Camera Obscura Reviews

Staff very informative and plenty of things to see and do, 10/10

We spend some great hours in there and it was fun. Shout out to the great people working there.

Very interesting and absorbing. Great for kids and adults.

Good family day out, our 5 year old girl enjoyed it.

If you have children, this is a fantastic place, I'd imagine children would love this place to bits. However, as an adult there isn't a massive amount to see that you probably haven't seen... until you get to the roof and the camera obscura itself. Personally, I was thinking the ticket even with its all day return was a bit steep until I got to the roof, it's worth the ticket price to keep a wonderful bit of Victorian engineering maintained and operational. The staff were friendly and entertaining, and all the exhibits were interesting.

I'd say the highlights for me were the camera obscura, and the vortex tunnel. If you like optical illusions, Victorian curiosities or have children, it's worth a visit.

Had the best day ever! Super fun for children and and adults alike! Took around 1.5 hours over 4/5 floors, so much to see and interact with. Highlights would be the mirror maze and the vortex walkway, this would be a great place to take someone on a date/keep the kids entertained. MUST SEE if you're in Edinburgh

Great place to visit, fun for all the family. Although the obveratory at the begining is to tourist for a local lad.

Not so amazing the camera like the other activities to do. The explanation just in English and very very fast.

Perfect experience for a rainy day (which can happen in Scotland ). Definitely worth the visit, as you are able to hop in and out all day long. Very interesting and sometimes funny illusions. We had a great time and it s a must see , if you pay Edinburgh a visit.

Good fun for a couple of hours although prices are a little high

A great attraction for all the family. Optical illusions, mirror maze and many more! I got lost in the mirror maze, but I lived to tell the tale. The view of Edinburgh from the top is unbelievable and you can see for miles, especially on a clear day.

Really fun day out that brings out the big kid in you. Several floors of fun. The balcony at the top has gorgeous view of the city. The little talk/presentation at the beginning is really interesting but maybe more aimed at children. The exhibits are really fun and interactive and interesting.

Also note that you can get in and out all day as many times as you want on the day you visit.

A load of fun. The obscura itself is pretty interesting

A really great place to visit. It gets very busy so best to visit during the weekdays rather than weekends.

Fun, cleaver and Amazing, the staff was really hilarious and entertaining.

A great day out for all the family. Highly recommended.

I have visited here many times over the years and even as an adult it is such a fun experience, especially with friends who have never been before.

The staff are warm and friendly and speak multiple languages, so are always on hand to help or explain things if needs be.

The benefit of the entrance fee is that you can come and go throughout the day so you don't have to see everything in one go. Plenty of fun illusions and things to boggle the mind.

As a bonus, there are some great views of the city to just relax and take in the surroundings.

The staff are a credit to the place. Well worth a visit for their enthusiasm alone.

I had a blast at this. I was not expecting much, and was shocked at how expensive it was, but it was worth every penny. I spent two hours wandering around like a child in utter amazement! I can't even describe how much fun I had in "The Vortex". Would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something different in Edinburgh.

Here's looking at yourself. Fat skinny everyone's kind of fun . go on have a good wee laugh to yourselves.

Loved it and is very much fun

Also good for those who think they know it all!

Good for kids

Though the price might give you second thoughts, have a third; it's totally worth it! This place is absolutely packed with varied activities. Lots to see, and as they told us, you can touch everything! Kids loved it, and the adults didn't get bored. The staff was notably personable and energetic. Just a truly fun place. Aim for off-peak times, though.

A must do when in Edinburgh, but make sure you book a few days in advance as due to the current pandemic total numbers are limited per day

Great place for all of the family. Lots of fun and is very interesting. Makes you think.

Cool museum on optical illusions and a nice show. Well done, Andrew ;)

There were no explanations for the illusions.. explanations could have made it more interesting

The illusions are very cool, had an amazing time! Great place to go when the weather is not that good

Quite an amusing place to visit, very interesting to see how the Illusions play tricks on your mind

Great for all ages! Great place to have fun and learn at the same time. There are lots of riddles, games, puzzles, and just interesting things to look at and interact with!
Doesn't matter if you are 7 or 70, you will have a good time here!

A lot of fun. Useful being able to pop in and out when we want. Great for all ages. Very dog friendly.

Great illusions. Unfortunately the actual camera was closed. Really good shop too

Definitely worth visiting. Lots to see and most of it very interesting.

Great interesting museum for all ages. Great view of Edinburgh from the roof. There are 5 floors to explore. Very good covid measures in place

I loved this museum, it's so informative and great for all ages. Would definitely recommend going if you're in Edinburgh, it's a great day out. You can get some really nice photos inside and there's a beautiful view of Edinburgh from the top.

One of the best musea I've been to that do something with science.

Enjoyable couple of hours spent with grandson at this place. Good fun for old and young.

Amazing place. The kids loved every floor. Amazing view of the city from the top.

Excellent attraction with many curiosities, great visual experience.

A Fascinating experience, loads of pleasant illusions. I loved every bit of it. Would definitely go back there when next I visit Edinburgh.

Great place to visit in Edinburgh. Hours of fun looking at and experiencing optical illusions

Fantastic attraction, one of the best in Edinburgh and well worth a look. Entertaining and informative. Staff very friendly and professional. Stunning views of the city.

Brilliant optical trickery and illusions fun for children and adults

Its a pretty cool place, bit the best part is the view from the rooftop.

The actual attractions are "ok" in general.
Its worth it for the vortex bridge and the mirror maze at the end though!

Terrific view from the observation deck six floors above ground level, and different activities on every level from 2-5, plus a camera obscura (look it up ) demonstration. A definite must for family groups, but also great to do on your own.

Funny place where you can spend a good hour on 5th plans, where you can discover funny things about seeing and images. Just the price is a lit bit high but not too much.

The best attractions ever. We've visited today, Sunday afternoon, and loved the 90 min we've spent there. Once we got to the top, thinking the roof top terrace was it, we were positively surprised when more rooms became available on our way down. The social distancing tricky in places, but hand sanitizing stations available in every room. Fantastic and we would strongly recommend as family, but not only, attraction.

Excellent. Friendly, enthusiastic and slightly unicorn obsessed staff (looking at you Jeremy) running a fascinating place. We spent about 3 hours exploring the 6 floors of fun and illusion without 9 and 11 year olds. Great fun had by all

Actual attraction is okay but the view from the top makes it worth going

Fantastic place, well worth the money. Shame about the weather as the images from the camera obscura were grey and dingy. Christine was an excellent guide. Will be back when we visit Edinburgh again.

Had a great day out with a 4 and 9 yr old both loved it lots to do and friendly staff

Great attraction, very nice staff and fun illusions.

Excellent for kids and adults. Excellent value for money. We would go again

Good visitors attraction. Unfortunately couple of elements were out of use. Prices are quite high compared to the amount of elements to use or try. Staff is very helpful and friendly.

My kids favorite part of our trip to Edinburgh. So many fun optical illusions, and the camera obscura presentation was really fun and informative.

+ If you are landing in Edinburgh this is the best attraction. All ages can enjoy but mostly for children age 8 +

Five floors of illusions, so be prepared to claim around 90 + steps (no lift, only stairs)

- It's shame that this attraction doesn't have online booking facility. We stood in the queue at street during rain.

- Rooftop presentation was utter waste of time.

This place was amazing to go to. Found it by chance and glad I did! Would highly recommend! Some really great things to see.

Fun and worth the price. A lot of interactive stuff and crazy ideas. Suitable for children and adults. A good memory!

This place is awesome! 5 floors of optical fun! Totally worth doing, the kids would enjoy this more than the castle (lots to do and play with). Not 5 star because they should really not run a show at 4:30 the camera obscura does not work in such dim light and the lady running the show was slightly nervous and overwhelmed.

Good talk about the actual obscura. Lots for children to do and see

Had an amazing time could spend all day here. The day we visited was wet and rainy and we were offered the chance to come another time for free when the weather was a bit brighter.

So much fun. Best to go when school is in so you don't have to navigate all the shrieking children.

Super cool and interesting. You could definitely spend up to 3 hours in there!

We worth going if you have kids lots of surprises around every corner

A very nice place to take your family to.
Your mind will blow up
In a very great location
They got a gift section to take with you.

There's a surprising amount in the multiple floors here, I was particularly interested in how the concepts of illusions date back so far. Big kid and little kids will love it, there's something here for all ages. The camera obscura itself is fantastic and the time we spent playing with the zooming cameras on the rooftops are a sobering reminder of just what can be seen from a distance. At one point we were virtually reading someone's phone messages from afar!

My kid was so happy he didn't want to go out of this place.

There was a lot more in the museum than I expected. Really fun for anyone of any age.

So much fun. Great place for children (or just adults with a sense of fun). Lots to do. Start from the top and work your way down for the best effect. Really cool views of Edinburgh on the roof. Best attraction in Edinburgh and not a bad price unlike some of the others!

This is a great place to take the family when it just started out it was just a queue to see the camera up in the tower but now there are dozens of fun activities in rooms that can alter your perceptions thanks to lights and mirrors.
the views from the top are amazing.

Really enjoyed time spent in. We had lots of fun. Recommended to everybody between 5 and 100 years. It's definitely worth to mention about super friendly staff.

Nice museum. My 4y old boy had a lot of fun there, also my husband and I.

Must visit for for children and adults equally. Even my 1yr old son enjoyed it fully!!!

One of the better things to do in Edinburgh. Really enjoyable for everyone

Quite an amazing collection of small exhibits. The show on top isn't really worth visiting for adults though. And it gets really busy during high season. All in all, worth a visit if you've already visited all other (mostly free) museums.