Edinburgh: The Ultimate 3 Day Itinerary for Scotland’s Capital

The perfect 3 day Edinburgh itinerary to explore this dreamy fairytale city.

Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities! The city is renowned for its medieval architecture, Harry Potter lore, and it’s exceptional walkability.

Two days and three nights is a perfect amount of time to experience the best of what Edinburgh has to offer. The majority of sights are clustered around the Royal Mile, the main road down the centre of town that connects Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace.

If you have time to spare, there are plenty of day trip opportunities in the area including north to the Highlands, east to the coast, or south to Lindisfarne Island.

Edinburgh is one of those cities that is just so beautiful and charming, so be sure to give yourself ample time to wander and and admire the architecture.

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When to Visit Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a great city to explore at any time of year. However, the busiest travel periods are during summer (June-August) and Christmas.

If you are travelling during these times of year, make sure that you are pre-booking your flight and accommodation well in advance to get the best price.

Remember that it is very cold in Edinburgh during the winter, which might limit the outdoor activities available to you.

How to Get To Edinburgh

Plane

Before booking your flight, always check which airline is offering the best price. An easy way to do this is using WayAway.

Just put in where you’re going and when you want to go, and WayAway will give you the cheapest option, as well as a price chart to compare the best day to travel.

I also like to use Google Flights to track flight prices over a couple months; they send you an email when the flight is the absolute cheapest it’s going to get!

Train

If you’re already in the UK, try taking the train to Edinburgh.

TIP: Most of the time, it is cheaper to fly to London and then take the train to Edinburgh instead of directly flying to Edinburgh.

Where to Stay in Edinburgh

$ Hostel $

Castle Rock Hostel
15 Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2PW, United Kingdom.
This is one of my favourite hostels EVER. Located right next door to Edinburgh Castle, this hostel is basically a castle itself. With medieval furnishings and quirky room and bed names (I stayed in the Virgin room), this place is a maze to explore. It’s very social; there are events every night including pub crawls, whisky tasting and dancing. Check availability or see other options.

$$ Hotel $$

Eliza House
14-16 Grosvenor Street, Edinburgh, EH12 5EG, United Kingdom. 
Hotels in Edinburgh are notoriously expensive. If you are set on staying in a hotel, then Eliza House is a good, simple choice. Located just slightly west of the city centre, all of the best sights are still in walkable distance. The decor is a little dated but has charming, spacious rooms. Check availability or see other options.

How to Get Cheap Accommodation

• Peak time to travel to Edinburgh is in summer (June-August) and around Christmas. Accommodation is the most expensive during this time. To get the best deal, travel during the off season. Off season includes January to early May, and September to early December.
• Book in advance, especially during the peak seasons. 
• Booking via the official hostel website can sometimes (not always) get you a better deal than booking via third-party websites. However, third party websites do sometimes provide more flexibility for cancellation or changes.

Getting Around Edinburgh

There is really no need for public transport because the city is very walkable. However, it may be important to note that it is very hilly (the streets steeply rise towards Edinburgh Castle) and the streets are cobbled.

Clothing

BRING A RAIN JACKET! The weather is extremely unpredictable in Scotland. It rained a lot when I visited in summer 2023. I also recommend bringing long pants and sweaters, even in summer (FYI I am Australian so I CANNOT handle cold!)

DAY 1: The Royal Mile

• Edinburgh Castle (£15.50)
• National Gallery (free)
• The Writers Museum (free)
• Gladstones Land (£10)
• St Giles Cathedral (free)
• Window shopping in Cockburn Street
• Lunch in a cafe
• Museum of Edinburgh (free)
• Canongate Kirk (free)
• Holyrood Palace (£20)
• Calton Hill for sunset (free)
• Dinner in a pub (try haggis)

Assuming that you arrived the night before, you should wake up fresh as a daisy on the first day of your Edinburgh itinerary ready for a big day of walking.

Today you are going to walk the length of the Royal Mile, taking the same route that the Queen (now King) takes between the two royal residences.

This itinerary heads in a downhill (west to east) direction from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace. Feel free to do this in the opposite direction if your accommodation demands it.

Start your morning with a full Scottish breakfast at your accommodation or at a nearby café (you’re gonna need it).

A full Scottish breakfast consists of any and all of the following: eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding (blood sausage), baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, tattie scones (fried mashed potato YUM), haggis, and toast.

Edinburgh Castle

Your Edinburgh itinerary fittingly starts off at Edinburgh Castle. Entry costs £15.50 and it is crucial to prebook this as early in advance as you can.

Be sure to grab or download a map on your way in, otherwise you might miss some of the key sights. I particularly enjoyed the Great Hall and St Margaret’s Chapel.

The day I visited was King Charles’ coronation, so I missed out on seeing the Crown Jewels. However, I did see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London, so I didn’t feel like I missed out on much.

The day I visited it was TORRENTIALLY raining which is not uncommon for Scotland, so be sure to pack a rain jacket and/or umbrella.

National Gallery of Scotland

After the castle, head down The Mound, the road that links the Old Town to the New Town, and visit the National Gallery. This gallery is definitely on the small side, especially if you have seen London’s National Gallery, but it is still interesting to see Scottish artworks. From out the front, there is a nice view of the Scott Monument and East Princes Gardens.

Princes Street Gardens

Speaking of gardens, this would be a good time to check out the famous Princes Street Gardens. From here, you can get a great picture of the fountain and greenery with the Castle in the background.

The Gardens were created by draining Edinburgh’s biggest loch, Loch Nor, in 1820.

The loch served many purposes over the centuries, including military defence for Edinburgh Castle, a home for both waste water AND fresh water (what were they thinking), and witch ducking (if you floated you were a witch, if you sank you were innocent).

The Princes Street Gardens are a beautiful place to stroll or enjoy a picnic lunch, and they provide a great view of the Castle (see picture below).

Edinburgh Travel Essentials

SIM cards: Airalo offers eSIMS for over 200 countries which you can install BEFORE travelling, saving you the stress of running around to find a store or from being ripped off by local vendors. This is perfect for backpackers who are travelling to multiple destinations in a short period of time.

Insurance: You should NOT go overseas without getting travel insurance. Travel insurance protects you in case you get injured or your plans change or are cancelled. I always use Covermore, because the cover is comprehensive and they were easy to work with when I needed to make a claim.

Banking: When travelling and saving for travel I use Up Bank, an online Australian bank, that allows fee-free overseas transactions, unlimited savings ‘pools’ and easy transfers. If you join Up with my invite code we both get $13!

Writers Museum

Head back up towards the Royal Mile, stopping at the Writers Museum along the way.

I stumbled upon this museum randomly and discovered it was free to enter.

If you are interested in literature, this free museum is a must see for you. It displays personal relics of famous Scottish writers, including Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Burns. The museum is also set in the cutest building, with a winding staircase to the second floor.

It is quite small, so you’ll only need around 30 minutes to fully explore this museum.

Gladstone’s Land

Nearby is Gladstone’s Land which offers a recreation of the life and home of a wealthy merchant in 1617.

Adult tickets cost £10.

I did not visit Gladstone’s Land so I can’t provide a review, however, it is a pretty popular attraction for tourists in Edinburgh.

St Giles Cathedral

St Giles Cathedral is a stunning medieval church that has been the centre of Edinburgh’s religious culture for almost 900 years. It is a must-see, even just the exterior.

Again, I was visiting when it was the coronation of King Charles (I clearly didn’t plan very well). The church was closed for that event, so sadly I did not get to see the interior.

Cockburn Street

You can’t visit Edinburgh without checking out the famous Cockburn Street. While you might not know its name, images of this street are often posted on social media because it’s just so aesthetically pleasing. There are several gift shops along here that you could check out for souvenirs, but I recommend at least walking to the bottom of the road and taking your version of the iconic picture of this curved street.

After lunch, make your way down to the Museum of Edinburgh and Canongate Kirk (opposite each other). The museum is small but very cute, with a range of relics and items from Edinburgh’s history.

The church is interesting to explore; it has some famous people buried in the Kirkyard behind, and I found it to be a great place to rest and get out of the rain. It was not busy at all when I visited so I think this one might be kinda off the tourist track.

As you make your way along the Royal Mile, be sure to check out the many souvenir shops that the pepper the sidewalk. Souvenir ideas include pins, patches, Scottish scarves and tartans.

Lunch

Now is a great time to grab a bite to eat. Scots love their drink so you won’t be hard-pressed to find a pub to relax in along the Royal Mile. Cockburn Street has tons of little snacky shops but, be warned, they can be a little pricey.

Holyrood Palace

The last stop on the Royal Mile is the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the monarch when they’re in town.

Again, when I visited was during the coronation of King Charles, so Holyrood Palace was off limits to tourists (grrr…I was a little put out by this).

I have heard that it is an interesting experience so it is definitely on my list for next time I visit!

If you are not interested in castles, or do you not have it in your budget to visit, you could skip this or just pick either Edinburgh Castle or Holyrood Palace instead of both.

Calton Hill for Sunset

By now it is probably late afternoon and the sun is starting to set. Make your way up to Calton Hill (I warned you there was going to be a lot of walking). There is a couple ways you can do this:

1. You can head back down the Royal Mile and then turn right up North Bridge.
2. You can make your way up Abbey Hill and around along the A1.
3. You can take a shortcut through the New Calton Burial Ground via Calton Road and explore the cemetery before continuing up the hill (recommended).

I opted to check out New Calton Burial Ground and found it to be surprisingly worth it. I love exploring cemeteries because they are always so peaceful and green, and this one provided some great pics with Arthur’s Seat in the background.

Calton Hill is a major stop for most of the tourist buses, so you won’t find yourself lonely up there. There is a great big monument to the Scottish soldiers that died in the Napoleonic Wars, as well as the Nelson Monument, the Playfair Monument, and the Dugald Stewart Monument as well as a very small and free art gallery.

Evening

After sunset, head back down the hill and have a pint at one of Edinburgh’s many pubs. If you’re feeling brave, why not try the national dish, haggis?

DAY 2: Deans Village and Grassmarket

• Deans Village (free)
• Greyfriar’s Kirkyard (free)
• National Museum of Scotland (free)

Morning

Grab a coffee and make your way to Deans Village. Located about a 20 minute stroll from Edinburgh Castle, this quaint neighbourhood is one of Edinburgh’s top tourist attractions.

The best photo angle, in my opinion, is on the Water of Leith Walkway Bridge. Head there first because it can get pretty busy later in the morning. From here, just stroll around and soak up the vibes.

The Water of Leith Walkway is a 12 mile path that follows the winding river and provides a very peaceful and relaxing walk. I’m not saying you have to walk the whole 12 miles (if you did I would be insanely impressed), but from the bridge, head down Miller Row and continue on the Walkway from there until it finishes at St Bernard’s Bridge.

From there, make your way back to the main town by walking or taxi.

Afternoon

After lunch, head to the Grassmarket neighbourhood.

Be sure to check out Vennel Viewpoint, which one of the popular photo stops for Edinburgh Castle and for good reason.

Continue on to Greyfriar’s Kirkyard. It is free to visit, and the Kirkyard itself is open 24 hours while the church is open between 11am and 4pm.

If you are a Harry Potter fan, then you would love to know that JK Rowling used many of the tombstones as inspiration for characters. JK Rowling wrote a large portion of Harry Potter while living in Edinburgh, and this churchyard was often visited by her.

Some include: Thomas Riddle, William McGonagall, Cruikshanks (a.k.a Crookshanks the cat) and Scrymgeour (a.k.a Rufus Scrimgeour the Minister of Magic).

It’s told that this churchyard is super haunted, and it is included on many of Edinburgh’s ghost tours, including the £16 City of the Dead Haunted Graveyard Tour.

Once you are sufficiently spooked out, head across the road to the National Museum of Scotland.

This museum is free (yay), HUGE, and has a slightly confusing configuration. Be sure the grab a map because this museum is spread across 9 levels!

On the right-hand side of the building is the Scottish history component, with exhibits from 8000BC to present. On the left-hand side is all the other exhibits, including animals, fashion, ceramics, Egypt and Asia.

I recommend focusing your energy on the Scottish history exhibit because I found it to be incredibly interesting. The other exhibits were a little lackluster (I had just visited London’s British Museum the week before so that might explain it).

Evening

Grab dinner in the Grassmarket area (there’s tons of options) before heading over to Stramash for a drink and a boogie.

This live music venue is located in a renovated church (!) and is one of Edinburgh’s most iconic bars.

I won’t lie, I visited Stramash multiple nights in a row because I just couldn’t find anywhere that compared to it!

There was a wide mix of age groups, which I think was based on the fact that there was a variety of seating options (dance floor in the middle, tables on the sides, and a second level balcony overlooking the dancefloor) and the music was groovy and timeless.

DAY 3: Arthur’s Seat

• Climb Arthur’s Seat
• Choose:
• 1. Souvenir shopping and relaxation
• 2. Visit the seaside village of Leith
• 3. Visit the Botanic Gardens

Morning

If you want to have a sleep-in, today is the day to do it.

For the third day on your Edinburgh itinerary, you are climbing Arthur’s Seat. The hike is pretty short but pretty steep, and the rocky path can get a little slippery in the rain. Don’t be nervous, if you’ve ever been hiking before this won’t be very challenging for you.

Try to do this hike on a day when it is not raining. I know that is a difficult feat in Edinburgh, city of rain, but don’t go if it is actively raining because the trail will be tricky.

To get there, head down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and turn right and then right again, then continue up the road until you are in front of the Holyrood Parking lot.

From here, face the hill. There are two trails: one paved trail heading left, and another steep trail heading right. Choose the left one. When the trail forks again, take the left path.

The other path takes a longer and trickier route around the front of Arthur’s Seat instead of directly up. When I was sitting all fine and dandy on the top of the hill, I saw several families and couples struggling along the other path, so just stick to the regular path unless you’re a hiking prodigy.

The view of Edinburgh from the top is breathtaking (and freezing).

When you are ready, slowly and carefully make your way back down the hill (it can get slippery) and go get yourself a treat because you deserve it!

Afternoon

This afternoons activity are ‘choose-your-own-adventure.’

Option 1: Souvenir shopping and relaxation

I know I’ve been working you really hard these past few days, so if you are worn out from all that walking then take the afternoon off!

Put your feet up and watch a movie, or take a gentle stroll around the city while you shop for your souvenirs.

Option 2: Visit the seaside town of Leith

Sometimes I like taking public transport just for the sake of it, I feel like its a cultural experience in itself! If you’re like that too, take the tram from Princes Street to Leith.

Here you can explore a Scottish seaside town, the origin of the Water of Leith (that runs through Deans Village, remember).

Leith used to be Scotland’s main port, with the harbour dating back to the 14th century. Nowadays, it’s a sleepy little seaside town.

I found the village to be eerily quiet and tourist-free, and authentic representation of a Scottish village and a stark contrast to bustling Edinburgh.

Leith is also home to the Royal Yacht Britannia which you can visit for a pricey £19.50, or you can look at it from the shopping centre.

Option 3: Visit the Botanic Gardens

The Botanic Gardens are a 15 minute bus ride or 30 minute walk from Edinburgh Castle.

The Gardens are free to visit and home to over 70 acres of land and 350 years of history.

Day Trips from Edinburgh

Edinburgh makes for the perfect base for exploring the Scottish highlands. There are tonnes of tours available, including this one that visits Glencoe and Loch Ness, and this one that also stops at Fort Augustus.

There are also multi-day tours that explore the Isle of Skye.

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Keep reading about Edinburgh

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