Booking during the Festival

Online and telephone booking options, described on the previous page, do of course remain open once the Festival has begun. For most visitors, though, it's just as convenient to call into the Hub towards the western end of the Royal Mile. During the Festival, this grand old building becomes the centre of activity for EIF tickets - selling seats for all performances right up to an hour before the curtain lifts.

The Hub. Image courtesy Edinburgh International Festival

A visit to the Hub is usually a stress-free affair; the box office staff are friendly and knowledgeable, advice is willingly given, the queues are rarely unreasonable and the place stays open until 7:30pm every day. That said, if you're looking for last-minute tickets it's worth checking the easel at the entrance doors for details of today's availability. If you're planning a little further ahead, the large-scale programme displayed in the corridor outside the ticket office warns of sold-out performances.

If it's more convenient, you can also call into the EIF's venues at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh Playhouse, Royal Lyceum or Usher Hall (but not the King's Theatre). The booking systems are all linked - so you can go to the nearest venue, no matter where the performance you're after is being held. Understandably enough, the individual venues' box office staff usually know only basic information about events at other theatres, so if you need advice as well as tickets it's better to head for the Hub.

Any remaining tickets go on sale at the venue an hour before curtain-up.