Edinburgh is built on two levels, and understanding that is the first thing that makes it navigable. The Old Town runs along a ridge; the New Town sits on lower ground to the north.
The two towns
The Old Town — the Royal Mile running along the ridge from the castle down to Holyrood, with narrow closes dropping steeply off both sides.
The New Town — Georgian, planned, on a grid, built in the eighteenth century on lower ground.
The valley between holds Princes Street Gardens and the railway.
The bridges — George IV, South Bridge, North Bridge — cross at what feels like ground level and are several storeys above the streets beneath. This is why Edinburgh disorients people initially.
The free things
The National Museum of Scotland — free, large, and genuinely good, with a roof terrace that most visitors miss.
The Scottish National Gallery, Portrait Gallery and the Modern Art galleries, all free permanent collections.
Arthur's Seat — an extinct volcano rising 250 metres from a city centre park. About an hour to the top from the Holyrood end, on paths, with considerable wind at the summit.
Calton Hill — shorter, with the unfinished national monument and the best view of the city.
Dean Village and the Water of Leith walkway, ten minutes from Princes Street and entirely quiet.
What charges
Edinburgh Castle — expensive, busy, and worth booking a timed slot for. The view from Calton Hill and Arthur's Seat is free and arguably better.
Holyrood Palace at the other end of the Mile.
The Real Mary King's Close — underground streets beneath the Royal Mile, guided, and one of the better paid attractions.
August
The festival month transforms the city — thousands of performances across the Fringe, the International Festival and several others.
Accommodation prices multiply and book many months ahead.
It is either the reason to go or the month to avoid. There is no middle position, and arriving unaware is the mistake.
The Fringe is also excellent alone — free shows, single seats always available, and the whole city is full of people on their own between performances.
Eating and drinking alone
Pubs, where sitting at the bar with a drink and a book is entirely normal and where conversation happens if you want it.
Pub lunch is the cheapest reliable eating in the centre.
Whisky bars, where a solo drinker at the counter gets talked to about what they are drinking.
Leith, twenty minutes out, for the best restaurants at better prices.
Day trips
| Destination | Time |
|---|---|
| Glasgow | 50 min by train |
| Stirling | 50 min — castle and Wallace Monument |
| North Berwick | 35 min — coast and seabirds |
| The Highlands | Day tours from the city |
Practical
The weather changes constantly and the wind on the ridge and on Arthur's Seat is a genuine factor. Layers, year round.
The Old Town is steep, with closes and staircases everywhere.
Book August accommodation months ahead, or avoid it.
Hostels are concentrated in the Old Town and the Grassmarket area.