Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a small city with one enormous constraint: August. During the Festival and Fringe the population roughly doubles, accommodation prices multiply, and every attraction operates at capacity. When you visit here matters more than what you book.

This page compares live ticket prices and availability for Edinburgh attractions across our booking partners.

When to visit Edinburgh

May, June and September are the best months. Long days, reasonable weather by Scottish standards, and the city operating normally.

August is Festival month — the Fringe, the International Festival, the Military Tattoo, the Book Festival, all overlapping. Extraordinary if that’s why you’re coming. Impossible and expensive if it isn’t. Book accommodation six months ahead or avoid entirely.

Hogmanay at New Year is the other peak — a multi-day street festival with ticketed events.

October to April is cold, wet and dark early, but the city is atmospheric in a way that suits the weather, and prices fall substantially outside the festival periods.

Rain and wind are possible year-round. Layers matter more than any single warm item.

Edinburgh Castle

On a volcanic rock at the top of the Royal Mile, and the most visited paid attraction in Scotland.

Timed entry, and summer slots sell out days ahead.

The ticket covers the Crown Jewels — the Honours of Scotland — the Stone of Destiny, St Margaret’s Chapel which is the oldest building in the city, and the National War Museum.

The One O’Clock Gun fires every day except Sunday, Christmas and Good Friday. It’s loud and unexpected if you don’t know it’s coming.

Allow two to three hours.

The walk up from Princes Street is steep. There is no lift and the esplanade is exposed to wind.

The Royal Mile and Holyrood

The Royal Mile runs downhill from the castle to Holyrood Palace, the King’s official residence in Scotland.

Holyrood is ticketed and closes during royal visits, which are announced but can disrupt plans. Check the calendar.

The palace ticket includes the ruined abbey and the gardens.

The Scottish Parliament opposite is free to enter, with free guided tours on non-sitting days.

The closes and wynds — the narrow alleys off the Royal Mile — are free to explore and where the medieval city survives.

Arthur’s Seat and the views

Arthur’s Seat is an extinct volcano in a park in the middle of the city. Free, and the climb takes 45 minutes to an hour from the Holyrood side.

The path is uneven and exposed. In wind or wet it becomes genuinely slippery.

Calton Hill is a much easier ten-minute climb for a comparable view over the city and out to the Firth of Forth.

Both are free and both are better at sunset.

Booking ahead vs walking up

Scotland’s national museums and the National Gallery are free, which matters in an expensive city.

Day trips

Loch Ness and the Highlands is a very long day — around twelve hours — but the drive through Glencoe is the reason to do it.

Stirling Castle is an hour away and arguably a better castle than Edinburgh’s, with far fewer visitors.

St Andrews and the Fife coast is around 90 minutes, for golf and coastline.

Rosslyn Chapel is 30 minutes south and small, ornate and famous from The Da Vinci Code.

Getting around

The centre is compact and walking is the way to see it — the castle to Holyrood is about 25 minutes downhill.

Edinburgh is built on hills and ridges. The Old Town sits above the New Town, connected by steep stairs and bridges. The distances are short and the gradients are not.

Trams run from the airport to the centre. Buses cover the rest and take contactless payment.

Waverley station is central and connects to Glasgow in under an hour.

A first-timer’s two days

Day one — the Old Town. Castle first thing with a booked slot, down the Royal Mile through the closes, Holyrood Palace in the afternoon, Calton Hill at sunset.

Day two — the rest. National Museum of Scotland in the morning, New Town and Dean Village in the afternoon, or Arthur’s Seat if the weather holds.