It’s a chance to venture into those places you pass all the time but never go inside.
Edinburgh’s Doors Open Days are next weekend - Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27. More than 100 buildings in the Capital are taking part, offering visitors a glimpse behind the scenes.
Doors Open is Scotland’s largest free festival of culture, architecture and heritage. It happens on different dates in different places. Midlothian and West Lothian have already had theirs. East Lothian’s falls this weekend, the same as Edinburgh’s.
This year’s theme, Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine, invites participating venues and visitors to explore how Edinburgh’s built heritage is being protected, adapted for new uses, and reimagined for the future.
We’ve already featured some of the buildings in the Capital which will be opening their doors to the public:
Scroll through the 21 buildings featured here and decide which ones you want to visit.
And look out for more to come.
13. Old Newhaven Burial Ground
The first recorded burial here was for a shipwright in 1505. It then served as the burial grounds for Newhaveners until 1848. Burial records from 1830-1839 will be available to view. Tours every half hour. Address: Newhaven Main Street, EH6 4TE. Open: Sunday, September 27, 12-5.30pm. | Scottish Civic Trust
14. Out of the Blue drill hall
Out of the Blue drill hall in Dalmeny Street, was built in 1901 for the Royal Scots Regiment, designed by renowned architect Sir Rowand Anderson. Careful, sustainable restoration has transformed it into an inclusive arts and cultural centre, with multiple artists’ studios, rehearsal, workshop and classes, and performance and exhibition spaces, as well as a well-reviewed café. Guided tours on offer. Open: Saturday, September 26, 10am-5pm. | Scottish Civic Trust
15. Palmerston Place Church
Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh's West End was built in the early 1870s and has a lofty amphitheatre interior, with Peterhead marble columns supporting arches around a clerestory window. A major refurbishment took place in the early 1990s with the removal of the central section of wooden pews and the installation of a new organ. Address: 12 Palmerston Place, EH12 5AA. Open: Saturday, September 26, 11am-3pm, and Sunday, September 27, 10-11.30am. | Scottish Civic Trust
16. Pianodrome warehouse
The Pianodrome warehouse in Granton creates unique playable, community-centred sculptures made entirely from otherwise disused pianos. Visitors will be offered informal tours of the warehouse workshop, auditorium and piano adoption centre, hands-on piano action dismantling and repair demonstrations. Open: Saturday, September 26, 9.30am-4.30pm. | Scottish Civi Trust