The display boards give excellent drawings of way the palace probably looked during the days of the Stewart Earls.

Excellent. The curator is very helpful. It is a pity however that staffing is such that guided tours are unavailable.

Earl's Palace & Bishop's Palace (right across the street) are great ruins to crawl & climb around. They offer insight into how these people lived & have a rich history. When you get to the top, you'll have an excellent of all of Kirkwall & it's a really good way to get pictures of St. Magnus Cathedral (across the street... More

Nestling in the wooded grounds opposite The Bishops Palace and on the south side of St Magnus Cathedral this beautiful example of French renaissance architecture is broadly regarded as one of the best in Scotland. A friend of mine from Kirkwall boasts that there were few kids who could honestly say that they passed two Palaces and a Cathedral on... More

The Earl's Palace is best visited with some reading in advance so that the visitor understands the politics and the intrigue of the Occupants of the Palace. There is no doubt that the people of Orkney were oftentimes the victims of the Scots, and whilst the tartan signs of tourism pervade the shops, the history as embodied in the Earl's... More

It is worth having a look around this site, but it is not a "must do". It is interesting to learn some of the history of Orkney that this site is connected with, and wandering around. In particular, at the top of the Bishop's Palace across the road, there is a fine view of the cathedral next door. I would... More

Recommend purchasing the guidebook to make it interesting. Entry price includes Bishop's Palace across the road.

sits in its own park and you can feel the presence it must have held in town when it was still intact. the architecture is amazing

It was wonderful to be able to walk around the palace and explore the different rooms and levels as well as imaging what it would have looked like in it's day, the information boards provided a lot of interesting facts. Would recommend any visitors to Orkney to visit here well worth the look and the views from the higher levels... More