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

A.C
Carnoustie, UK7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Couples
Nice little historic place to visit! Definitely recommend. Maybe takes 30-45mins to get around. It’s free too but they take donations. Lots of history on laws, jail, eras, jobs and how people lived! Really well laid out.
Written August 23, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

macedonboy
Glasgow, UK179,691 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019 • Solo
What an interesting museum that covers the life and work of ordinary people. It's a medium sized museum over three floors with a mixture of mock-ups, exhibits and history lessons. Essentially the museum is all about the the working classes of Edinburgh over the last 200/300 years.

The first floor gives a glimpse of how hard life would've been for the poorest working in the lowest status jobs 300 years ago. Then as you move up the floors, the exhibits turns towards pre-modern times and the typical jobs of the working classes, with lots of exhibits and information about jobs such as dockers, malters, fish-wifes etc and the rise of unionism that lead to better working conditions. Finally on the third floor covers the modern period with lots of mock-up such as typical working class house, wash-houses (laundrettes washing by hand I think).

A fantastic visit.
Written June 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Suzanne P
New York City301 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2012 • Friends
The People's Story is housed in the old Canongate Tolbooth, located on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. Built in 1591, The Tolbooth was once used as a prison, among other things, and you can still see one of the original jail cells.

This small but fascinating museum shows how Edinburgh's working class lived and worked from the late 1800s until recent times. It accomplishes this by the presentation of life sized displays, populated with wax figures. One can see people working at their occupations, coping with tenement life, relaxing at the pub, and dealing with living through wartimes.

The displays all feature genuine artifacts including trade tools, household objects, union banners, political broadsheets, pub signs and period furniture. The stories, all real, come from public records and oral histories.

There is even a video room where you can watch people who grew up in Edinburgh, share their life stories. This brings a personal connection to your museum experience.

Since this is a very old building, the top floors are only accessible by stairs. You should keep this in mind if you have mobility issues.

The staff was very friendly as well as knowledgeable about their collections. They made an effort to welcome and talk to all visitors who walked through the door. When I mentioned that I am a member of a Scottish cultural organization back home, they insisted that I take a generous amount of their complimentary postcards to bring back to the members.

Besides having an interest in social history, a more personal factor drew me to The People's Story. My own Scottish ancestors were working class tailors and I came to the museum hoping to learn a little more about what their day to day lives were like. I feel that my goal was accomplished and that after my visit I do indeed have a better understanding of my own people's story.
Written June 1, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ruandrettert
Bad Windsheim, Germany359 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
At the lower end of the royal mile (going down from the Edinburgh Castle to Holyroodhouse Palace) you will find this museum which is admission free.

In this place you can see the life of Edinburgh people from the old times over the 50s until today.

I expected much about the (sometimes dark) history of Edinburgh during the old times. There is a section where old professions are described and what a family did for living if they had some job. There are also many puppets and pictures viewing the life in those days.

But for me focus is laid too much on the times which do not date so far back. For example the beginning of the 20th century and the 50s. As stated above, I would have expetced more "older" things.

Nonetheless the museum is worth walking through.
Written September 11, 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

triptik123
United States2,048 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2014 • Couples
And it's free! When you leave, you can deposit a donation.

This museum is quite large - 3 levels of displays about the working class. I loved this place. There was so much information in each area...lots to see and read, even a short video at the very top level. Gave you a true feel about the people of those times.

This is right on the royal mile -- more toward the Holyrood side than the castle side and this building has free and CLEAN bathrooms.

Once again, we encountered very friendly staff here!
Written July 17, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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