Things to Do in Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Walking Guide

Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital, a city where medieval streets, royal buildings, museums and dramatic viewpoints come together in a compact urban landscape. The best things to do in Edinburgh include exploring the Old Town and New Town, visiting Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, and discovering the city’s galleries, churches and historic monuments. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Edinburgh with 104 narrated places.

What to See in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle stands on Castle Rock above the city and remains one of Scotland’s most powerful symbols. People have occupied the rock since at least the Iron Age, while a royal castle has stood there since the reign of Malcolm III in the 11th century.

The castle was a royal residence until 1633, but its residential role declined from the 15th century. By the 17th century, it was principally a military garrison. Over its long history, it has served as a royal residence, arsenal, treasury, archive, mint, prison and fortress. It is also home to the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish regalia.

The castle was involved in major conflicts, including the Wars of Scottish Independence and the Jacobite rising of 1745. Research carried out in 2014 identified 26 sieges during its 1,100-year history.

The Royal Mile and St Giles’ Cathedral

The Royal Mile runs through Edinburgh’s Old Town, linking Edinburgh Castle with Holyrood Palace. St Giles’ Cathedral, also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, stands just off this historic route and is closely connected with Scotland’s religious and political past.

The church was probably founded in the 12th century, while the existing building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century. In 1559, it became Protestant, with John Knox as its minister. After the Reformation, the building was divided internally to serve several congregations and secular purposes, including a prison and a meeting place for the Parliament of Scotland.

St Giles’ became the cathedral of the newly created Diocese of Edinburgh in 1633. In 1637, a dispute over changes linked to a Prayer Book sparked a riot inside the church, helping to set in motion the formation of the Covenanters and the beginnings of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Holyrood Palace and Holyrood Abbey

At the eastern end of the Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace—officially the Palace of Holyroodhouse—is the official residence of the monarch of the United Kingdom in Scotland. It has been the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century.

The palace includes the 16th-century historic apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots, the State Apartments and the King’s Gallery. The gallery opened in 2002 in converted buildings at the western entrance and displays works from the Royal Collection. The State Apartments are used for official and state entertaining.

Beside the palace are the remains of Holyrood Abbey, founded by David I of Scotland in 1128. The abbey church served as a parish church until the 17th century and has been ruined since the 18th century. Its remaining walls are protected as a scheduled monument. The name refers to the Holy Cross: “rood” means “cross” in Old English.

The Scottish National Gallery

The Scottish National Gallery, known as “The National”, occupies a neoclassical building on The Mound, close to Princes Street. Designed by William Henry Playfair, it opened to the public in 1859 beside the Royal Scottish Academy Building.

Its collection forms Scotland’s national collection of fine art, spanning Scottish and international art from the beginning of the Renaissance to the start of the 20th century. The works include paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures from the 14th to the 19th century, with artists such as Jan Vermeer, Tizian, Nicolas Poussin and William Turner. The gallery also holds John Singer Sargent’s Lady Agnew of Lochnaw and a substantial collection of Scottish art from the 17th to the 19th century.

The National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland brings together the Museum of Scotland and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum. Formed in 2006, it covers Scottish antiquities, culture and history as well as science, technology, natural history and world cultures.

The modern Museum of Scotland building opened in 1998. The former Royal Museum building dates from the 19th century and has a Victorian Venetian Renaissance façade and a grand cast-iron central hall extending through the building. After a major refurbishment, it reopened on 29 July 2011.

The museum also incorporates the collections of the former National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, making it one of the city’s broadest places to explore Scottish history and international collections.

St Mary’s Cathedral

Edinburgh has two notable cathedrals with the name St Mary’s. In the New Town, St Mary’s Cathedral—also called the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin or St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral—is a working church of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

The Victorian Gothic Revival building was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. It is a Category A listed building and forms part of the Old Town and New Town of Edinburgh World Heritage Site. Its three-spired skyline is especially distinctive: the main spire rises to 90 metres, making it the tallest building in Edinburgh’s urban area.

The foundation stone was laid in Palmerston Place on 21 May 1874 by the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The cathedral was consecrated on 30 October 1879, with later additions including the Chapter House and the two west spires.

On Broughton Street, in the eastern end of the New Town, St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral is an important Roman Catholic church.

Calton Hill and the Nelson Monument

Calton Hill offers a setting for several of Edinburgh’s most recognisable monuments. The Nelson Monument commemorates Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and his death from wounds sustained during the battle.

Built between 1807 and 1816, the tower was designed by Robert Burn in the form of an up-ended telescope. It is 32 metres high, with 143 steps leading to a public gallery. A mechanised time ball was added in the 1850s as a time signal for shipping in Leith harbour. It was synchronised with the One O’Clock Gun at Edinburgh Castle and remained in use until 2007.

St Cecilia’s Hall

St Cecilia’s Hall is a small concert hall and museum with roots in 18th-century Edinburgh. Dating from 1763, it is recognised as the first purpose-built concert hall in Scotland and is a Category A listed building.

The hall hosts classical chamber music concerts and becomes a venue for the Edinburgh International Festival in summer.

HMY Britannia in Leith

At Ocean Terminal in Leith, HMY Britannia is the former royal yacht of the British monarchy. Retired from royal service, it is now permanently berthed there as a visitor attraction.

Britannia served officially from 1954 to 1997. During its 43-year career, it travelled more than one million nautical miles and visited more than 600 ports in 135 countries. John Brown & Company built the yacht at Clydebank, and Queen Elizabeth II launched it on 16 April 1953. It was commissioned on 11 January 1954.

Stockbridge and Cramond

Stockbridge Market at St Stephen Place is a recognised landmark in the Stockbridge area. The neighbourhood can be explored on foot as part of a route along the Water of Leith.

Further from the centre, Cramond Old Bridge crosses the River Almond. It carries National Cycle Routes 1 and 76 as well as the John Muir Way. The bridge formerly carried the A90 road, a role now taken by the nearby Cramond New Bridge.

Explore Edinburgh with a Free Audio Guide

Neywo’s Edinburgh audio guide includes 104 narrated places, with 8 walking tours, 1 bus route and 1 bike route. The walks range from 0.65 km and 43 minutes to 6.22 km and 233 minutes, while the bus route covers 2.2 km in 9 minutes and the bike route covers 2.9 km in 14 minutes. Across the tours, the routes include between 4 and 15 narrated stops.

Choose an Edinburgh self-guided walking tour through the castle and Royal Mile, Holyrood, Calton Hill, the New Town, Stockbridge or the National Museum. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Download Neywo and explore Edinburgh independently, from Castle Rock and the Royal Mile to Holyrood, the New Town, Leith and the city’s museums. You can also continue travelling through Scotland, discover Glasgow, or explore more of the United Kingdom.