Camera Obscura Reviews

Really good and very interesting. Staff are lovely as well. Went during the Fringe Festival so was really busy, would love to come back when it's a bit quieter.

A must visit for Edinburgh. Good attraction for all ages. A fair few stairs to climb though.

The staircase is narrow to go up and down but plenty to see and fun for the family

Good fun for a family. Go at your own pace and definitely an interactive experience that we all enjoyed.

Fantastic experience, I'd recommend it to anyone, see how your eyes can deceive your brain

Perfect place especially for kids they will love it! Triggers your mind , amazing !!!

Although it looks mainly for children, it's fun for adults too. The Camera Obscura is a brief but interesting tour of Edinburgh and it was the first commercial attraction in the city. Recommended to go in the morning and on a sunny day if possible.
There are 5 interactive floors with different illusions and the stuff is very helpful and friendly. These are best to be explored at night when the museum is emptier. One option is to see the museum at night and come back the next morning for the Camera Obscura show with the same ticket.
Recommended to spend a nice time with your friends and family. Some activities require a second person.

so much fun, even for 2 bitter 30somethings. Personal is so nice and informing!

If you have ever visited Edinburgh Castle then you will have past this attraction as you walked up Castle Hill. It is a tall building on the right hand side of the street and is well advertised.

It is open daily from 9am until 10pm but the Obscura is subject to weather conditions. The World of Illusions part of the attraction will keep Children young and old amused but be mindful of the flashing and strobing lights.

Both attractions are located in a six storey building and there are NO lifts, plenty of stairs but no lift. If you cannot leave your wheelchair for medical reasons then this attraction is not for you.
Tickets are valid for the whole day so you can come and go as you please.
They do accept most credit and debit cards.

Good and clean toilets are located on the First floor.

There is no cafe but the gift shop sells snacks.

All dogs are welcome.

Good attraction for all the family and the views from the top are something to see.

Amazing place. Suitable for all age groups. My party was aged 1 - 15years. The 1 year old enjoyed the sensory exhibits. Lots of fun and opens until 9pm so can come and go as you please. Reasonable price for what's on offer.

I thought this was a fantastic visit. Great exhibits and interactive things. The maze was great and the vortex tunnel made me really laugh. I was convinced I was moving. Complete brain trickery! Be careful though. My son is colour blind and there were a number of light effects that he said he couldn't see. It is expensive if you don't get the benefit of all of the exhibits. I still liked it.

A fantastic entertainment inside. You'll love it here, a time well spent I guarantee. Many great and funny stuff to see. Might be a little crowded at times like weekends or holidays though, but it's worth a visit. Me and my girlfriend loved it!

It was funny, my child loved it except for The 3D room.

Something different will get your brain ticking again. Vortex was mad.

This place will blow your mind ! Great fun and good few hours spent here

The attractions were out of this world. It is great for a day out with the family!

Came back after 50 years ago and wow has it changed well worth a visit

Took in this tourist site with the expectation it would be entertaining for the kiddies. Little did I know that the adults would end up having an even better time. The timelessness of this illusions here make it a worthwhile stop, for any busy travel itinerary in Edinburgh. We especially enjoyed the camera obscura show, mirror maze and vortex tunnel. Highly recommend this stop in Old Town.

Great. Lots to entertain. Enthusiastic demo of the obscura itself. V friendly staff. The vertigo tube is ace! Wierd, but ace.

complete family fun, such a variety of things to do... and then the wonderful view of Edinburgh at the top! Awesome staff and I think the price is fair... especially with a hand-stamp that can re-admit you throughout the day.

This is a great and fun attraction. The views from top of the tower are great with great photo opportunity. This is a great attraction for all family. Staff are friendly and helpful. The price was reasonable.

This place is truck loads of fun. A must visit for all age groups.

Quite a lot of money for a family, but a really interesting visit. Lots and lots of hands-on activities on multiple floors. Make sure you set aside enough time to see it all 2-3 hours at least. The camera obscura ended up being only a very small part of the visit. Great for the kids (and adults too).

It s a great place with lots of different activities on the floor leading up to the camera. Lots of stairs so be prepared. The actual camera itself was a bit disappointing, may be from my own thoughts but it wasn t outstanding. Also good weather is required to be able to see which isn t always easy living in Scotland! Otherwise it s a great place to visit and kill a few hours. Children will love it.

A great way to spend a couple of hours and the all day ticket means you can head back later in the day if you want

A fantastic experience. Full or interactive and mind bending illusions. I would recommend this place for families and young couples.
I would suggest that it is a little too pricey for visitors on a budget.

Amazing illusions, the view through camera obscura is cool and innonovative !

Excellent place , enjoyed every bit of it, specially at the end.

It's Edinburgh.
It's on top of the hill.
It's got funny stuff to do.
It's.... Not obscured at all?
Ah well..what a name for something so prominent

Was very good. My boys and i had lots of fun. The vortex was amazing.

Fun and interesting, great place to go on a rainy day. Camera Obscura show was very small and not as well presented as I'd expect

This has been a special spot for me for decades and it's aging very well, great patter in the obscura itself, and the various floors of optical illusions and historical geegaws, excellent time for the whole family.

Excellent staff - allowed us to come back for free the next day because we only had an hour to visit at night! An amazing view and the camera obscura itself was amazing at night and in the day! I do recommend getting there either or early or late as it does get very busy!

one of the best and must see stops of any Edinburgh tour.

Just amazing. Great place to visit, mostly if you are with children.
Also, it is next to Edinburgh castle, so you can do two stops in the city center.

Not as good as i thought it would be.. only thing i enjoyed was the spinning walkway... staff are nice and have a smile on their faces

So much fun and there's something for everyone with every level containing interesting illusions and interactive exhibits. The camera obscura itself on the top floor is fascinating, though you'd want to be there on a day with clear weather in order to fully appreciate it. The Mirror Maze and Vortex Tunnel are particular highlights.

Visited this place a couple of years ago, great place to spend a few hours, the Camera Obscura itself is fascinating and worth the visit alone but so much more to this place.

Amazing, trippy and fun for all ages! The staff were lovely and there's good covid precautions in place

Five floors of visual wonder! I visited this with my family (2 adults, two kids (11 & 13) and we all enjoyed it. The view from the roof is one of the best in Edinburgh and each floor contains themed, hands-on visual exhibits. Be warned, there are a lot of stairs. Make sure you try the actual Obscura which can be easy to miss.

Great building,exhibits are dated and can be seen elsewhere,good views from top of building

Great for the kids and really interesting for all. It will blow you away. Tickets are cheap and you are free to come and go through out the day.

This was so much fun, and the baby loved it too. We'll be back.

Great place to visit with children. The illusions made my head sore but they were all worth seeing

Know what to expect and you'll be very pleased. The namesake is a 19th century camera obscura, which uses a system of lenses to project views from the city into an observatory at the top of the building. It's fascinating that someone was able to build it so long ago.

Beneath that, there are five floors, with most of it being nothing unique to Edinburgh. It's full of visually interesting things (holograms, mirrors, lighting, etc.) to highlight optical illusions and tricks of the mind that are most entertaining to children, but as two adults, we still enjoyed it.

Great place to go. No lift so people with mobility issues this is something to avoid.

Great place and lots of fun. Really enjoyed it. Lots of fun photos.

Amazing place to go to have fun and spend a few hours away from the world and into the unknown world's. Great illusions and fun activities to do on each floor. You get a 20 talk with a guide on the top floor about an amazing invention that has been around for years.
Great place to take some pics at the top with binoculars also to view the sites.

Really enjoyed the exhibits.
Recommend a visit.
The kids really liked the displays on offer.

My 10yr old said it turned her mind fantastic family day out and superb value for money. Absolutely loved the vortex tunnel. Staff very friendly. Can't wait to go back again

Engaging museum, had lots of fun here. Need at least 60mins to get round.

This place is definitely worth visitjng.im sure you'll encounter rainy days in Scotland and if you're wondering where to go... Well, here is your answer. You'll spend a great time there discovering all the ways you can fool your eyes.

Fun place for all family on a cold and windy day. Give it a 3-4 hour time as the place is very interesting.

Amazing experience and very friendly staff. I think is more for kids but every age can have fun there.

Wonderful place with lots of optical illusions. On average takes around 2 hours to visit all the floors and attractions

Brilliant interactive museum in the heart of Edinburgh just next to the castle. There are 5 floors of interactive activities and optical illusions. The best features are the light mirror maze, the tunnel vortex and the observation deck. The camera obscure was closed for maintenance on my visit. There is a gift shop at the end. Really good fun.

Very nice place for the kids. However on the 6th floor there's a presentation and the stuff asked me very rudely not to translate for my kids, even though I was just whispering. Without understanding what the presentation was all about they got bored and missed the pinpoint of the place.

Totally worth it if you re interested in illusions and science. The view from the top is just magnificent. Must visit attraction in Edinburgh.

I didn't think it would be very good but I was wrong. I was awe struck with the camera obscura and there was plenty of other things to do a maze of mirror and a light vortex. Amazing staff too. Really fun for all the family.

full of annoying little kids but other than that is a very good experience

The only bad thing about it is that it doesnt have a wheelchair access.

Definitely worth a visit, there are a couple of sections which aren't that interesting, but some really good bits too

Worth seeing, with or without kids, it was fun to play with some of the gadgets within the facility, and you get a show and explanation of the camera obscura. Start there and work your way down, made it easy and we were able to see everything.

Went there twice, 2-3h each visit. I like mind tricks so I really enjoyed my time there. It is very interactive too.

This was not there in my itinerary. But we ended up spending couple hours. My kid had lots of fun.

Brilliant. This place is so awesome especially the projector at the top. Staff are so enthusiastic about their work which is really nice.

Will definitely visit here again

Not much changed in 20 years... that's a good thing

Really good but unfortunately Overcrowded and to get on everything you need to wait a bit, but its really good experience, highly recommended

Entertaining visit with lots of exhibits to interact with. The visit ends on the roof with spectacular views across Edinburgh.

Really amazing time in there! Unfortunately I went at a really really busy time. I felt there were just too many people in each room to focus properly. The good thing is you can leave and return at another time and they are open really late. So this would fix the problem if I had time to return. I can't fault it in any other way. Helpful staff and a fun 2/3 hours!

Amazing entertainment at the top of the Royal Mile. Everyone loves seeing the illusions and effects of mirrors. Also one of the best vantage points to see Edinburgh from on high.

Tip - check if it is part of the scotrail kids go free rail ticket scheme which gives have price on several venues in Edinburgh. Even if you are Edinburgh based get the train from Haymarket to Waverley (or just buy the ticket) to benefit from promotion.

Very nice place, fair price and you get a free pass to go back in and out for the whole day. I think they should update their museum a bit with more modern stuff, but overall it was great

Exciting place with intriguing exhibition pieces and installations but a bit too expensive.

For two adults, this was pretty cheesy. Some parts were fun, but if you aren t taking kids, I d skip it. The best part was the view of the city from the roof, and the Camera Obscura presentation was kind of cool, but the rest of the exhibits were sort of lame.

Really enjoyable place to visit with lots of attractions and lots of interesting things to get the mind working. Still can't figure out some of the illusions!

Great place to enjoy some mind-blowing illusions. If you've got kids, an entertaining place for them too. Brilliant views from the rooftop as well as the actual camera obscura. Special thanks to our guide Ewan; I can imagine it gets tiring repeatedly telling people about the history of the camera and the sights it can see, but he was engaging and enthusiastic about the place.

Excellent place loved every minute of it really fun for the kids highly recommend