Things to do in Edinburgh with kids
Dynamic Earth, the Camera Obscura and the zoo are the paid treats; the National Museum, the beach at Portobello and the climb up Arthur’s Seat are free.
14 picks that fit, best first. The order follows the live forecast and the time of day.
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
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
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
Good to know
What is there to do in Edinburgh with children?
Dynamic Earth, the Camera Obscura and the zoo are the paid treats; the National Museum, the beach at Portobello and the climb up Arthur’s Seat are free. This list keeps 14 places that work with kids and moves the indoor ones up when it is raining.
Which of these are free for families?
Look for the "Free" label. Most cities have at least a couple of free museums and a big park on this list, which makes a cheap day out easy to put together.