Your Guide to Accessible Edinburgh
Accessible Public Transport
Getting around Edinburgh in your wheelchair using accessible bus or taxi
Accessible Attractions
The accessible facilities available at the most popular attractions in Edinburgh
DIY Walking Tours For All
Accessible DIY Walking Tours in central Edinburgh
The Most-Popular Accessible Attractions in Edinburgh
#1. Accessible Edinburgh Castle
- Accessible Building (Mostly)
- Accessible Toilet
- Parking Available near Entrance
The majority of Edinburgh Castle is wheelchair accessible.
Access to Edinburgh Castle includes rolling across a slatted wooden bridge from Castle Esplanade. The gradient here is no more than 5 degrees.
Once inside Edinburgh Castle you arrive at the lowest point. There is a wheelchair accessible vehicle here (which can also carry motorised wheelchairs depending on dimensions). This vehicle will take you up to Crown Square (which is almost the highest point of Edinburgh Castle). And you simply roll back down from there.
#2. Accessible Royal Yacht Britannia Edinburgh
- Accessible (via an external lift)
- Accessible Toilet
- Accessible “Royal Deck Tea Room” (max wheelchair width 670mm)
Thanks to a dockside lift tower, all deck levels of the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh are wheelchair accessible (it’s very unusual that even more than just one deck of a ship is accessible to wheelchair users, so the operators of the Royal Yacht Britannia deserve some serious praise for enabling wheelchair access to all decks).
The only place that has a width restriction is the Royal Deck Tea Room. Simply because it is accessed by the Royal Yacht Britannia’s original onboard lift – and this lift can only accept wheelchairs which have a maximum width of 670mm. If your wheelchair is wider than this, there are 5 manual wheelchairs available to borrow.
#3. Accessible National Museum of Scotland Edinburgh
- Level access via Main Entrance
- All Floors Accessible (via lift)
- Accessible Toilet
- Changing Places Toilet
- Accessible Cafe/Brasserie
The diverse collections of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh will take you on a journey of discovery through the history of Scotland, and a journey around the world, taking in the wonders of nature, art, design and fashion and science and technology.
There are two entrances to the National Museum of Scotland (the Main Entrance and the Tower Entrance. Both entrances are wheelchair accessible. However, the Tower Entrance is a lot quieter – so I would head there. As it is on Level 1, using the Tower Entrance also avoids having to use a lift to access the main gallery.
All floors of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh are accessible via the wheelchair accessible lifts.
#4. Accessible Palace of Holyroodhouse Edinburgh
- Accessible Building (Mostly)
- Wheelchair Accessible Toilet
- Accessible Cafe
The Palace of Holyroodhouse at the foot of The Royal Mile in Edinburgh is mostly accessible, with some restrictions in Mary, Queen of Scots’ Chambers.
The ticket office at the main entrance is completely wheelchair accessible (and this is where you’ll first come into contact with the extremely helpful Palace of Holyroodhouse staff).
Concessionary rates are available to wheelchair users, and a companion is admitted free of charge.
A one-hour audioguide is also included. And you can plug your own earphones into the machines instead of the ones that are supplied if you’d prefer (standard earphone socket).
Visiting early in the morning is recommended (as it does get busy here).
#5. Accessible Scotch Whisky Experience Edinburgh
- Level access
- All Tours Accessible
- Wheelchair Accessible Toilets
- Accessible Restaurant
The main entrance to the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh is level. And has an automatic sliding door. This door is 840 mm wide.
Admission is free for one carer who accompanies a paying wheelchair user (this does not include free whisky tasting and the souvenir Glencairn glass – if your carer also wishes these, then they too must pay the full admission cost).
The reception desk has a lowered section allowing easy communication for wheelchair using visitors.
There are various doorways throughout the Scotch Whisky Experience tour – the narrowest of which is 850mm. However, the wheelchair accessible lift which allows you to access all levels (with the exception of the mezzanine level), has a door width of only 800mm though.
The Barrel Ride has a wheelchair accessible “barrel” car (with ramps at the start and end). There is also one seat in the accessible barrel for use by a carer.
#6. Accessible Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
- Step-Free Entrance
- Wheelchair Accessible Toilets
- Accessible Restaurants
- Blue Badge Parking Spaces
Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a very popular tourist attraction.
The RBGE’s living plant collection consists of more than 13,300 plant species (over 34,000 accessions), whilst the herbarium contains in excess of 3 million preserved plant specimens.
The entrance to the very spacious John Hope Gateway Visitor Centre at the main entrance is completely step-free.
There is a a 70m path leading to the gardens. There is a very slight upward incline on the path, so if this is a problem for you, the garden can also be accessed by taking the wheelchair accessible lift from the John Hope Gateway Visitor Centre up to the Gateway restaurant and terrace. This allows you to bypass the path completely if needed.
Entrance to the main garden is free. However, you will need to pay to access the Glasshouse (there is a concessionary rate for wheelchair users – and one carer is admitted free of charge).
#7. Accessible Scottish National Gallery Edinburgh
- Step-Free Entrance
- Wheelchair Accessible Toilets
- Accessible Café
- Blue Badge Parking Spaces
The Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh displays some of the greatest art in the world, including masterpieces by Raphael, Botticelli, Titian, Rembrandt, Vermeer, van Dyck, El Greco, Velázquez, Constable, Landseer, Turner, Gainsborough, Angelica Kauffmann and Tiepolo amongst many others. The most comprehensive part of the collection showcases the history of Scottish painting, including Raeburn, Wilkie and Ramsay.
Comprising of both the National Gallery Building and the Royal Scottish Academy Building (both buildings designed by William Henry Playfair), the Scottish National Gallery stands in the heart of central Edinburgh.
Accessible DIY Walking Tours in central Edinburgh
Accessible Highlights:
Edinburgh Castle > Scotch Whisky Experience > Scottish Parliament > Palace of Holyroodhouse
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