A volcano, a castle, and an argument about ideas
An independent guide to Edinburgh — 27 landmarks, museums, parks, venues and neighborhoods, walked and written up first-hand.
The ones you came for
Edinburgh Castle
A fortress on a volcanic plug that has been besieged more often than anywhere else in Britain, holding the oldest crown jewels in the islands.
Arthur's Seat and Holyrood Park
An extinct volcano 251 metres high, inside the city, with an Iron Age fort on it and a climb that takes forty minutes.
Palace of Holyroodhouse
The King's residence in Scotland, an abbey ruin behind it, and the room where Rizzio was stabbed fifty-six times.
National Museum of Scotland
Dolly the sheep, the Lewis chessmen and a Victorian glass hall, all free, with a roof terrace almost nobody finds.
Calton Hill
An unfinished Parthenon, an upturned telescope and a monument to Nelson, on the hill that gave Edinburgh the Athens comparison.
St Giles' Cathedral
The High Kirk of Edinburgh, where Knox preached the Reformation and a woman allegedly threw a stool at a bishop.
Edinburgh by category
Day-by-day itineraries
Neighborhoods
The essentials
How to get in from all three airports, how the subway and the ferries actually fit together, and the history that explains what you're standing in front of.
From the guide
Eating in Edinburgh
Haggis is genuinely good, the seafood is better, and the best restaurants are two miles from the Royal Mile.
Edinburgh Airport to the City
A tram and two buses cover the same eight miles at three prices, and the cheapest is often the quickest.
Getting Around Edinburgh
A good bus network, one tram line, no metro, and a city centre that is mostly quicker on foot.