What to See in Edinburgh: 12 Places Not to Miss! | Explorista (2024)

Wondering what to see in Edinburgh, Scotland? Here are 12 places and things not to miss!

I feel Edinburgh is one of those cities that offers more than people thin it does. I want to say it’s underrated, but I don’t think it is. Everyone I know that has visited ADORED the city… it’s just not necessarily on everyone’s UK bucket list.

I decided to visit Edinburgh on a whim, after seeing some Pinterest pictures. True story.

Well… this city certainly didn’t disappoint. In fact, the architecture in Edinburgh is nothing short of epic. If you’re into the whole Harry Potter vibe, this is definitely a city you will enjoy. I like my cities like I like my men (old, interesting, good to look at), so Edinburgh was definitely up my alley.

I only spent two days in the city, which means we only scratched the surface of what to see in Edinburgh, so I’d recommend you take three days for a more thorough visit. In the meantime, though, here are my 12 picks!

What to See in Edinburgh: 12 Things to Do

1. Take in the View fromPrincess Street to the Old City

If you are magically transported to Edinburgh, and the world is collapsing around you, and you have only ten minutes to spend in this city before the world vanishes forever (Seriously, what am I on?!), make sure to run down to Princess Street. Then marvel at the dramatic skyline of the city centre.

It houses the world’s first skyscrapers (medieval buildings that were up to fourteen stories high, because of their locations on hills). I’ve seen some epic skylines, but Edinburgh is right there up with it. (Also: Princess Street is great for shopping)

2. Walk the Royal Mile

It is impossible to miss The Royal Mile, the central street in the middle of Old Town Edinburgh. The street gotit* name because it connects Edinburgh Castle with the lower royal castle of Holyrood Palace, which is where the royal family stays when they visit.

The small twisty streets that stem from the main road are called “closes,” where hundreds of people would live at the same time, piled on top of each other.

The buildings would sometimes measure 14 stories high and were hardly safe or sturdy structures. The lower floors would house shops and rich people; the top floors the poor ones. It was windy and crooked, and sometimes the buildings would collapse. There was also no bathroom so everybody emptied their buckets at set times eachday. They’d yell “Gardy Loo!,” which is very poor French for “Garde de l’eau,” which means “mind the water.”(Yeah…. water….)And then you’d just pray you weren’t walking in that street at that time.

We did a tour about the secrets of the Royal Mile to learn more about its history. If you want to do the same, check out this walking tour.

3. Check out the City Chambers/ Royal Exchange

It’s really not a very subtle building with its gateway andpillars. Though it now serves as the City Chambers, the building once held ‘The Royal Exchange,” an initiative to house the local merchants.

When you enter, you end up in a square that’s supposed to feature a statue of Alexander the Great taming his horse, Bucaphalus. The poor artist was paid every couple of months until he completed the statue, but then ran into major sh*tface-client behavior.

The city simply decided not to pay the last cheque, even if the statue was perfectly fine. All the artist still had to do was create the horses head. To take his revenge on his client he ditched the idea of a strongmanly horse, and instead gave it a pigs face with tiny ears. And that’s how the statue remains, for the joy of all the freelancers who feel his pain in working with clients.

4. Listen for Royal Decrees at Mercat Cross

Right across from the City Chambers, and next to the church, you can see Mercats Cross. From that tower, royal announcements are still being made, three days after they have been spoken in London.

This is because in the old days it would take three days to transport the message to Edinburgh. It was also the place were all the merchants did their business. AND the spot were all the torture took place in the town. People were beaten with whips with glass fragments, and body parts got hammered to the pillar… all that fun stuff.

5. Have Fun at Camera Obscura

I love museums, but I’m not a big art fan, which rules out a lot of museums. Thankfully we discovered Camera Obscura, which is one of the most enjoyablemuseums I’ve ever visited.

It’s actually better to call it an attraction than a museum, because of its interactive nature. You can touch everything and walk in and around things. The theme is “optical illusions.” How awesome? Get a ticket here

Bonus: It also has one of the best views of Edinburgh from its roof.

6. See the City at Night

I actually took two tours while in Edinburgh, the first was the aforementioned Royal Mile tour, and the second was a “Ghosts and Ghouls” tour with Mercat Tours. The latter really lets you see the city at night!

That tour has nice stories about all the horrors that took place in Edinburgh (serial killers, ghosts, executions etc). Thankfully isn’t scary at all! (Good for someone like me who likes freak stories, but actually doesn’t enjoy being scared)

There are a lot of fun, spooky-themed tours in Edinburgh, so check out these as well:

• Ghost Bus Tour
• Ghosts & Gore Walking Tour
• Hidden & Haunted Ghost Tour
• Ghostly Underground Vaults Tour
• Murder & Mystery Walking Tour

7. Check out the Real Mary Kings Close

One of the best attractions of Edinburgh is the Real Mary Kings Close. I mentioned the “closes” before, and Mary King Close was the biggest and most famous one.

If you lived here as a poor person, then you could live anywhere. My tour visits actual old houses is guided by a girl that plays the role of the housemaid of one of the richest families inthe close. She guides you throughrooms that are decorated true to history and tells you real stories that took place in the close. Very interesting!

The most intriguing story to me was the one about how the plague struck the close, but I also enjoyed the stories about how the inhabitants got to their houses on the 14th floor. (Via ladders that were nailed to the wall, which meant the end of a life for many people that slipped and fell)

Book a tour here

8. Tour Edinburgh Castle

There’s not many castles that are so IN YOUR FACE as Edinburgh Castle. Not a cheap place to visit by all means, but interesting. It allows you to see the crown jewels, the house where a king was born, and the place where the crown jewels were buried in the second world war.

One ticket allows you access the the National War Museum as well, that is located within the castle walls. Get your tickets here.

Other Things to See in Edinburgh

Obviously I was only in Edinburgh for two short days, and so I had to miss out on a lot as well. This is what I’d like to see when I return:

• The Harbour:I’ve heard it’s very nice to walk down to the harbor, so why not?
• Arthurs Seat:The highest peak in the Pentland Hils. How beautiful is is when you can take a beautiful hike so close to the city?
• Scotch Whiskey Experience:I really don’t enjoy liquor, but my colleague starts to smile from ear from ear when she recalls the time she sat in a whiskey barrel, on a rollercoaster ride (?) through the experience. That sounds like fun. Check out the experience here
• Surgeons Hall museum:A museum about the history of surgery from the sixteenth century until now. With exhibits about pathology, skulls, and a book that’s made from human skin by famous serial killers, Burke & Hare!

Where to Stay in Edinburgh

A good tip also is to find a central hotel as that saves you a lot of time. We stayed in a very affordable and fun Airbnb, but it was quite some way from the city centre, so it took us about 30 minutes to reach it by foot. A waste of time really! Looking for an Airbnb-stay? (Get discount here!) or look for hotels check here.

What else would you put on your list of what to see in Edinburgh?

General Travel Tips

• For accommodation, I always check Airbnb orBooking.comfor the best prices.
• If your insurance at home doesn’t cover travel, you may want to look intoSafetyWing for an affordable option.
• I always recommend checkingGet Your Guidefor the best tours in Europe andTiqetsfor specific attraction deals.

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