Edinburgh castle vs Stirling Castle. Bonus points info on Kilkenny castle Ireland

Edinburgh Castle is basically a Military Regalia Museum. So, if you like historic weapons this is the place. It also has great views of the City. Stirling is a furnished Palace showing how the Stuart royals lived and is well worth a visit. It is at the top of a road with other sites to visit such as Holy Rood Church with a wonderful Pipe Organ and Campbell/Argyle House which shows life in house of someone well off. You are near to the famous Horse Heads and the Wallace Memorial. There are other castles in the greater Edinburgh area. Look up Historic Scotland.

I prefer Edinburgh Castle. I thought Stirling Castle was overrated and too touristy. I was not impressed by signage in the buildings.

Well, just to stir the pot, I found Stirling Castle far more interesting than Edinburgh Castle! One major difference was I signed up for the free tour at Stirling and did the “self-guided” tour at Edinburgh. The tour guide really made the history of Sterling come alive. At Edinburgh, it just seemed so much more crowded.

If you only have time for one, just pick one and don’t look back. Either of them can be a great experience.

We combined Stirling with some time at the Falkirk Wheel which we really enjoyed.

I'm going to second what Carol NR said. I absolutely loved Stirling Castle, and like her, took the free guided tour that added so much to the visit. The castle is really gorgeous and the history is fascinating, and the town is also a wonderful place to visit and walk through with many historical sites of its own.

I was just not impressed with Edinburgh Castle. First, I'm not that much into military history and liked the history of Stirling better, but it was not that interesting, in my opinion of course. It was huge, but very very crowded. In hindsight, I felt like I wasted a lot of money buying a ticket and would have been better off just taking a photo of the castle.

ETA: It's true you can get good views of the city from EC, but you can also get those same views from Arthur's Seat or Calton Hill. It's gorgeous up there.

This is an age old question and divides opinion!

I prefer Edinburgh , although I certainly like Stirling Castle too.I enjoy the military history aspect of Edinburgh and the stark grandeur of the place.I particularly like the National War Memorial, the Museum itself is excellent and the city views from the battlements are superb.
Stirling…I’ve never liked the re- decorated interior, especially in the chapel.I don’t think it’s all that well done though I’m no expert on that kind of thing as such.The Stirling Heads ceiling however, is wonderful and there are fine views from the battlements too.

Nice problem to have!

Kathleen did a good job differentiating between the two. We preferred Stirling castle. The free tour was very informative. The last time we visited in September 2022, Edinburgh castle was much busier than Stirling castle.

We prefer castle ruins over fully furnished castles, and the day we were there in 2022, Doune Castle re-opened after being restored from being an Outlander set for several years. Jamie even narrates the audio tour if you're a fan. We've been to both Stirling and Edinburgh castles and they were pretty much equal to our eyes. Edinburgh was a zoo at the entrance.

We kinda liked Edinburgh Castle but were blown away by Stirling Castle. For us the difference was the themes; Edinburgh displays military history while Stirling focuses on Royal history. Stirling Castle was the highlight of our 2 week trip.

Kilkenny Castle is more like a stately home than a Castle. At least that's the feeling I got.

We preferred Stirling Castle. Since you only have 1 day in Edinburgh I'd spent that outdoors instead of in Edinburgh Castle.

As others have mentioned, Edinburgh castle is about the military history, and they hire actors to play roles and tell stories. Stirling is more about the life of the royals, and is often referred to as the ladies castle I’m told as it’s more likely to appeal to women. Both of these castles sit on top of a hill with great views of the surrounding area. Kilkenny castle does not sit on a hill, but is surrounded by lovely gardens, and is more a stately mansion as previously mentioned. It was largely remodelled in the Victorian era. It’s very pretty.

As several have pointed out, they are two very different places. If you get a really early start, you might be able to go to the one in Edinburgh for a quick visit without giving up much of the other things you have planned. We were lucky enough to have time for both, but if your time limitations restrict you to only one, pick the one that appeals most to your interest and go for it. Kilkenny Castle is also different, and worthy of a short visit if you are close by.

Wow! Thanks so much for all of the replies! Indeed, this is a wonderful dilemma to have. I am going to take into consideration all your suggestions and just go for one. I’ll let you all know when we decide!

Totally agree.with Frank on the feeling of Kilkenny castle. Glad we.went to Edinburgh but don't expect.any warm.feeling but is great to view city from.the castle and to.look.up at it at.night when !it up is magical to me. Stirling was definitely worth several hours. Am sure this does not help with making a decision at all.

Once again thank you all! Have decided to spend the whole day in Edinburgh exploring the royal mile and other parts of the city instead of inside the castle.(probably stop at Midhope castle first- we are Outlander fans!) The next day heading to Inverary castle and then Through Glen Coe to Skye where we have three nights and two full days. Then, the last day return through Inverness and visit Doune castle and Stirling castle. Possibly adding a stop in the evening at Culross.

That sounds like a great plan! Have a wonderful trip!

Ensure you look up Outlander filming locations in Edinburgh before going over. One is Bakehouse Close by the Museum of Edinburgh. It’s towards the end of the Royal Mile, a couple blocks up from Holyrood. The museum was Jamie’s print shop and on the Close side are the steps he went up to get to it (in the series). Much of the first two seasons was filmed at Doune Castle, 8 miles or so from Stirling. It’s nice to visit and not huge. As Mardee said, have a nice trip.

Since you're an Outlander fan here's a link to my Trip Report from June 2022. We did a tour in Edinburgh with Mercat Tours that pointed out some of the filming locations, and also a Rabbies Tour for locations outside of Edinburgh.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-scotland-the-search-for-jamie-fraser

Hi Cochran. That sounds like a great itinerary! I have family in Stirling and along the Ochil hill foots and love that area. Personally, I prefer it over the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh, but Edinburgh does have so much to see. I’m glad you are getting to go to both towns. There’s a great cafe right near the Wallace monument called Corrieri’s cafe. Inexpensive incredible Italian food (owner is from Italy) but they also have traditional fish suppers etc. Culross is a very interesting small town and definitely worth a stop. The Red Lion in Culross has very good food if you are there during a meal time. Stop at the Kelpies near Culross if you get a chance.That is a nice short stop to stretch your legs and they are fun to check out and very impressive close up. Enjoy your trip!! I love Scotland!!

Cochran,
I have not been to the castles you mention in Scotland. Yet.

I did visit the castle in Kilkenny last month. I agree with Frank II. The castle seems more like a big, formal home. I'm not a formal style girl. I walked quickly through the rooms. Until I got to the kitchen in which beverages and light snacks were offered. I was fascinated by the kitchen! If I were returning to Kilkenny I would skip the castle. You may feel differently.

Your trip sounds wonderful. I hope you'll post a trip report upon your return.

Happy Travels!

Traveler Girl