Spring, April to June
The best months. Cool rather than cold, long light, the Botanics and the gardens at their best, and the city functioning normally. May and June are the sweet spot — the Festival crowds have not arrived and daylight runs past ten at night by midsummer.
Summer, July and early August
Warm by Scottish standards, which means high teens rather than anything dramatic. Busy but manageable until the Festival starts.
August: the Festival
A different proposition altogether. Six festivals overlap, the population roughly doubles, accommodation costs about twice as much and books out months ahead, and the Royal Mile becomes impassable in the afternoons.
If you want the Festival, come in August. If you want Edinburgh, do not. Trying to do both in one visit is the standard mistake.
Autumn, September and October
The other good stretch, and arguably the best of all. September has decent weather, the Festival scaffolding has come down, prices drop sharply and the city exhales. October brings colour in the Botanics and along the Water of Leith, and the Storytelling Festival.
Winter, November to March
Cold, wet, and dark — this is the thing to understand. Edinburgh is at 55.9° north, further north than Moscow, and in late December the sun sets before half past three. That is a real constraint on sightseeing.
In compensation: the museums and galleries are free and warm, the pubs have fires, prices are at their lowest, and the city looks its best under low winter light.
Hogmanay is Edinburgh’s other big event — a torchlight procession on 30 December, a ticketed street party and concert on the 31st, and the Loony Dook in the Forth on New Year’s Day. Accommodation is priced like August and the city centre is fenced on the night.
The weather, honestly
Edinburgh gets less rain than Glasgow, Rome or Milan. What it gets is wind off the North Sea and a great many days of grey — the local word is dreich — and four seasons inside an afternoon.
Umbrellas are close to useless on Calton Hill or Arthur’s Seat. Bring a hood and layers, in any month.
Dates worth knowing
25 January — Burns Night, suppers everywhere. April — the Science Festival. August — the Festivals. 30 April — Beltane Fire Festival on Calton Hill, loud and late. 30 November — St Andrew’s Day. 30 Dec–1 Jan — Hogmanay.