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The Edinburgh Dungeon
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The Edinburgh Dungeon

See all things to do
See all things to do
The Edinburgh Dungeon
4.5
#36 of 538 things to do in Edinburgh
Speciality Museums
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
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About
The Edinburgh Dungeon is the ultimate underground journey through Edinburgh's darkest history; a unique, award-winning visitor attraction that brings together an professional cast of theatrical actors, special effects, 360 degree sets and thrilling rides in a truly unique and immersive walk-through experience. Shows are based on real Scottish history, minus the boring bits!
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
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Admission tickets
from $26.61
All you need to step foot in the door.
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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
  • Trip17408740729
    3 contributions
    Theatrical experience, not actual underground dungeons
    We thought 23 British pounds ( approx $45 CAN) was overpriced for the experience. It was about a 1 hour show in which a group of about 22 people were walked from room to room and actors portrayed life, legalities, crimes/penalties etc from late 1700's - late 1800's Scotland. It was well-done, and interesting, and the staff were fun and committed to their roles. We thought 10-15 British pounds would be more in line for the experience.
    William Hare
    Hello Trip17408740729, Thank you very much for your 3 star review. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed the show provided by our actors portraying the different characters from Edinburgh's past. Apologies that you thought we were an actual Dungeon. We are part of the Merlin branded "Dungeons" across the UK such as London and York which tell the scary and historical stories of the area they are in.
    Written September 11, 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written September 10, 2023
  • O F
    89 contributions
    Fun but not exceptional
    This is an above average, guided tour with a semblance of a story line. There's some fun and slightly jumpy moments and the actors do a reasonable performance. There's no unsupervised moments where you can explore. Its just a series of small rooms with an actor trying to spook tourists with their bit of the story line. There's some fun effects which add to the atmosphere. The humour at times went a bit 1990s when a male tourist was put on the stage and jokes were made about small genitalia. A bit old fashioned and I doubt they'd make derogatory speculations about a female. There's plenty of grim jokes that can be made without time warp humour.
    William Hare
    Hello O F, Thank you for your 3 star review of us. I am glad to hear you had at least a fun time at the Edinburgh Dungeon. Our jokes are intended to be a bit of light humour as a bit of relief from all the scares, with that in mind if you feel like popping us up a star it's just a step to the right....
    Written October 26, 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 25, 2023
  • Bernadette A
    Cape Town, South Africa585 contributions
    Our mistake for not checking reviews beforehand-
    This experience was not for us-over the top theatrics and sadly not much history here. Like I mentioned, it’s our mistake for not checking before we booked. We left after the torture scene, which followed the witch hunting/devil worshiping act, which followed a judge sentencing people to death 🤷🏻‍♀️
    William Hare
    Hello 283bernadettea, I am sorry to hear that we weren't what you expected. The tour is very theatrical based and the stories we tell are based on Edinburgh's dark history. Thank you for your feedback.
    Written November 21, 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written November 20, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
6,299 reviews
Excellent
3,846
Very good
1,555
Average
533
Poor
174
Terrible
191
Lucy W
Ramsgate, UK16 contributions
Worth a visit
Jan 2020 • Couples
Tip- you can get money off entry cost and avoid the queue if you use your Hop on Hop off bus ticket
Very entertaining, good value for money as you're in there for about 90mins.
Live actors add to the 'fear factor' but they don't touch you! Funny, light-hearted but enough to make you jump. Even when you know how they do the'tricks' it's still tense.
Impressive final ride... didn't expect that to be so good.
Written January 2, 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.
Edinburgh Dungeon
Cheers for the great review Lucy! We hope you had a terrifyingly good new year!
Written January 3, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MrsMamfa91
Northern Ireland, UK52 contributions
Spooky, Interactive and Good Value for money
Feb 2020 • Couples
This place is fantastic!! A fun and entertaining way to learn about Edinburgh. We were not expecting the tour to be as interactive as it was with actors, audience participation and rides throughout! The guides were unbelievable, hilarious and tailored to the crowd. Great value for money and it has definitely encouraged us to check out the other attractions on offer by this company.
Written February 9, 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.
Kristian
Ljubljana, Slovenia31 contributions
Amazing performances even with masks on!
Sep 2020 • Couples
This is a masterpiece from start to finish. The bloke at the begining who is taking photos has enough energy to wake you up from the dead. All the performing actors (👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻, couldn't clap there, since it's a mad house) are really good and super attentive at the same time for social distancing. Hands down the best thing in this city siteseeing wise. I was scared and I was laughing at the same time, it's creepy and educational too. They got CoVid under control and in my honest opinion the shows are even better during this pandemic because it adds the tragi-comic taste to the whole thing. It cost 15€ per a human body and it was the best 15 spent since february. All in all, in there, you get the picture of life back in the day in Edinburgh while being batshit scared. 20/20 would recommend.
Written September 24, 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.
Kathryn A
Thanks for your fantastic review - its amazing to hear that you think we are the best in the city site seeing wise! We hope that you can visit us again in the future
Written October 19, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ben V
Caldicot, UK30 contributions
Visit another attraction instead.
Aug 2021 • Couples
Feel a bit ripped off to be honest. I don't understand how £20 per person is justified for an attraction which didnt even last an hour especially considering its a merlin owned attraction. Many times I've been to thorpe park and paid £25 for the whole day which is far better value.

We paid extra to go to the hard rock cafe for a meal after however when you book the deal you don't get to book the meal at the same time meaning that the only time we could eat was 4 hours after the experience at 9pm which wasn't ideal. The restricted menu we were offered on arrival was really poor with only one choice of dessert. I think a bigger menu needs to be offered and 1 alcoholic drink per person would make the cost seem more reasonable.

If you don't want to take part in the experience then I would recommend not going at all. Luckily the people that were picked on embraced it but I imagine there are a lot of people who get picked on to do stuff and refuse which must look so awkward.

I am in no way a snowflake however I would like to say thank you to the cannibal who brought up the size of my head many times. I'm sure this is part of his act and he's said the same thing to people many times. I was savagely bullied growing up about my large head so it was lovely to experience my school days again.

To top it off at the end of the experience you get lined up to take a look at your photos and you're asked if you want to buy them. For the cost I feel that you should be offered one photo for free. When it was clear that I didn't want to buy anything the guy behind the till decided to say " you've been a complete waste of time run to the lift" I almost saw red at this point however I'm a disciplined bloke and just walked away.

Written August 24, 2021
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.
William Hare
Hello vaughan1995 , I’m sorry that you felt the experience wasn’t worth the price as we feel for the quality of all the shows and drop ride it is competitive for Edinburgh but understand that not everyone will feel this way. The package you purchased included the voucher for a set meal at the Hard Rock Café which also gives you the menu available at the time, we find most guests enjoy this as it gives them the freedom of choice and does not tie them down as well as allowing them to reserve a table for up to 6 months from the Dungeon Experience. I’m very sorry if you felt you were being personally picked on in the Sawney Bean cave as this is part of the script and due to the darkness guests are only picked at random an no other reason but I fully understand that if your bullied at school due to this that it would be painful. Thank you for your feedback regarding you experience and we do appreciate it.
Written August 25, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mitchellnufc91
4 contributions
Booking experience for accessibility customers
Jan 2020 • Couples
Tired to phone several times to book tickets for this, each time received an automated voice saying no one was available to take calls. I understand that most tickets are booked online however from an accessibility aspect a phone line should be available for those who cannot book online. We decided to go and just pay on the door to be told that the last tickets had been sold! Would not have happened if we could phone up. Have been before and a great attraction although totally let down by the ticket office.
Written January 2, 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.
Edinburgh Dungeon
Hi Mitchell, firstly apologies for the delay in responding to this. None of the Dungeons take bookings over the phone as a service, the only exception being school bookings organised by our dedicated schools booking line which is managed centrally so had you got through we would have directed you to the website or recommended walking up and advised to come early. We can be contacted via email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google my business, etc as well as by phone - we are a very small on site team and our duty managers are often on the floor helping guests or running the day to day of the business so not always able to be by the phone so we have tried to make other means of contact available to potential guests. Tickets do sell out especially during holidays, but usually if you walk-up early in the day and ask there are always tickets available for that day and our admissions team can advise which slots might be busier. Appreciate on this occasion we were not able to accommodate your request and we hope this won't happen again.
Written January 15, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jack
5 contributions
Must do when in Edinburgh!
Jan 2020
It was educational in the setting of a fun, immersive and interactive experience. The very good actors did their best to make you feel like you are in the time period. The time that was spent in the Dungeons flew by. The only negative is that the photos were more on the pricey side for what they were. Would definitely visit again!
Written February 1, 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.
Edinburgh Dungeon
Hi Jack, thanks for the great review!
Written February 6, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Matt S
Katy, TX7 contributions
Surprisingly Great Attraction
Feb 2020
I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a time this attraction was. It caught my eye as I was walking to my hotel from the bus stop, and peaked my interest enough I had to come back and give it a try. The performers really get into their characters, which makes for a fun experience, and there's are amazing rides that I was not expecting. I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to see Edinburgh's seedier history come to life in a fun way.
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.
Edinburgh Dungeon
Woop! Cheers for the great review, peasant! We just LOVE seedy history!
Written March 9, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ca12039
6 contributions
Best Dungeon
Jan 2020 • Couples
I have visited all of the dungeon attractions in the UK and this is by far the best. This is the only one where you dont feel rushed and you truly get value for money. The humour and acting is spot on alongside a good combination of technology and old fashioned jump scares. This is definitely a must in Edinburgh.
Written January 11, 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.
Edinburgh Dungeon
THanks so much peasant, for your kind words! We're glad you had a "horrible" time!
Written January 15, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Le_la
Ljubljana, Slovenia10 contributions
THE BEST OF EDINBURGH
Sep 2020 • Couples
By far the most entertaining and enjoyable attraction in Edinburgh. You have to book in advance and be sure to have your tickets printed. It is a live museum/game (cca 1h) in which you are to become part of the dark history of Scotland in a underground city with actors, jump scares, laughter, hand sanitiser (went there during Covid-19) and much more. The special effects in the rooms are just on point but the real applause goes to the actors who are not just funny, but also entertaining, scary, full of energy and they involve you in every part of the path thru the dungeons. I loved it and would surely recommend it to all of you who want to make their trip to Edinburgh not just culturally rich but also enjoy one hour in what feels like a movie.
Written September 24, 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.
Kathryn A
Thanks for your amazing review, it is lovely to hear that you feel we are the best in Edinburgh! Its great that you think the actors are not just funny, but also entertaining, scary, full of energy, this is just what we aim to be - we will certainly be passing on your feedback to the team
Written October 19, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Abi Phillips
Middlesbrough, UK13 contributions
Wow
Feb 2020 • Family
This is very extra !! The dungeons is not what you expect it’s very scary and is very interactive, when I went the same women got picked on 3 times. This is perfect for adrenaline junkies as there is 3 experiences 1 being a rotating room with a moving floor 2 being a boat ride where water and air was blown into your face 3 being a drop where you had to get strapped in and got dropped to simulate hanging. This is not good for younger children as some of the actors scream in your faces. Even though I found it scary I am so happy that I went and experienced it as it’s a good thing to do, would recommend to some extent
Written February 17, 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.
Edinburgh Dungeon
BOOM!!!!! *spoiler alert* glad you had a horrible time!
Written March 10, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
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The Edinburgh Dungeon - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about The Edinburgh Dungeon
The Edinburgh Dungeon admission prices can vary. Entrance tickets currently cost $27.07, while a popular guided tour starts around $19.32 per person.
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