Edinburgh is two cities side by side and about fifteen minutes apart on foot. The Old Town runs along a ridge from the castle down to Holyrood — medieval, vertical, built on top of itself. The New Town is a Georgian grid laid out from 1767 across the valley, rational and flat. Two days is one for each, with the volcano attached to the second.
The one variable is weather. If a clear morning appears, climb something that day and rearrange the rest.
Day one: the Old Town
Early. Edinburgh Castle on the first timed slot, booked online. The Crown Room with the Honours of Scotland is nearly empty at half past nine and unpleasant by eleven.
Mid-morning. Walk down the Royal Mile. St Giles’ for the crown steeple and the Thistle Chapel — ten minutes inside, and look for the angel playing bagpipes. If you have booked it, The Real Mary King’s Close is directly beside it and takes an hour underground.
Lunch. Turn off down Victoria Street into the Grassmarket, which is where the pubs and the castle view are.
Afternoon. Greyfriars Kirkyard — the Covenant, the mortsafes, the body-snatching — then straight into the National Museum of Scotland behind it, which is free and needs at least two hours. Take the lift to level 7 for the roof terrace on the way out.
Evening. Down the rest of the Royal Mile to Holyrood, or a pub in the Old Town. If there is anything on at the Usher Hall or the Lyceum, the upper circle costs about what a cinema ticket does.
Day two: the volcano and the New Town
Early. Arthur’s Seat. From Dunsapie Loch on the east side it is twenty minutes up; from Holyrood it is closer to forty-five. Wear proper shoes — this is a hill, not a park path, and people are rescued off it in trainers every year.
Late morning. Come down at Holyrood for the Palace — Mary Queen of Scots’ chambers and the abbey ruin — or the Scottish Parliament opposite, which is free and more interesting inside than out.
Lunch. Back up the Mile, or take a bus into the New Town.
Afternoon. The Scottish National Gallery on the Mound — free, with Titian, Vermeer and the skating minister — then the Scott Monument if you fancy 287 narrowing steps, or Princes Street Gardens if you do not.
Late afternoon. Calton Hill for sunset. This is the view of Edinburgh, because from here the castle is in it. Ten minutes up from Waterloo Place, and free.
Evening. The tram to Leith and dinner on the Shore, which is where the city’s best eating is.
What to book
Only three things really need it: the castle, Mary King’s Close, and dinner in Leith. In August, everything.
If you have a third day
Rosslyn Chapel is forty-five minutes on bus 37 and can be combined with the glen walk. Stirling is fifty minutes by train and is a full day. In the city, Stockbridge, the Water of Leith walk to Dean Village and the Botanics make a good half day with almost no other visitors.
In August
None of the above works normally. See the festivals — the Royal Mile becomes impassable in the afternoon, restaurants need booking, and accommodation roughly doubles.
The weather rule
Edinburgh gets about 700mm of rain a year, which is less than Rome, but it is spread over a great many days and it arrives sideways off the North Sea. The practical consequence is that you should treat a clear morning as an opportunity to be used immediately rather than a forecast to plan around.
Keep two lists: outdoor things (Arthur’s Seat, Calton Hill, the Water of Leith, the Botanics) and indoor things (the museums, the galleries, Mary King’s Close, the castle interiors). Do whichever the sky permits that morning. Every itinerary above will survive being reordered.
The wind off the Forth is the real issue rather than the rain, particularly on Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat. Umbrellas are near-useless; a hood is not.
Museum and attraction closing
The free national museums and galleries open daily. The castle and Holyroodhouse open daily, but Holyroodhouse closes entirely for royal visits, usually a week around the end of June, and for state occasions.
Most of the smaller museums run shorter winter hours from November, and some close on Sundays or Mondays out of season.
Getting between the two towns
The Old Town sits on a ridge and the New Town on a plain, with a valley between them holding the gardens and the railway. You cross either at the Mound, at Waverley Bridge, or up the steps from Princes Street, and all three involve a climb in one direction. It is never more than five minutes; it is always uphill one way.