Best Things to Do in Edinburgh

Edinburgh lets you move from a medieval royal fortress to a wild volcanic hillside and a quiet riverside village in a single day on foot. Here are the ten experiences that define a first visit.

1. Edinburgh Castle and the One O'Clock Gun. Stand on the basalt battlements of Castle Rock above the city, inspect the Honours of Scotland (the oldest Crown Jewels in Britain) and the Stone of Destiny, and hear the artillery gun fire across the Firth of Forth at 13:00 (every day except Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day).
2. Walking the Royal Mile and its hidden closes. Follow the medieval spine from Castlehill down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, ducking through low archways into Lady Stair's Close, Advocate's Close, Dunbar's Close Garden and the crown-spired St Giles' Cathedral.
3. Hike up Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags. Climb the grassy paths of Holyrood Park to the 251-metre summit of an extinct volcano for a 360-degree view across Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth and the Pentland Hills.
4. Sunset on Calton Hill. A five-minute climb from the east end of Princes Street to the unfinished columns of the National Monument, Dugald Stewart Monument and Nelson Monument as the sun sets behind the Castle and New Town spires.
5. Dean Village and the Water of Leith to Stockbridge. Step down into a former 19th-century grain-milling hamlet in a steep river gorge, then follow the wooded riverside footpath past St Bernard's Well to the independent cheese shops and Sunday market of Stockbridge.
6. National Museum of Scotland and its Rooftop Terrace. Explore Scottish history, Dolly the sheep and the soaring Victorian cast-iron Grand Gallery on Chambers Street (free entry), then take the lift to the Level 7 rooftop garden for one of the best hidden views of Edinburgh Castle.
7. Victoria Street, Grassmarket and Greyfriars Kirkyard. Walk the sweeping two-tiered curve of painted shopfronts on Victoria Street down into the Grassmarket, then visit the 16th-century gravestones and Greyfriars Bobby memorial at Greyfriars Kirkyard.
8. The Palace of Holyroodhouse and Scottish Parliament. Tour the King's official residence in Scotland, Mary, Queen of Scots' historic chambers and the roofless Gothic nave of 12th-century Holyrood Abbey at the foot of the Royal Mile.
9. Scottish National Gallery on The Mound. See Raeburn's Skating Minister, Botticelli, Titian, Turner and the monarchs of the Scottish landscape inside Playfair's neoclassical temple between Princes Street Gardens.
10. Leith Shore and the Royal Yacht Britannia. Ride the tram down to the historic docklands of Leith to tour Queen Elizabeth II's former floating palace and eat fresh Scottish seafood along the Water of Leith shorefront.