Edinburgh

See

thumb | 300px | Entrance to Edinburgh Castle

Old Town has most major sights: Edinburgh Castle sits on the crag at the top of Old Town. In summer it often sells out, best book online. Royal Mile is the long street descending from castle to palace. The best of it is High Street, the broad upper traffic-free section, with medieval "closes" (alleys) descending steeply on either side. Holyrood Palace is sumptuously furnished and still a royal residence. Scottish Parliament meets in a modern building near the palace, and you can look in on debates. Arthur's Seat is the extinct volcano looming over the city: you have to go round to its far side for the simple ascent. National Museum of Scotland is in Chambers St half a mile south of High St, an amazing free collection that will absorb a whole afternoon.

New Town: Princes Street is architecturally dull, but has a great view of the castle and Old Town. National Gallery of Scotland and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery are side-by-side midway along Princes St. Modern One & Two are modern art galleries a mile beyond Haymarket. Calton Hill is the miniature Arthur's Seat at the east end of Princes St, much more accessible for city views.

Elsewhere: thumb | 300px | Holyrood Palace The Botanic Gardens are in Canonmills. Their glasshouses are closed until 2025. Royal Yacht Britannia is permanently moored in Leith. Craigmillar Castle is an extensive medieval ruin in the south.

If you are staying in Scotland a while, conside…

Buy

thumb | 300px | Pubs and small stores line Cockburn Street Princes Street in New Town is the main shopping street, lined by chain and department stores. George Street, parallel to Princes Street, has more upmarket stores. The Royal Mile near the castle is mostly an overpriced tourist trap. Cockburn Street and Victoria Street in Old Town have small independent stores. Grassmarket at the foot of Victoria Street has more, plus castle views. Multrees Walk has upmarket labels. It's next to the bus station in New Town. Other malls include St James Mall east of Princes Street, and Ocean Terminal in Leith.

Eat

Edinburgh has a great selection in all price ranges, cosmopolitan cuisines, and caters for diets such as vegan, halal and GF. Good areas for value food are Elm Row at the top of Leith Walk, Rose and Thistle streets flanking George St, along South Bridge including the "Little Cairo" around the Central Mosque, Forrest Rd by Greyfriars Bobby, Tollcross and Lothian Rd, and west end from Queensferry St to Haymarket station. Overpriced areas to be cautious are the Royal Mile from castle to Tron Kirk, Princes St and the Grassmarket.

thumb | 300px | Edinburgh Rock The Scots are well known for having a penchant for fried food which has resulted in such gastronomic delights as deep fried pizza, deep fried hamburgers, deep fried Black Pudding (a type of blood sausage), deep fried haggis and deep fried Mars bars, which are not just a myth. If you're up to it, be sure to drop by a chippy (fish and chip shop) and experience these Scottish delights. Edinburgh chippys are unique in the UK for offering salt'n'sauce as standard in place of the salt'n'vinegar usually provided elsewhere in the country. The sauce is a kind of runny, vinegary version of HP or Daddys style brown sauce. Most chippys will provide vinegar on request if you prefer, but you really should try salt'n'sauce at least once!

Edinburgh Rock is a soft confectionery, made from sugar and cream of tartar with various flavourings and colours, including peppermint and ginger. It can often be seen in tourist shops in tartan boxes.

Drink

For a non-alcoholic beverage give Scotland's second national drink a try Irn-Bru. It's a great cure for hangover.

As for Scotland's first drink, you will find The Scotch Whisky Experience at the top of the Royal Mile, which offers an interactive "tour" of the history and practice of whisky distilling. For a less touristic experience simply enjoy your whisky in one of the many pubs. The closest single malt whisky distillery to Edinburgh is the Glenkinchie Distillery out in the country towards Haddington. The North British Distillery in Edinburgh (near Murrayfield) produces grain whisky which is all used in blending and the distillery is not open for visits.

There are a few gin distilleries opened in and around Edinburgh producing Pickering's Gin, Edinburgh Gin or NB Gin (from North Berwick).

The two major local beer breweries are the Caledonian Brewery and Stewart Brewing. thumb | 300px | Decor at the Scotch Whisky Experience There are lots of (traditional) pubs all around the city and many of them offer - next to all the standard choices - a changing selection of guest ales. The bartenders can usually give you detailed taste information about each guest ale and are often willing to let you try a small sample. Most pubs also have a great selection of whiskies. As with eating, the Grassmarket and upper Royal Mile are overpriced.

Clubs are on George Street and around The Cowgate.

Sleep

Edinburgh has been established as a tourist destination for centuries, and so there is a huge choice of accommodation available for travellers. If you're planning a visit during festival time (Aug), around Christmas and New Year, or on the weekend of a Scotland home game in the 6-nations Rugby (Mar/Apr, 2 or 3 matches per year), then you will find that all types of accommodation get booked up well in advance, and a premium may be applied to the room-rate. It's not impossible to get somewhere to stay at short notice at these times, but you won't be able to be fussy and it will probably be expensive. The average cost of hotel accommodation in Edinburgh is higher than anywhere else in Scotland.

All short-term accommodation in Scotland must be registered, otherwise it's illegal and probably a flea-pit or fire-trap. This applies throughout Scotland but is especially pertinent to Edinburgh, where demand far exceeds supply and encourages exploitive providers. The law (which does not apply to England) was introduced in 2022 but there is considerable wriggle room until July 2024, so for the time being proprietors can reasonably say that their registration is still being processed. Be increasingly sceptical as the deadline approaches. It's unwelcome extra bureaucracy for B&Bs, campsites and so on but in the long-term should better protect travellers and honest providers. thumb | 300px | Balmoral Hotel above Waverley Station For those on a budget, there are cheap youth hostels availa…

Connect

thumb | 300px | Telcoms mast on Blackford Hill As of Nov 2023, the entire city and its approach roads have 5G from all UK carriers. Wifi is widely available in public places.

Because Edinburgh has multiple expat communities, you may find SIM cards for their countries' carriers in local shops.

Public libraries have internet stations, accessible if you hold a city library card. You can register free online, which gives you temporary membership for 3 months. Convert this to full membership by presenting ID in person, and they'll post out a card. There are over 30 libraries across the city.

Stay safe

In general Edinburgh is a safe destination. Take care of valuables, especially in crowded places where pickpockets operate.

Swerve clear of drunks, especially after football matches and at pub closing times, and don't get drunk yourself.

Like every other city, there are rundown areas where you have simply no reason to go. Examples are Niddrie and Craigmillar in the southeast, Saughton, Sighthill and Wester Hailes in the west, and Muirhouse and Pilton in the north.

In an emergency call 999. The non-emergency police contact number is 101.

Stay healthy

In emergency, dial 999 (preferably from a landline, a free call from any phone including payphones), 112 also works.

For advice on non-emergency medical problems, you can ring the free 24-hour NHS 24 service on 111 or for textphone users 18001 111.

Go next

Edinburgh is so well-connected that anywhere in Scotland is a reasonable destination to go next. Here are some highlights within a day trip.

Going west: thumb | 300px | Forth Rail Bridge to Fife South Queensferry is an old harbour with the iconic Forth Bridge for rail, and two modern road bridges crossing to Fife. Linlithgow has a ruined Palace, abode of Mary, Queen of Scots. Falkirk has the ingenious Falkirk Wheel to lift boats between two canals. Stirling is a miniature Edinburgh with its castle perched on a crag and ancient streets. Glasgow is a lively city, Scotland's largest, deserving a longer stay.

Going east: Gullane has an excellent beach, backed by sand-hills and a great golf course. The Museum of Flight is a few miles inland. North Berwick is a fishing village near the sea-bird reserve of Bass Rock and the 14th century Tantallon Castle. Dunbar is a charming harbour town, birthplace of conservationist John Muir.

Going north: Dunfermline is the ancient royal capital of Scotland, and birthplace of industrialist Andrew Carnegie. Culross is a gem of a 17th-18th century village to the east of the bridges. Anstruther is the largest of the little fishing villages of the East Neuk of Fife. St Andrews is a venerable university town and home of the Royal and Ancient, the ruling body of Golf. Dundee, once a grubby industrial city, is now rejuvenated, with a great setting by the River Tay.

Going south: Jedburgh, Melrose and Kelso in the Borders have ruined medie…