Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
4.5
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Dominating the skyline for miles around, Stirling Castle is a shining example of Renaissance architecture. Visitors can look out from its high stone walls to the battlefields of Stirling Bridge where great medieval armies clashed to decide the fate of nations. Home to generations of Scottish monarchs including, Mary Queen of Scots, the Castle is an enduring and powerful reminder of our fascinating history.
Duration: < 1 hour
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See what travelers are saying

  • helzie8
    United Kingdom295 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Plenty to see
    A must do if you are visiting Stirling. Lots of rooms and things to see, from the great hall to tapestries and kitchens. The wooden carved Stirling heads are beautiful. Great views from the top across the city too. There is a car park at the top but we found it easier to use the park and ride. It’s free, the buses are frequent and there are lots stops so you can get off near the castle then walk into the centre for lunch.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 5, 2023
  • KarenM1_10
    1,043 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very nice
    We came here with our tour group. However, you can also get here by train from Edinburgh, and it takes about 1 hour one-way. We enjoyed our visit and thought it was much nicer than the Edinburgh Castle. There is a lot to see so either take a guided tour or purchase the audio guide. We wandered around on our own since nothing was provided by our tour group and in talking with other passengers on our tour, we realized that we missed some of the highlights. The Palace Apartments have beautiful furnishings and woodworking. Picture taking is allowed there. You can also walk along the walls for stunning views of the area. We were short on time, so we did a quick walk in the town and the adjoining cemetery. If you come, allow yourself at least 4 hours to see everything including the town, which was very quaint.
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 5, 2023
  • cloggygirl
    Aberdeen, United Kingdom47 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fab castle, research parking
    We visited when there were renaissance actors, lots of activities for the kids, it was really good! Our children really enjoyed it and it definitely brought history alive for them. The only downside was car parking, we were waved away from the car park entrance, eventually found on street parking (there isn't much), walked up to the castle to find cars driving into the car park... anyway we made our booked time slot to enter and enjoyed it but alternative parking is something to plan for if you have pre-purchased tickets and need to drive as it really is limited.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 15, 2023
  • maggiecz2012
    Sydney, Australia13 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A Must See
    Loved my visit to Stirling castle. On arrival staff were wonderful, so helpful and friendly. All staff were wonderful and made it such an enjoyable visit. Loved the Great Hall and Queens rooms. Keeping History alive in the most informative and enjoyable way. Thank you all. Margaret from Sydney
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 21, 2023
  • Debra S
    44 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Favorite Scottish castle
    This castle visit was one of the highlights of our trip. The tours and fantastic, and the castle is large but still accessible. We stayed about 4 hours and still felt like we missed some sights. When the bad weather on the west coast caused us to cancel visiting Harris Island, we changed our plans and went back to Stirling. We visited the castle again for another 4 hours! Also, the cafe food is delicious! We ate lunch there at both visits.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 23, 2023
  • Stacey_Plymouth
    Saltash, United Kingdom59 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great for everyone.
    At just over £50 for a family of four (including one free child), this wasn’t a cheap afternoon out. Having said that, we feel we made the most of it. The vaults were fab for kids, very interactive. The king and queen’s chambers were so grand and were beautiful spaces and the kitchen was great for little imaginations. We spent approximately 4 hours there and didn’t see everything (our history loving son, likes to read everything!). The kids particularly liked the augmented reality experience showing Mary Queen of Scots leaving the castle and the actors and musicians in the royal chambers.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written October 26, 2023
  • shaggy77uk
    Prenton, United Kingdom134 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful castle, well worth a visit
    We took a guided tour ( free) and so glad we did.. The guide was amazing and the castle beautiful. To see the whole castle and the guided tour I'd recommend a half day (3-4hrs). If you're traveling from England and / or you have a 1st your English heritage membership you get half price into any historic Scotland locations / sites.. And if you've had your English heritage membership for 2 years or more then entry into any historic Scotland sites are free.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 27, 2023
  • ndw78
    Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom2,928 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Loads to see, well worth a visit
    Free if an English heritage member. Just show your card at the ticket office. Car park is £4 and right outside. Free if you park further down the hill. Definitely get a map as there’s so many different buildings and areas to see. Fantastic condition and so much to see. We were the 2.5 hours and could have stayed longer but had a long journey ahead. Loved the place rooms. The cafe food was lovely and reasonably priced too
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 28, 2023
  • Buddapies
    Bedfordshire, United Kingdom173 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fantastic day out
    What a fantastic day out. We spent pretty much the whole day there, there is so much to see, explore, listen to the tour guides, find out loads of history about the place. We had lunch there as well, we had the soup it was so warming and lovely, the hunk of bread could do with being kept somewhere it will not get dry.
    Visited October 2023
    Written October 30, 2023
  • AB
    59 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good
    A beautiful place and a free guided tour. They charge for parking which is ok I guess but I wasn't warned. People don't like suprise charges. Sophia was a great tour guide and wasn't scared to tell a group of loud visitors to be quiet as they were disturbing our tour. I like this.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written November 1, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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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 bubbles10,089 reviews
Excellent
6,529
Very good
2,530
Average
677
Poor
224
Terrible
130

Jo b
14 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Couples
We went to the castle today and paid £26 with parking plus £5 for a guide book. The book was a complete waste of time. It tells you in great detail about all the parts of the building that you can't visit at the moment! I approached the entrance to the Queens rooms to be met by a very pleasant lady who told me it was closed but asked me if I had a QR reader on my phone. I was puzzled by this but said yes. She then invited me to hold my phone over a QR icon and said I would be directed to a you tube video of the interior of the building!
I honestly thought this was a windup but she was serious.
I did not pay £26 to watch a video, i may as well have stayed at home. There is nothing of any real note worth seeing, just two large rooms that are empty and by all accounts are reproductions of the originals. I am aware that the castle must provide a lot of local employment but really, at the moment it is a rip off and if the management had any shame it should either reduce the price to reflect how little there is to see or just close until further notice.
Written September 16, 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.
Hi Jo, Thank you for writing a review and your nice comments about our member of staff. We are disappointed to hear that your visit did not live up to your expectations. We have been working incredibly hard to ensure that we can re-open safely, but as a result of Scottish Government guidelines we are unable to reopen all areas of the castle just yet. We have reduced the admission price accordingly. We appreciate that not all parts mentioned in the guide books are open at present, but believe that visitors to the castle are interested in the more than 900 year of castle history as well as the function and history of the different buildings at the castle, all of which are covered in our guide book. The scannable interpretation was introduced temporarily as an add on digital experience to enhance your visit until we can safely reopen all parts of the castle again. As a part of Historic Environment Scotland, our job is to protect, present and promote Scotland's built heritage and we feel the reduced admission reflects the offer and helps us to continue our important work and look after the conservation and preservation of over 300 sites across Scotland. Thank you again for your feedback.
Written September 17, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Albia-Newton
Evanton, UK4,734 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Couples
A bit disappointed as I had been here before a long time ago. Talked the place up to my wife so imagine my disappointment to discover that despite full entry price being charged most areas of the castle were closed off

The only bits currently open are the great hall and the chapel. Everything else is shut

Access was also very difficult as roads from the city were shut off and apparently had been so for a week. Despite this no useful information had been posted on the website which of course one had to visit to prebook tickets

Tried to raise an issue with duty manager who completely refused to see that there was any viewpoint other than his own and was totally unhelpful and unwelcoming. Which is a shame as all other staff we met were charming and helpful so not quite sure why the manager was so unhelpful

We managed to catch one of the information talks in the great hall. Very interesting and well delivered by a lovely and clearly enthusiastic staff member
Written September 8, 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.
Thank you very much for taking the time to write a review. We have forwarded your comments about staff and your experience to the castle team and are sorry to hear that your visit did not live up to your expectations. We have listed what is open and what remains closed on our all websites and have done our utmost to make this as clear as possible through various media outlets, but will continue to review how we communicate this information. As a part of Historic Environment Scotland, our job is to protect, present and promote Scotland's built heritage and we feel the reduced admission reflects the offer and helps us to continue our important work and look after the conservation and preservation of over 300 sites across Scotland. Thank you again for your feedback.
Written September 16, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Ang G
Scottish Highlands, UK647 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022
Came a couple of days ago, saw that you can book online but as we weren’t sure what time we’d arrive we decided to just chance it. We arrived at about 10.30am and were told we could visit but were asked to go onto the website to book the tickets rather than being able to buy at the kiosk. Was a bit of a faff standing outside doing this on our phones but got there eventually! We weren’t give a choice to buy the tickets actually at the castle so I just hope that if someone turned up and didn’t have access to the website they would be more accommodating.

Once inside there are toilets and a gift shop before you enter the main part. A couple of areas are currently closed (the vaults was one of them and a lot of the interactive stuff was shut off) but there’s still lots to see. We were there around 2 hours. There is a cafe (we didn’t use it) and picnic benches dotted around outside so it would be nice in warmer weather to stop and take a wee break whilst walking around the site.
Written January 24, 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.

kindredpup
Pennsylvania262 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019
I've wanted to visit this castle since I was a child. Last year my dream came true. I understood from reviews in advance that this castle is better (and less crowded) than Edinburgh so skipped Edinburgh. We were not disappointed.

We purchased tix on line in advance, and spent the entire afternoon touring the castle and grounds. While there were a lot of people here, and it was a nice day, we didn't feel it was overly crowded or so much that it would not be enjoyable.

The guide was most informative and helpful. Of course we stopped for some refreshments ($6 for 2 drinks and 1 pack of wafers) and visits to each gift shop which vary in quality from expensive finely made goods to cheap trinkets.

Save some walking time to view the Star Pyramid & Martyrs Monument at the base of castle, and cemetery across the street. All in all, this was definitely worth the visit. We could have easily spent an entire day there.
Written April 26, 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.

colleenlumsden
Brechin, UK4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022
The rooms where there were actors , they brought the castle to life … well done to these lovely people … who made a special day for our visually impaired granddaughter …
The ladies who helped up set us the audio at reception.Lots to see and lots of information to take in ( audio was very well presented)
A real step back in time and learned a lot too.
Well done to all the staff at Stirling Castle
Only down side the cafe was a little bit over priced but otherwise would highly recommend a visit here
Written April 10, 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.

Andrea
Lancashire701 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021 • Couples
Magnificent castle with 360 views over the lovely Stirlingshire countryside.

Booked online for the car park and castle and opted to print our tickets which proved a good option as we went straight to the entrance, other visitors were being held in an area and being called up in couples/small groups to access their tickets, I think they were having some issues with IT.

The number of visitors were small at 10am and we spent a leisurely 3 hours looking around and having a cup of tea from the on-site cafe without throngs of people.

Toilet facilities were clean and easily accessible at the main entrance.

Many sanitising stations around the place with face masks mandatory for inside areas.

The staff were some of the friendliest I’ve come across.
Written June 21, 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.

WeezyA
Aberdeen, UK22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020 • Family
I just wanted to take the time to say how much we enjoyed our visit yesterday, despite the restrictions. If truth be told, having a bit more space to explore was actually quite pleasant, even if it meant waiting outside areas for them to clear inside. They’ve got a very efficient and well staffed system ensuring everyone’s safety. The staff were politely assertive with people who possibly failed to recognise there was a queue (not often though) yet appeared relaxed and appropriately chatty with child appropriate stories about the castle to keep us going. Very impressive. I was also very relieved the cafe was open! Thank you everyone.
Written October 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.

BillNorthumberland
Choppington, UK625 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2021
We visited with a disabled friend so we pre-booked tickets and parking. The parking cost £4 but on arrival we were told that Blue Badge parking was free and that we should apply for a refund. Why isn't this make clear on the booking site?

We all enjoyed our visit but the only negative was the wheel chair/ disabled person lift in the museum was not in use due to Covid restrictions, this needs reviewing.
Written October 7, 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.

Aspen M
Glasgow, UK36 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Solo
Beautiful, well kept place with lots to see. I did not have a tour guide so cannot give opinions on that, but it's very easy to follow with the resources they give in the booking email. I would recommend pre-booking to save a little bit of money and be guaranteed entry. The views from the castle walls are stunning. A distant view of the Wallace Monument can be seen from out front.

Exhibits catered to many interests and ages.

I visited on a Sunday and it was relatively busy.

I'd recommend giving yourself 2-3 hours here, especially if you're like me and love to read all of the signs in the exhibits. I was there about 2 1/2 hours, but I skimmed some areas due to not wanting to be in people's way.
Written May 31, 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.

L18SUM
Stirling, UK2,067 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022 • Family
First visit to our local castle using our Historic Scotland membership. It'll be one of many visits I'm sure!

Our 7 and 4 year old enjoyed walking around the castle at their own pace, looking at exhibits and listening to the staff, particularly the ones in period costume. They're all so knowledgeable, friendly and I think they make the castle a class apart.

Unfortunately where it's let down is the Unicorn Cafe where the staff were visibly quite harassed when we visited - you'd think at peak lunchtime hours they'd have all their food out by unfortunately the sandwiches were slow and I heard the next batch of macaroni cheese would be 20 minutes. I felt sorry for the foreign visitors - not a good service nor the quality expected for the price. Be prepared for sky high prices and my tomato and basil soup was salty, tasted like it was out of a packet (not even a tin!) and the portion of bread on the side was laughable (they gave me a broken bit, not even a full slice!).

The grounds are immaculate and great for sitting out on a dry and sunny day or for the kids to have a run around. We didn't see any displays on this occasion and there were still a few exhibits that were not open.

Adults really enjoyed the history and education from the displays so it's a great visit all around.

Other than the cafe, a really great experience. Hopefully on our future visits we can get this review up to a full score. Enjoy!
Written April 9, 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.

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