The official name is The Palace of Holyroodhouse, but is commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace. This is the official residence of Queen Elizabeth ll. The palace is located at the end of the Royal Mile, one of my favorite streets in Edinburgh! If you walk the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace, you can see it for several blocks.
We made it a point to buy tickets and go in right when it opened. You can get ahead of the crowds and end up having a majority of the rooms to yourself! The rooms you are able to walk through are beautifully decorated and really show the history of the palace. Keep in mind, you can’t take any photos once inside the palace.
State Apartments
As you walk through these rooms, pay special attention to the plasterwork ceilings and the beautiful French tapestries. I think this is why I love Holyrood Palace so much. France ended up being one of my favorite places I visited on this trip and it was partially due to the ornate tapestries and gold. The state apartments gave me the feel of some of the things I saw in France. The King’s bedchamber ended up being my favorite of the state apartments
Throne Room and Morning Drawing Room
During Holyroom week, the Queen stays at the palace each year. She hosts a lunch in the throne room for the Knights and Ladies of the Order of the Thistle. The Drawing Room is also used by the Queen to host private audiences.
Mary, Queen of Scots’ Chamber
It was pretty cool to walk up one of the tiny, winding staircases to get to this room. This is one of the oldest sections of the palace. Again, you will notice all the ceiling details and the beautiful tapestries.
Holyrood Abbey
This was my FAVORITE part of the visit. We ended up being the first ones there so we got some pretty amazing photos! There is something so amazing to me about ruins. There is so much history here. This is one of the grandest medieval abbeys in Scotland.
The palace grounds
After you have wandered through the abbey, take some time to walk the well-maintained grounds of the Palace. Take in some of the amazing views of the palace and the mountains in the background.
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