HMY Britannia
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
HMY Britannia
Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, also known as the Royal Yacht Britannia, is the former royal yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in service from 1954 until 1997. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660, and is the second royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales in 1893. During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the globe. Now retired from royal service, Britannia is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a popular visitor attraction with over 300,000 visits each year.
HMY Britannia was built at the shipyard of John Brown & Co. Ltd in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire. She was launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953, and commissioned on 11 January 1954. The ship was designed with three masts: a 133-foot (41 m) foremast, a 139-foot (42 m) mainmast, and a 118-foot (36 m) mizzenmast. The top aerial on the foremast and the top 20 feet (6.1 m) of the mainmast were hinged to allow the ship to pass under bridges.
Accommodations near HMY Britannia
Britannia Penthouse
see price.
Nearby Tours & Activities
Opening times
| Monday | 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
| Tuesday | 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
| Wednesday | 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
| Thursday | 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
| Friday | 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
| Saturday | 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
| Sunday | 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
Guests' reviews
amazing place, best attraction in Edinburgh. you can feel British royalty daily life (mostly boring and decorative, just check queens schedule - it is mostly about getting dressed for "food" event followed by "food" event combined with some evening Scrabble and monopoly games) and tastes. navy traditions (e.g. dress and dining rituals) are very well captured. separately you will find yourself frozen in early 90-s with all these old TVs, VHS and cassette players all around the yacht.
A visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia is time well spent. Insight into the vessel and it's operational history since 1953 is amazing. Extremely good and detailed audio tour takes you through the entire vessel from bridge to engine room. All aspects of the vessel and her history are detailed and explained in a clear and succinct way. In Edinburgh and got 3 hours to spare? Head over to Leith and visit this gem of British history.
This is worth a visit no matter who you are. Any other country in the world would have far more opulence in a royal vessel. This shows just how basic things were on board, not only for the royals, but for those who served on board.
Very well organized self guided tour with handheld audio devices. Super staff and great tearoom. Amazing piece of history.
A great sight to visit in Edinburgh. The audio tour was fantastic, learning about the voyages as well as the Royal Family’s love for Britannia. The cafe located on the ship was good.
We loved at time at Britannia and I think it's fair to say that it deserves it's place near the top of the list of things to see in Edinburgh. The ship is moored up alongside the Ocean Terminal Shopping centre which is great if you want to do some shopping or pop into a restaurant before or after visiting the ship. Although the entrance fee is a bit pricey you'll spend a good couple of hours walking around and you'll get to see everything from the offices and bedrooms of the royal family to the quarters of the marines and military personnel who lived on-board Britannia, even going down to the engine rooms and the smaller royal racing yacht. There's also a brilliant restaurant on-board, and the food is absolutely delicious.
Great attraction on Edinburgh. It is a little bit off the city center, but close to a mall where you can have a snack a rest for a while. The boat is on the exact same condition as the Royal family used it so you can get a pretty good impresión of what their vacations should have been in this boat.
The ex Royal Yacht. If you are in Edinburgh its worth a visit down to Ocean Terminal at the bottom of Leith. A real insight to how the ship operated and how the Royal family lived on board this unique ship, a real memorial to a by gone era. Try the cafe, its worth the visit.
HMS Britannia, What a wonderful asset this was to the UK, what a magnificent tourist attraction it is for Edinburgh Visit the enlightening exhibition and appreciate how the queen used the Britannia as a floating embassy for receiving foreign dignitaries and heads of state whilst on visits around the world. See the state rooms and the dining room. The bridge and the officers Ward room. Enjoy High tea in the deck conservatory. Allow around 3 hours for the tour and another hour for the tea then consider one of the sight seeing boat tours from a local quay.
Took a bus from Edinburgh City Centre to Ocean Terminal on a wet rainy day. Visiting the yacht made the day one of the best days out, well worth the money. Fascinating tour and we stopped off at the on board restaurant to warm up with soup and a drink. If you are in the area, I thoroughly recommended the visit!
Thoroughly enjoyed a sunny afternoon on the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh. Great historical photos and details. Easy to imagine the Queen and her family and guests on the ship. The family photos were really lovely. Terrific tea shop on board with lovey snacks.
Very informative so much history. Fascinating to see how the Royals travelled all those years ago. Rather them than me. A must see place if you like behind the scenes things.
A fabulous experience for all the family. The handsets gave a good insight into the life on board when the Queen and family travelled round the world. An excellent visit. Great friendly staff.
A very nice self-guided tour of Britannia. It shows you how the Queen and the royal family used to travel. The visit takes you to the quarters of the British royal family and to all the other parts of the vessel: engine room, crew's quarters, etc. You can visit inside and on the deck of the vessel. If you wish, you can enjoy the Royal Deck Tea Room. The staff is friendly and helpful. They will gladly take your picture. A must to visit in Edinburgh.
Loved the view and all of the history. Just seeing pictures of Princess Dianna when she was so young. Her and Prince Charles spent part of their honeymoon on board. Also, Prince William and Princess Kate had their reception dinner there. It's interesting to see the quarters of the royals versus the workers. They also have a medical center on the yacht. They give you the phones to take with you throughout the tour and it's self guided. I really enjoyed hearing about all the people who have been on board.
A great few hours can be spent exploring the yacht and the displays. Staff all really helpful Great little fudge shop on board as well as a large souvenir shop in the terminal. A real insight into the Royals and their lives off camera. Lovely restaurant on deck with lunch and tea menu. With views of the water you can imagine yourself cruising in luxury.
At first the £16 entrance fee seems a bit much, having done the tour I can say it is worth the entrance fee. It is a self tour with your own personal handset. Great history of the royal family with all of the original furnishings in place.
Great attraction, brilliant value for money. A fascinating tour around the Royal Yacht, not rushed and plenty of time to stop off for a cuppa mid-visit in the tea room. We were there around 3 hours. It was a rainy day and only got slightly wet moving between decks. Highly recommended 👍
Very good family day out with most interests catered for. The Yacht is very wheelchair friendly with lifts and ramps for ease of access. The site is open daily from 9.30am until 4.30pm and has excellent catering facilities and wheelchair accessible toilets. There is a free car park in the Ocean Terminal which connects the site. Enterance fees are as follows. Adults £16.00 Children (5-17) £8.50 Concessions £14.00. Do take advantage of the free audio tour if you wish to look around at your own pace. Well worth a second visit in my opinion.
