Edinburgh travel info

Climb the steps out of Waverley Station onto Princes Street and your head turns right on its own. Edinburgh Castle sits on top of a black volcanic crag, with a valley garden below it and the Old Town's spires stacked up behind. Wind off the sea makes you turn up your collar, and somewhere a bagpiper is playing. It's four and a half hours from London by train, the same country, yet the air, the accent and even the banknotes are different.

The city is built of slopes and stairs. Along the Royal Mile, which runs a little over a mile from the castle to Holyrood Palace, narrow alleys called closes branch off like ribs; head down a dark stone stairway and you come out in a hidden courtyard or a sudden view across town. The climbing pays off, and it's free: watch the sun go down over Old Town rooftops from Calton Hill, or look all the way to the sea from the top of Arthur's Seat.

In August the whole city turns into a stage. The Fringe, the world's biggest arts festival, plasters every alley with comedy and theatre posters, and the Military Tattoo plays on the castle esplanade every night. At year's end, Hogmanay packs Princes Street for the New Year. Rooms cost several times more at both, so book early, and since July 2026 a 5% visitor levy is added to your accommodation bill. In the evening, a plate of haggis and a dram of whisky in a pub tells you you're in Scotland.

Edinburgh Airport (EDI)