Edinburgh and East Lothian
Doors Open Days 2026

Edinburgh and East Lothian Doors Open Days returned on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September 2026. There were 123 venues who participated this year and over 20,000 visitors!

About Doors Open Days

Doors Open Days is Scotland’s largest free cultural festival. ‘Doors Open Days’ has grown into Scotland’s largest free heritage festival. Last year, more than 950 venues took part — celebrating Scotland’s people, places and stories — each offering something special to visitors eager to discover the buildings, landscapes, and histories on their doorstep.

Every year, throughout the month of September, Doors Open Days enables free civic access to buildings normally closed to the public. The Scottish Civic Trust coordinates Doors Open Days through a network of regional coordinators with the Cockburn Association responsible for Edinburgh and East Lothian’s festivities.

As the coordinators for Doors Open Days in a region afflicted by over-tourism, we feel it is of vital importance that residents benefit from our rich cultural landscape and reap the health and wellbeing benefits of engagement with the arts. We’re undertaking research in partnership with Santiago di Compostella, and Loughborough (London) Universities to understand the impact of tourism in Edinburgh and highlight the domestic and international case studies of tourism-driven community benefit (thank you to those who joined us for the preliminary findings at the City Chambers on the 12th May as part of the Festival of Europe). We believe that Doors Open Days plays an integral role in achieving the New Economics Foundation’s (NEF’s) Five Ways to Wellbeing.

 

Edinburgh and East Lothian Doors Open Days

Sign Up a Venue to take part in 2027

Information for Doors Open Days 2027 will be released in the Spring of 2027. Please check back here for further information about participating!

Venue Criteria:

There are three criteria which need to be met for a venue to take part, they are:

  • The venue should be open on the region’s designated weekend. The venue should be open for a minimum of 2 hours on this weekend.
  • The event must be free.
  • The event should include something different from your usual offerings- common examples include a tour, talk, exhibition, workshop, or a simple colouring activity.

How to Apply:

Applications will open for Doors Open Days 2027 in Spring 2027. If you have any queries about Edinburgh and East Lothian Doors Open Days, please contact us at:

📧 EdinburghDoorsOpen@cockburnassociation.org.uk

A detailed Taking Part Guide is available with everything you need to know. The Scottish Civic Trust has also produced lots of resources which you can access here. If you’re not sure whether your venue is suitable, or you just want to talk through an idea — please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

 

National Doors Open Day

Interested in seeing what’s happening across the country for Doors Open Day? Please visit the national page for Doors Open Day and explore all of the possibilities and experiences you could undertake!