Things to do in Edinburgh right now
Edinburgh is a city of hills and closes, which means the weather decides the day more than most places. Clear skies send everyone up Arthur’s Seat and Calton Hill; a haar off the Forth sends them into the National Museum, the galleries and the whisky bars. This list is re-ordered for the weather and the time in Edinburgh right now.
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Arthur's Seat and Holyrood Park
Holyrood
An extinct volcano in the middle of the city, an hour’s climb to a view of everything.
Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Calton Hill
New Town
A ten-minute climb to the unfinished Parthenon and the best sunset in the city.
Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
National Museum of Scotland
Old Town
Dolly the sheep, dinosaurs, Scottish history and a free rooftop terrace.
Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
The Royal Mile and its closes
Old Town
The spine of the Old Town from the castle to Holyrood, with hidden closes off both sides.
Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Edinburgh Castle
Old Town
The fortress on the rock, with the Crown Jewels of Scotland and the one o’clock gun.
- Over £25
- In and out
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Dean Village and the Water of Leith
Dean
A riverside village of old mills a few minutes from the West End, and a walkway to Stockbridge.
Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
Grassmarket and Victoria Street
Old Town
The curved street of coloured shopfronts and the square of pubs beneath the castle.
Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
National Galleries: Scottish National Gallery
The Mound
Titian, Turner and the Scottish painters in a neoclassical gallery on the Mound, free.
Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Portobello Beach
Portobello
Two miles of sand and a Victorian promenade, twenty minutes from the centre by bus.
Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Inverleith
Seventy acres of garden with glasshouses and a skyline view across the lawns.
Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Garden free; glasshouses ticketed
Royal Yacht Britannia
Leith
The Queen’s former yacht, moored in Leith with every deck open to walk through.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
The Real Mary King’s Close
Royal Mile
A guided tour through the seventeenth-century streets buried under the City Chambers.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Cramond and the tidal island
Cramond
A Roman fort, a harbour village and a causeway to an island you can only reach at low tide.
Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Greyfriars Kirkyard
Old Town
The graveyard of Greyfriars Bobby, the Covenanters and, allegedly, some Harry Potter names.
Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
New Town
A red sandstone palace of Scottish faces, from Mary Queen of Scots to Billy Connolly, free.
Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Camera Obscura and World of Illusions
Castlehill
Five floors of optical tricks, a mirror maze and a Victorian camera obscura at the top.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Dynamic Earth
Holyrood
A journey from the Big Bang to the ice age, with an earthquake floor and a planetarium.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Edinburgh Zoo
Corstorphine
A hillside zoo with penguins, koalas and a daily penguin parade.
- Over £25
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Palace of Holyroodhouse
Holyrood
The King’s official residence in Scotland, with Mary Queen of Scots’ chambers and the abbey ruins.
- Over £25
- In and out
- Half a day
Stockbridge
Stockbridge
A village within the city: delis, charity shops and a Sunday market by the river.
- Under £10
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
Surgeons' Hall Museums
Nicolson Street
Anatomy, pathology and the story of Burke and Hare, in the Royal College of Surgeons.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
The Scotch Whisky Experience
Castlehill
A barrel ride through the making of whisky, then a tasting beside the world’s biggest collection.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Pentland Hills
Day trip
Proper hill walking half an hour from the city, with reservoirs, ridges and views to the Highlands.
Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- A full day
The Writers' Museum
Lady Stair’s Close
Burns, Scott and Stevenson in a seventeenth-century house off the Royal Mile, free.
Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
The Stand Comedy Club
York Place
A basement comedy club with shows most nights and a free improv session on Sundays.
Comes alive in the evening.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours