We visited in February 2025 as a group of 2 adults and 4 kids aged 7-9 and had an amazing time! We traveled to Edinburgh by train and made use of the 'Kids for a Quid' train ticket to get one free child ticket for every full paying adult (admission until 11am). (up to 4 kids per adult can travel with Scotrail on the Kids for a Quid ticket). I had originally booked standard camera obscura tickets by mistake, but these were changed without any issues upon contacting customer service. (Making use of these ticket offers brought down the cost considerably.) We spent 3 hours at Camera Obscura and had a fabulous time! We would have stayed longer, but our brains were frazzled from all the different optical illusions. The highlight was the mirror maze and vortex tunnel (which really messed with my head)! Both, parents and kids, had a blast and we would highly recommend a visit! We could easily come back to enjoy it again since it was so good. Also fabulous views from the top floor across Edinburgh! Staff were friendly and helpful during our visit. There's a gift shop on the ground floor with reasonably priced items. We visited during a quiet time and it never felt overcrowded in the building . However, the stairs when going to different floors in the building are narrow and it can get a bit congested at times.

Without doubt it's one of the best attractions in Edinburgh, and for anyone visiting the Scottish capital it should be on a must visit list.My recent visit was booked over the phone on the same day, though previously I had booked my visit online, and would recommend getting it done prior arrival to avoid any disappointment. On arrival you'd get a timeslot for Camera Obscura, which is located on the top floor. It's a 10-15 mins long presentation of the 18th century equivalent of CCTV. Priority is given to people booked for a particular timeslot, so would recommend to be on time for this presentation. Staff is very welcoming and accommodating. While I was visiting with my family the presentation was led by Julian. He appeared to be very knowledgeable and made people laugh making it memorable experience. At the entrance you would probably get hand stamped, so could reenter Camera Obscura and World of Illusions at any time during the opening times on the same day. On a day when I visited it was open until 10 pm. There are 6 levels in total, though ground level is an entrance and shop, while toilets are on the first level, so the whole exhibition is from the second level up. There is parking space for buggies on the ground floor, since staircases are not suitable to carry them up and down. This attraction is not accessible for wheelchairs. The exhibition between the second and fifth floor is very well laid, and has not really changed for many years. It's all about an optical illusion, and it's brilliant. I would recommend allowing yourself approximately 2 up to 3 hours per visit. Must visit for anyone coming to Edinburgh.

So this attraction is very expensive, but so is everything in Edinburgh! And this is good value for money. We spent two hours there, longer than at the castle! I would definitely recommend going early or late to avoid the crowds, we practically had the place to ourselves and I can imagine having to wait your turn for attractions when it is rammed would be very dull. We experienced people loudly shouting to each other across the different rooms and had a family that got separated spoil our first go round the mirror maze, and we were in the first slot of the day. The staff are friendly and helpful. There's a good range of things to see and do from 'big impact' illusions/opportunities to smaller scale stuff. My daughter was obsessed with the cameras connected to the roof that you could pan and zoom and would have stayed there all day if she could. She also loved the mirror maze. I loved the spinning tunnel - like a rollercoaster without being on a rollercoaster! The Camera Obscura itself is magical and well worth it. My grumpy husband had even warmed up to it all by the end of our visit, having been totally adamant it would be a waste of money. Go when it is quiet and spend time on the bits that you love!

Fantastic family day out! We were staying in Dumfries and decided to have a day in Edinburgh. We heard so much about Camera Obscura so knew we wanted to go for the day. Honestly there was something for everyone! The booking is a very good idea because you can see how it could get very busy and there isn’t a huge amount of space. The floors are divided in such a way to avoid too many people in one section at any one time which was very well thought out! Staff were friendly, seating in areas for those who need to take a break after climbing all those stairs!! All in all a wonderful day out for myself, partner, a 13 Yo and two 8 yo!!

When you consider that you’ll probably spend about 90 mins inside this is an expensive attraction. It cost us more than a visit to the castle where we stayed for more than twice the time! That said, the museum is well set out and the staff are friendly. Well behaved dogs are allowed inside and are given biscuits in the queue. Kids get stickers. You visit the odd floors on the way up and even floors on the way down. There are a selection of modern and old fashioned illusions set out on each floor. All very interesting and well laid out with plenty of hand sanitiser available. Kids loved how hands on everything is. When you get to the roof you can see amazing views all round the city. There is also an optional camera obscura shown. This takes place in the pitch black and if you are uncomfortable at any point you can just leave. The show felt like a gimmick with no explanation of how the camera worked. In fact from talking to the lady demonstrating the camera afterwards it was clear she didn’t really have a clue. This was a real shame as I have never visited a camera obscura before and would have found this interesting.

I live in Edinburgh and love this place to take my son. He loves the variety of exhibitions and all the different things to try. It is brilliant for kids. I wish we could go more often, but the ticket price is too much to do it more than once per year. I know there is a 20% discount if you arrive from 8am to 8.45am, but coming at that time is not realistic unless you live right in the city centre. I wonder if a locals discount could be offered like they do with the rides at Edinburgh's Christmas market?

Wow! Didn't expect go enjoy this as much as I did. Plenty of things to see and interact with. If you have an interest in illusions and science I really recommend paying a visit. At the top you have a fantastic view of the city skyline, and can see how the mirror works with a small show. Fun for all ages, lots of stairs so not for the unfit! A few of the attentions can make you feel a bit wobbly so be careful.

We visited as it was raining and it was something to do that was dog friendly. It was great that we could bring the dog round the exhibits. It was well managed so that even though it was busy, we didn’t feel crowded and could get to all the exhibits without too much waiting. We found the whole museum entertaining and great value for money. Would recommend.

Visited with my partner whilst in Edinburgh. It was incredible busy however it was a Sunday in December so this was understandable. It is also right in front of Edinburgh castle which makes it busy too. They were turning people away at the door if you hadn’t pre booked tickets so I’m glad we had. We didn’t know what to expect but once inside there were lots of activities and things to do and we really enjoyed ourselves. You get a timed slot to watch the camera obscura show on the top floor. This was amazing and gave lots of history as to why the museum is named that. They miss a trick here as the history isn’t explained very well unless you attend the show. The guide was great and really informative. Everything is across 6 floors and I don’t remember seeing a lift so potentially not great for those who require easy access. We spent about 1.5 hours here and it was great. Would definitely recommend to a friend.

Visited camera obscura with my partner for my birthday weekend. Had a really nice time there. The staff were really friendly and entertaining, Beu’s 15 min talk on how the museum works was really funny. The only down side was how little chance we got to interact with things due to it being so busy, we booked a Monday morning as we thought it might have been quieter but didn’t seem that way. We got round it pretty quickly too so not sure if the ticket price is worth the time spent there. The illusions are cool though and it was fun to do.