Edinburgh

Planning a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland

Why Edinburgh?

Tour mighty Edinburgh Castle
Walk the Royal Mile, lined with hisotric sights
Take a pub crawl in the Univeristy district
Attend the Fringe Festival, Europe's leading avant-garde performing arts fest
Hike up Arthur's Seat

Lively Edinburgh is a city of glowering castles and craggy hill walks, friendly pubs and fascinating museums.

Whether you prefer the twisting stony alleys of Old Town, the genteel Georgian grid of New Town, the hopping university district to the south or the fishing village of Newhaven down on the Firth of Forth, Edinburgh has a facet for you to explore.

Edinburgh is called the “Athens of the North,” partly for its renowned university and intellectual life (Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns lived here, and Robert Louis Stevenson is a native son) and partly because some neoclassical ruins top one of its hills.

It’s a town of fine arts and shopping, and some of the kickingest nightlife in Britain. The city is a cultural capital of Europe and hosts a performing arts blowout every August called the Edinburgh International Festival (and the accompanying Fringe Festival, which has, if anything, become more famous than the main festival).

Tips & Links

How long should I spend in Edinburgh?

I’ve done Edinburgh in a day before, but it deserves at least two or three days.

Useful links & resources

SIGHTS

Tourist info: Edinburgh.org, Visitscotland.com

Sightseeing passes: Edinburgh Pass (30+ sights; airport transfer)

Tours & activities: Viator.com, ContextTravel.com, City-Discovery.com, Intrepidtravel.com, Gadventures.com

LODGING

Hotels: Booking.com, Venere.com, Priceline.com, Hotels.com

B&Bs: Booking.com, Bedandbreakfast.com, Venere.com, Airbnb.com

Apartments: Rentalo.com, Booking.com, Vrbo.com, Venere.com, Airbnb.com, Interhomeusa.com, Homeaway.com

Hostels & campgrounds: Hostelbookers.com, Hostelworld.com, Hostelz.com, Booking.com

TRANSPORT

Airfares:

Airport: Edinburghairport.com

Trains: Nationalrail.co.uk, Scotrail.co.uk, Raileurope.com, Bahn.de, Seat61.com

Public transport: Lothianbuses.com

Car rentals: Autoeurope.com, RentalCars.com, Momondo.com, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Kayak.com

Driving/Parking: Theaa.com, Rac.co.uk, Edinburgh.gov.uk/...public_parking, Edinburgh.cdmf.info

Consider the Edinburgh Pass

The Edinburgh Pass—which comes in 1-day, 2-day, and 3-day varieties—covers admission to more than 30 sights and tours.

Most of these are the more touristy attractions in town (rather than major hisotrical sights), thoguh it does cover special exhibits at the (otherwise free) National Gallery and National Museums, plus some popular sights like the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Camera Obscura—and some keen tours, including a Literary Pub Tour.

It also includes a free airport transfer.

Edinburgh tours

Tours of Edinburgh