Booking Edinburgh fringe performances

[nNina22]

We're visiting Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Festival in August and hope to attend some fringe performances while we are there. Do we have to book tickets in advance or can we do it on the day. We aren't particularly bothered about what we see but just want the experience

You can rock up to the ticket office and see what is available x

If you have your heart set on seeing someone it's best to book in advance. If you don't care then it's great to see the reviews and go with the flow. Have fun. we've being going to the fringe for many years now both before and after children and always have a great time.

You can do both. Better to book in advance if there are things you definitely want to see as they sometimes sell out/stop selling tickets at the box office a certain amount of time before. We go every year, get a copy of the programme and mark what we want, buy in advance then once we're there we look around and go to whatever takes our fancy in our spare time

Some of the big name comedians sell out, but most things don't. A lot of people coming for the first time book a couple of things in advance and leave the rest to chance. To be honest, part of the fun is talking to people in queues about what they've seen and enjoyed, picking up flyers on the street (you'll be offered thousands!!) and making on the spot decisions about what seems to be interesting/fun. I recommend spending at least one day at one of the bigger venues with a bar - get tickets for a couple of things at the start of the day and sit in the bar in between times. Peformers and their promoters will come round and talk to you about their shows, and you can go and see them if you feel like it. I've been doing that for about 20 years (I have the good fortune to live here and I'm able to take time off in late August) and some of the people I first saw that way are now the big sell-out stars.

We bought on the day, or day before. There are several booking offices dotted around. High profile comedians and shows like Nicholas Parsons in Just a Minute were sold out in advance though.

There is usually a box office in Glasgow Queen Street