It’s the hills of Edinburgh that strike you first. There are seven of them, from well-trodden Arthur’s Seat and Calton Hill to unsung Braid and Blackford, and they all seem to have been pushed out from the earth as if in a tumultuous struggle for superiority.
By way of explanation, that means it’s a city that demands a comfy pair of shoes, with the Old and New Towns appearing like cresting waves of church steeples, castle turrets and cobblestone streets that rise then dip.
While walking is the default mode of transport in any city of such comparable and compact size, that’s not to say it’s the only means of getting around. Few things in Edinburgh are better than sitting at the top of a maroon-striped double decker, with a front seat view of Princes Street Gardens below you and Edinburgh Castle hovering overhead. Then, there’s its expanding tram system and cycle path network, which are helping the Scottish capital reduce traffic congestion and move towards its ambitious sustainability goals — to reclaim the medieval center for pedestrians.
Here are our top tips for getting around in Edinburgh.
Walking is the best way to see the city
Such a condensed, easily navigable city is a gift for those who love to explore on their own two feet. In Edinburgh, getting from A to B feels natural, never forced, especially when the skies are clear, and this influences many locals’ interactions with the city. Shops are popped into, coffee is ordered from takeaway windows and conversations are started in book stores in ways that’d never happen if they were stuck underground on a metro train.
As a rule of thumb, you can walk across the Old Town in around 30 minutes, or from Stockbridge to Morningside — the two handsomest suburbs — in one hour. The outliers are Leith and Portobello, which both flow towards the Firth of Forth and are better reached by double-decker.
To see it all, take the bus
Beyond the free entry at the National Museum of Scotland and the capital’s four knockout art galleries, the best-value deal in Edinburgh is a bus ticket. A day saver for its 50 routes that spider web across the city is a steal at £5/2.50 for an adult/child, or £10.50 for a family (with up to three children). The stroke of genius is many are now all-electric and there’s so much to see in between all the stops.
Edinburgh’s best bus routes for visitors
Number 37 connects Princes St, Bruntsfield and Morningside with the fringes of Pentland Hills Regional Park and Rosslyn Chapel, often described as one of the world’s most beautiful, if mysterious, religious structures. The 49 loops around Arthur’s Seat, rewarding those in the top seats with 340-million-year-old views and a stop at Craigmillar Castle and Portobello Beach. Another worth riding is the 27, from the Meadows and University of Edinburgh to the front gates of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
For a different look at the city, hop on the tram
Balgreen. Murrayfield. Newhaven. Tourists may have spent centuries exploring Edinburgh, but the majority won’t have heard of — let alone visited — some of its unsung suburban outliers. The popular strategy is to take the tram from the city’s international airport to Princes St or St Andrew Sq, then forget about the one-track route through the heart of the city thereafter.
But equally, there’s plenty of joy to be had in hopping through the suburbs, avoiding the growl of buses and cars, on trams that appear every seven minutes. In Balgreen, for instance, Saughton Park Gardens is the perfect expression of an urban lung, with Four Square Park Café a living room for the local community.
Farther along the line, Murrayfield is the home of Scottish Rugby, but also for the independent shops of Roseburn and the almost-secret bike and cycle paths along the Water of Leith and towards Blackhall. Newhaven, at the tram’s northern terminus, is the gateway to Edinburgh’s chess piece lighthouse and the boats and seafood restaurants of Newhaven Harbour.
Explore off-the-beaten track on a bike
A warning: Edinburgh is far behind every Dutch and Danish city when it comes to cycle friendliness and bike super-highways. It’s a work in progress. But the city is pedaling towards a more sustainable future, with the council ringfencing budget to improve all cycling infrastructure in the city. The challenge is to keep the city moving.
Ride the Innocent Railway Path from the Royal Commonwealth Pool to Brunstane, in the shadow of the hills and lochs of Holyrood Park, or go along the Union Canal towpath from Ratho to Tollcross, and you’ll wish you had more time. Other bike lanes worth seeking out are the Roseburn and Blackhall Pathways, which almost connect to the beaches of Cramond and Silverknowes. Then, there are the looser gravel and mountain bike trails of Pentland Hills Regional Park, which instantly transport riders to the grandeur of the Highlands.
Like elsewhere in Scotland, the best months for dry days and slight rainfall, ideal for cyclists, are April, May and September.
Parking isn’t widely available in Edinburgh
The streets were laid on the bones of a medieval crux of cobbles, wynds and bridges that were built for carts and carriages, not tires and tens of thousands of tourists.
Which is to say, the city can’t cope with too much traffic, and strict parking regulations and restrictions are in place, seven days a week. So, while parking is possible, it’s a costly exercise and the kind of operation that often requires battle planning.
Use ride-hailing apps and on-demand taxis for returning from a late night out
As the day wears on, it could be said Edinburgh comes into its own. World-class restaurants, pubs and festivals are the pulse of the Old and New Towns and — if a late night bus won’t cut it — then an Edinburgh cab is your ticket back to your toothbrush. Black cab companies City Cabs and Central Taxis once courted the kerbs, but these days are easier to order on their respective apps. Uber is the cheaper, if less reliable option, with a “ride confirmed” message almost feeling like a jackpot win during the height of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe or Hogmanay.
This article was first published Sep 15, 2021 and updated Aug 28, 2024.
