Visiting The Chocolatarium
Quickly find the answers to your questions about visiting Edinburgh's award-winning visitor attraction.
Tickets, Ages and Opening Times
Tour of Chocolate Adults £2,5 Children £17
Truffle-Making Experience £38
Chocolate and Whisky Experience £44
Chocolate and Wine Experience £44
For group prices see our pages about:
Staff & Corporate Group Events
Birthday Parties
Hen Parties
Private Events
Educational Groups
Travel Trade Groups
How do I use my discount voucher?
How do I enter my Gift Card code?
Six years old.
We have a minimum age of 6 because...
- there are items in the environment that could be hazardous to young children such as an electric oven.
- visitors need to be able to listen to and follow health and safety instructions
- there are no baby changing facilities
- the tour is designed for those with a minimum cognitive ability of primary school-age children and above rather than for preschool children that have hugely different entertainment and
earning needs.
- there are times where you will be listening to a guide for up to 15 minutes. It is fun and interesting but can be a little long for some younger children.
- the chocolate-making counter is the height of a kitchen counter (90cm high) and this may be difficult for some younger children to reach.
Visitors attempting to bring children under the age of 6 will not be refunded as there is no way for the tickets to be resold.
Babes-in-arms are welcome provided that they are not of crawling age, are always held in their parent/guardian’s arms or a baby carrier and that they are taken to the waiting area should they become restless and the tour disrupted.
A few things to keep in mind...
- we don't have baby changing facilities
- babies must be in their parent’s/guardian's arms throughout the tour
- there is space to leave a pushchair in the waiting room but you can't take a pushchair around the building with you
- we reserve the right to refuse readmittance
The tour is not suitable for very young children who are already very mobile!
If we are fully booked on the days you can visit, join the waiting list let us know how many tickets you need and when you can visit
We’ll then get in touch by email if tickets become available. You can’t join the waiting list by phone, only by completing the form.
If you can’t visit this time, we hope you can make it in the future.
We don’t offer concession tickets at this time.
That is risky! You can do this but there is a high chance we will be sold out.
The Gift Shop is open to the public daily 10am - 5pm and is accessible at the end of each tour.
The number of tours that are running varies throughout the year but can start as early as 9am or as late as 8.30pm. Please check the calendar for availability.
Please not that the shop and attraction are closed on December 25th, December 26th and January 1st.
Yes, we have a cloakroom containing lockers for secure storage. For bigger luggage we also have an office where luggage can also be left.
Luggage can only be kept while you are on the premises.
Private Events
For private tours and events for Staff & Corporate Group Events, Birthday Parties, Hen Parties, Private Tours, Educational Groups and Travel Trade Groups.
There is no large deposit to pay but you can reserve your date instantly online with a £10 deposit. This £10 will be deducted from your final invoice and can be transferred to another date (subject to availability). The balance is due 7 days before the event.
Your event date can be changed free of charge with 7 days' notice (but please let us know sooner if you can).
For a private event, you can have as few people as you wish provided the minimum charge is met (see prices). However, this means that if your group is quite small, it might prove uneconomical to have a private party and you could join one of our public tours instead.
Tour of Chocolate (bar-making) - 32 people
Truffle-Making Experience - 16 people
Chocolate and Wine Experience - 32 people
Chocolate and Whisky Experience - 32 people
However, if your group is larger than 16, please email us at [email protected] to reserve your dates.
Due to room sizes, parties larger than 16 are split into two groups.
For very large groups of over 32, please contact us.
You can let us know final numbers 7 days before the event.
Dietary Requirements
Your Guide will ask for dietary information on arrival but please find more information below. If you would like to know further details, don't hesitate to get in touch. Risk can never be completely eliminated and visitors consume products at their own risk. However, we aim to make The Chocolatarium as accessible to all and are happy to work with you to reduce risk and enable you to make informed decisions.
The Tour of Chocolate
Generally, yes. The vast majority of dark chocolate is plant-based and we have a wide selection of alternative ‘mylk’ and ‘whyte’ chocolate to try too.
Key points for vegans:
- the hot chocolate drink on arrival is vegan-friendly
- in the jungle, both dark chocolate and milk chocolate are offered.
- in the factory kitchen, dark chocolate is available for chocolate bar making 🙂
- some of the toppings for flavouring your chocolate contain milk. Vegan-friendly topping jars are marked with a green ‘V’.
- the default marshmallows are not vegan but we usually have vegan marshmallows available. Please ask your guide for these.
- please note that many products used during the tour that do not have milk as an ingredient are labelled with wording such as "May contain ..." or "Packaged/repackaged in a factory/on a premises that handles nuts and diary".
- in the Tasting Room, a drink containing honey is offered but let your Guide know and they will give you a honey-free version.
- in the Tasting Room, the ingredients of each sample chocolate are displayed next to each jar. None of the dark chocolates contain milk. On the milk and white shelves, look for the chocolates with the plant-based symbol.
Truffle-Making Experience
Yes. Dark chocolate and vegan ganaches are offered and plant-based alternatives are offered in the tasting sessions.
Wine and Chocolate Experience
For public tours, some the wines chosen are not vegan-friendly. (Some wines are not vegan-friendly as egg or milk proteins are used during the wine filtering process. Although the products are removed, tiny traces of the product can be absorbed into the wine).
For private events vegan-friendly alternatives can be prepared with advance notice. Let us know when you book.
Whisky and Chocolate Experience
Some of the whiskies will have been aged in barrels that were used for non-vegan wines and sherries.
Many people with nut allergies have successfully taken part in and enjoyed a Chocolatarium tour. Risk can never be completely eliminated but we try to provide as much detail as possible to enable visitors (or their parents) to make informed decisions.
Key points for those with peanut or nut allergies:
- No products used on a Chocolatarium tour have peanuts or nuts listed as an ingredient.
- However, many products used during the tour are labeled with wording such as "May contain nuts" or "Packaged/repackaged in a factory/on a premises that handles nuts". If in doubt, you can ask your guide to show you the original packaging of the products used.
- There are chocolates that contain nuts and peanuts for sale in the shop.
- Bring appropriate medication (such as an EpiPen) just in case.
Many people with dairy allergies have successfully taken part in and enjoyed a Chocolatarium experience. We provide plant-based alternatives throughout and will give you a detailed list on arrival of products that contain milk. Please let your guide know on arrival and give them an indication of severity. Risk can never be completely eliminated but we try to provide as much detail as possible to enable visitors (or their parents) to make informed decisions.
Key points for those with dairy allergies:
The Tour of Chocolate
- the hot chocolate drink on arrival is made with Oatly oat milk and dark chocolate 🙂
- in the jungle, both dark chocolate and milk chocolate are offered.
- in the factory kitchen, dark chocolate is available for chocolate bar making 🙂
- some of the toppings for flavouring your chocolate contain milk. Your guide will give you a list of these.
- however, please note that many products used during the tour that do not have milk as an ingredient are labelled with wording such as "May contain ..." or "Packaged/repackaged in a factory/on a premises that handles nuts and diary". There is also the small possibility of cross-contamination.
- Bring appropriate medication if it is necessary.
Truffle-Making Experience
Dairy-free ganaches are offered and plant-based alternatives are offered in the tasting sessions.
Wine and Chocolate Experience
See information about the Tour of Chocolate above.
Whisky and Chocolate Experience
Some of the ganaches contain milk but alternatives are offered.
The tour is suitable for vegetarians but there are couple of things to note:
The Tour of Chocolate
- the marshmallows are not vegetarian.
- the Maple Bacon Pancake flavour chocolate is not vegetarian.
Truffle-Making Experience, Wine and Chocolate Experience Whisky and Chocolate Experience are all suitable for vegetarians provided they are lacto-ovo-vegetarians.
Yes, but please note:
Tour of Chocolate
- the default marshmallows are not halal but we usually have vegan marshmallows available. Please ask your guide for these.
- in the Tasting Room, the ingredients of each sample chocolate are displayed next to each jar. The Guinness, whisky and rum flavour chocolates are made with alcohol. The Gin & Tonic flavour does not contain alcohol.
But there over 40 other flavours to choose from!
Truffle-Making Experience
- no alcohol or pork-based products are used during the truffle-making.
- the marshmallows are not halal.
Many people with coeliac disease have successfully taken part in and enjoyed a Chocolatarium tour. Risk can never be completely eliminated but we try to provide as much detail as possible to enable visitors (or their parents) to make informed decisions.
Key points for those with coeliac disease:
The Tour of Chocolate
- the introductory drink is made with Oatly oat milk. Let your guide know that you need an alternative.
- in the Factory Kitchen a few toppings contain gluten. Your guide will give you a list so you know which ones to avoid. However, please bear in mind that there is always the potential of cross-contamination with other visitors touching the jars. If you are concerned, please ask your Guide for a fresh topping jar.
- in the Tasting Room, the ingredients of each sample chocolate are displayed next to each jar with allergens in bold. The vast majority do not contain ingredients that contain gluten but only a few claim to be gluten-free. The Guinness-flavoured chocolate contains gluten. Again, there is a small possibility of cross-contamination when the chocolates are put into the jar or from other visitors.
- our staff induction includes training on the difference in severity between coeliac disease and a gluten allergy.
Truffle-Making Experience
The vegan ganaches usually contain a small amount of gluten. Please get in touch in advance if you are both coeliac and need diary-free options.
Wine and Chocolate Experience
See Tour of Chocolate information above.
The wines used do not contain gluten.
Whisky and Chocolate Experience
- the introductory drink is made with Oatly oat milk. Let your guide know that you need an alternative.
- exact ganaches used can vary. Check with your guide on the day if there are any that contain gluten.
- the whiskies used do not contain gluten.
The Tour of Chocolate
Risk can never be completely eliminated but we try to provide as much detail as possible to enable visitors (or their parents) to make informed decisions.
Key points for those with gluten intolerance:
- the introductory drink is made with Oatly oat milk. Let your guide know if you need an alternative.
- in the Factory Kitchen a few toppings contain gluten. Your guide will give you a list so you know which ones to avoid.
- in the Tasting Room, the ingredients of each sample chocolate are displayed next to each jar with allergens in bold. The vast majority do not contain ingredients that contain gluten but only a few claim to be gluten-free. The Guinness-flavoured chocolate contains gluten.
Truffle-Making Experience
The vegan ganaches usually contain a small amount of gluten. Please get in touch in advance if you need both gluten and dairy-free options.
Wine and Chocolate Experience
See Tour of Chocolate information above. The wines used do not contain gluten.
Whisky and Chocolate Experience
- the introductory drink is made with Oatly oat milk. Let your guide know that you need an alternative.
- exact ganaches used can vary. Check with your guide on the day if there are any that contain gluten.
- the whiskies used do not contain gluten.
Many chocolate makers use soya lecithin as an emulsifier so there will be some chocolates you shouldn’t eat. However, other chocolate makers or chocolatiers use sunflower lecithin instead or use no emulsifier at all so there are many chocolates that you will be able to try. Risk can never be completely eliminated but we try to provide as much detail as possible to enable visitors (or their parents) to make informed decisions.
Key points for those with a soya allergy:
The Tour of Chocolate
- on arrival, your Guide will give you a list of products used during the tour that contain soya.
- chocolate used for making chocolate is made with sunflower lecithin, not soya lecithin but as we have used chocolate containing soya in the past, there is a small chance that traces remain.
- in the Tasting Room, the ingredients of each sample chocolate are displayed next to each jar with allergens in bold.
- bring appropriate medication (such as an EpiPen) just in case.
Truffle-Making Experience
The exact ganaches used can vary. Please let us know in advance if you have a soya allergy so alternatives can be prepared.
Wine and Chocolate Experience
See Tour of Chocolate information above.
- wine does not contain soya.
Whisky and Chocolate Experience
- the exact ganaches used can vary. Please let us know in advance if you have a soya allergy so alternatives can be prepared.
- whisky does not contain soya
Accessibility
A diagram of The Chocolatarium is available here to help you decide if a visit would be right for you. Please get in touch if you have any questions.
We regret that we are not yet able to provide access for wheelchair users due to entrance steps and a historical, narrow doorway. However, we are currently consulting on how accessibility can be improved and will endeavour to make the necessary alterations (with appropriate consent from the relevant regulatory bodies) as soon as is practicable.
Folding/narrow wheelchairs can be used but please note that there are 3 steps and the entrance, 3 steps between two rooms and 3 steps to access the toilets.
The tours are suitable for the majority of people with mobility issues who are not wheelchair dependant and can step down 3 stairs.
Seating
Jungle Room – bench seating but backed chairs can be provided.
Factory Kitchen – usually standing but a portable chair and raised chair (at a suitable height for the chocolate-making counter) are available. Let your Guide know you would like to use these on arrival.
Tasting Room – chair seating.
Stairs
There are 3 steps and the entrance, 3 steps between two rooms and 3 steps to access the toilets.
Folding/narrow wheelchairs can be used.
Picking up/dropping off
There is no public parking directly in front of the building. However, visitors are welcome to be dropped off a little early and take a seat in the waiting room if required.
Many blind and partially sighted people have enjoyed a tour at The Chocolatarium.
Assistance dogs are of course welcome.
If you would like to arrive a little early to become familiar with the space, please get in touch and one of our staff will be ready to welcome you.
If there is any other way in which we can support your visit, please let us know.
We understand that the pandemic has been a particularly challenging time for those with a hearing impairment.
As the guidance surrounding the use of facemasks is frequently changing, please get in touch ahead to find out the current situation and let us know how you can best be supported.
If you would like a visual guide of the key points that our guide is making at each part of the tour, please let us know and we will have this ready for your arrival.
As the range of learning disabilities can be so wide, you may wish to get in touch to ask for more specific information. However, some key points are:
- may people with a wide range of learning disabilities have enjoyed a Chocolatarium tour
- the tour is designed for those with a minimum cognitive ability of primary school-age children
- the tour includes a wide variety of visual aids, props and products to touch, smell and taste which are often helpful to those with learning disabilities
- for those with more severe learning disabilities, please get in touch in advance to find out of the tour would be right for you and to let us know how you or your carer can best be supported.
Yes. Please email us for a carer discount code.
Language Accessibility
Many people with a limited understanding of English have enjoyed a tour at The Chocolatarium.
The tour includes a wide variety of visual aids, props and products to touch, smell and taste which are often helpful to those who do not have English as their first language.
Much of the enjoyment of the tour comes from the hands-on aspects of the tour such as tasting and making chocolate.
However, please keep in mind that the tour is Guide-led and although they will be holding props, pointing at images or demonstrating things as they speak, there will be a significant amount of dialogue that will be beyond the understanding of someone with no or limited English.
For public tours no.
However, for private tours many of our guides speak multiple languages so we can offer tours in some languages. These need to be arranged in advance. Please get in touch with us with the following information;
- the language required
- details of the group attending
- date required.
No. Our entertaining and friendly Guides lead our interactive and hands-on tours.
Directions and Parking
We don't have a car park but there are many parking options. Click here for links to several parking locations.
We are around a 5-minute walk from Waverley Train Station.
Leave by the Market Street exit then turn left. Take the second road on the right (after the Arches) onto Cranston Street. We are 100 metres up on the right-hand side.
Yes. The Chocolatarium is in the city centre and dozens of buses both local and tourist buses pass nearby.
We have a very good local bus service in Edinburgh. Use Google to find the easiest route from your address or download the Edinburgh Bus App.
For directions on your phone or laptop, click this Google Map link.
For your SAT NAV, our postcode is EH8 8BE.
We are on a side street (Cranston Street) halfway down the Royal Mile. Walking from the Castle to the Palace, it is first left after the St. Mary Street/Jeffrey Street junction.
Our address is 3-5 Cranston Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BE.
Cancelations, Refunds and Rebooking
Yes, of course. First check that we have availability on the date you would like to come and then email us at [email protected] with the change you would like to make.
Yes. Provided that it is more than 24 hours before the start of your tour time, you can receive a full refund, rebook to another date or receive a Gift Voucher.
Contacting the Visitor Attraction
If you haven't been able to find the answer to your question, please email us at [email protected] or call +44 (0) 131 556 7005. If we can't answer your call straight away, please leave us a message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Jackie Brown,
Lou,
