Three days in Edinburgh, done properly

Three days is the sweet spot for a first visit to Edinburgh. It’s enough time to do the Castle and the Royal Mile properly, climb a hill or two, and still get out to the neighbourhoods where people actually live. Any less and you spend the whole trip shuffling along the Mile with everyone else. Any more and you’ll want a day trip, which is a good problem to have.

This is the itinerary I give friends when they visit. It’s built around two simple rules: do the busy things early, and get off the Royal Mile by the afternoon. Everything is walkable, with one tram or bus ride on day three.

Before you start: a few things locals know

• Book Edinburgh Castle online, in advance. Tickets regularly sell out, especially in summer, and once they’ve gone online there are none at the gate. Aim for the first slot of the day.
• Wear proper shoes. Edinburgh is built on hills, steps and cobbles, and they’re slippery when wet. Trainers with grip beat anything fashionable.
• Pack for four seasons. It can be bright, wet and windy in the same hour. A light waterproof is non-negotiable, even in July.
• Don’t drive in. Parking in the centre is limited and expensive, and you won’t need a car. The city is compact, and the trams and Lothian buses cover everything else.
• Tap to pay. Buses and trams take contactless, and daily fares are capped, so you don’t need to buy tickets in advance.

Day 1: the Old Town and the Castle

The Old Town runs down a volcanic ridge from the Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, with the Royal Mile as its spine. Day one is about doing it properly, in the right order.

Morning: Edinburgh Castle

Be at the Castle gates for opening (9.30am). You’ll get the Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny before the queues build, and the views from the battlements over the New Town to the Firth of Forth are best in the clear morning air. Allow two to three hours. If you’re still inside at 1pm, head to Mills Mount Battery for the One O’Clock Gun, fired every day except Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day.

Late morning: down the Royal Mile

Walk downhill from the Castle. The street itself is lined with tartan shops, but the real Old Town is in the closes, the narrow alleys that drop off either side. Duck into Advocate’s Close for a framed view of the Scott Monument, and look out for the old street signs at each entrance. St Giles’ Cathedral, halfway down, is worth ten minutes for its Thistle Chapel.

Afternoon: Victoria Street and the Grassmarket

From George IV Bridge, take Victoria Street, the curving street of colourful shopfronts, down to the Grassmarket. Once a market square and the site of public hangings, it’s now lined with pubs that spill out onto the cobbles. From the Grassmarket, climb the stepped lane called the Vennel for one of the best free views of the Castle, then walk round to Greyfriars Kirkyard, one of the most atmospheric corners of the city.

Evening: folk music and a dram

Eat in the Old Town but a street or two away from the Mile, then find live traditional music. Sandy Bell’s on Forrest Road has been the city’s best-known folk pub for decades, with sessions most nights. If whisky’s more your thing, the Bow Bar at the bottom of Victoria Street is a proper, old-fashioned whisky pub.

Day 2: the hills and the New Town

Edinburgh is one of very few capitals with a mountain in the middle of it. Day two gets you up high, then down into the elegant Georgian streets of the New Town.

Sunrise: Calton Hill

If you do one early start all trip, make it this one. Calton Hill is a ten-minute climb from the east end of Princes Street and gives you the classic view of the Old Town skyline with the Castle beyond. At sunrise you’ll often have it almost to yourself. Even if you’re not an early riser, come back at some point: it’s free and never closes.

Morning: Arthur’s Seat

After breakfast, walk down to Holyrood and climb Arthur’s Seat, the 251-metre extinct volcano in Holyrood Park. The main route from near the Palace takes most people 45 minutes to an hour to the summit. It’s a proper hill walk, steep and rocky at the top, so take water and a layer for the wind. On the way down, it’s a short walk to the village of Duddingston, where the Sheep Heid Inn claims to be one of Scotland’s oldest pubs.

Afternoon: galleries and the New Town

Head back into town for the Scottish National Gallery on the Mound, which is free and small enough to enjoy in an hour. Then cross into the New Town, the grid of Georgian streets built from the 1760s. Wander George Street, peek into the gardens of Charlotte Square and walk the grand circles of Moray Place.

Evening: the New Town after dark

Thistle Street and the lanes around it are full of good restaurants, and Rose Street, running parallel to Princes Street, is lined with pubs. Book ahead on Fridays and Saturdays.

Day 3: Edinburgh like a local

On your last day, get away from the landmarks and see the neighbourhoods where Edinburgh people actually spend their weekends.

Morning: Dean Village and the Water of Leith

Start at Dean Village, the old milling village tucked below the West End. Then follow the Water of Leith Walkway downstream along the river, past St Bernard’s Well, to Stockbridge. It’s about twenty minutes of flat, riverside walking.

Late morning: brunch in Stockbridge

Stockbridge is the city’s favourite brunch neighbourhood, full of independent cafés, bakeries and shops along Raeburn Place and St Stephen Street. If it’s a Sunday, the Stockbridge Market runs beside the river on Saunders Street from 10am to 4pm. Don’t leave without walking along Circus Lane, the curving cobbled mews with the church spire at the end.

Afternoon: Leith or the seaside

Choose your ending:

• Leith, Edinburgh’s port, is a tram ride from the centre. Walk along the Shore, visit the Royal Yacht Britannia at Ocean Terminal if you like, and stay for dinner: Leith has some of the best restaurants in Scotland.
• Portobello, Edinburgh’s beach suburb, is a bus ride east. Walk the long Victorian promenade, watch the sea swimmers and get fish and chips.

Evening: seafood on the Shore

If you went to Leith, stay for dinner on the Shore, where the old warehouses by the water are now restaurants and pubs. Arrive just before sunset for the best of the light on the water.

If you only have one or two days

• One day: Castle first thing, the Royal Mile and its closes, Victoria Street and the Grassmarket, then Calton Hill for sunset.
• Two days: Follow days one and two above, and swap Arthur’s Seat for a stroll round Dean Village and Stockbridge if you’d rather not climb.

Got a fourth day?

Take a train. In under an hour you can be at the Forth Bridges, on the beach at North Berwick or at Stirling Castle. See my day trips from Edinburgh.

Where to stay

For a short trip, stay central: the Old Town and New Town put almost everything on this list within walking distance. Stockbridge and the West End are quieter but still central, and Leith is great value and well connected by tram. Book early for August, when the festivals fill the city, and for Hogmanay.