24 HOURS IN EDINBURGH: City Guide

Edinburgh is the Scottish capital, a city with a castle perched on a hill filled with incredible history and cute cobblestone alleyways. When I was invited to visit the city and review the newly opened The CoURT hostel, I couldn’t accept fast enough. I immediately sat down to plan how I was going to spend my 24 hours in Edinburgh and researched all the tourist spots close to the accommodation. This is something I do to every city I visit for the first time, research all tourist attractions that are nearby and plan my visits.

The city of Edinburgh is home to Harry Potter author JK Rowling and is famous for the international fringe festival. I was super excited to have had the chance to spend 24 hours in Edinburgh and even though I have been twice in the past, the visits were all formal and I didn’t do anything touristy. This is why in my official capacity as a tourist, I decided to create an itinerary for other first time visitors. During my 24 hours in Edinburgh I visited a lot of touristy spots and a few lesser known spots that I were recommended to me.

Getting To and Around Edinburgh

The city of Edinburgh can easily be access by train, air, land and sea, during my recent visit, I flew into Edinburgh from London Heathrow. The flight was just over an hour, whilst other modes of transport might be cheaper, they take way longer than flying. Taking a train from London to Edinburgh takes over 5 hours and driving takes over 7 hours from London. 

Edinburgh is a well connected city with buses, trains, trams and taxis and is very easy to navigate even for first timers. The cheapest mode of transport from the airport to the city is the bus and takes approximately 30 minutes and costs less than £5. During my visit, I took the tram and paid £9 for a return ticket to the city centre and the journey was less than 30 minutes to the city centre.

Where To Stay in Edinburgh

If you’re visiting the city for more than a day, Edinburgh has a variety of accommodation types to meet all budgets. During my recent visit I stayed in a hostel along the Royal Mile called The CoURT, this is a newly opened hostel and is absolutely gorgeous. I would recommend the hostel as it very different to the usual hostels in the UK, the pod gives more privacy, is very comfortable and affordable as well.

24 HOURS IN EDINBURGH: ITINERARY FOR FIRST TIMERS

With only 24 hours to spare for the beautiful city of Edinburgh, I knew I had to pick my battled wisely. There are so many wonderful attractions to explore within the city from a castle sitting on a hill in the city centre to admiring Arthur’s chair. As a first time traveller to Edinburgh you want to make the most of your time but it can become hard to choose what to see and what to leave for the next visit. 

Over the last couple of years, I have become somewhat an expert when it comes to maximising my time when I am travelling. Often when I am short on time, I research city tours both bus tours and walking tours and see which will benefit me more. Bus tours are often more convenient, comfortable and fast than walking tours but walking tours is a lot more personal and engaging. With only 24 hours in Edinburgh, I choose to take the city tour bus and saw over 15 attractions on the bus and often to visit 4 for a better look.

Edinburgh Castle

A world heritage site and an important part of Scottish history, it is an imposing figure sat on the rock in between old town and new town. Though the ground area is free, there is a fee to enter the castle, I recommend arriving a few minutes before it opens as queues get long pretty quickly.

Grassmarket

Located in the old town, this historical market place is situated at the bottom of Edinburgh Castle. Grassmarket offers an iconic view of the castle, it is an area which is popular with both tourist and locals as well as painters.

Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is a street that runs in the heart of Edinburgh’s old town with cobblestone alleyways on the entire stretch of the road. The street itself is longer than a mile and runs from Edinburgh Castle all the way through to Holyrood Palace. Thanks to my hostel ‘The Court’ being located off the Royal Mile I spent many a time walking this hilly street as a form of exercise.

Holyrood Palace

Located one end of Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace is the Queen’s official royal residence in Scotland. One of the exhibitions shown at the palace is the outfits worn by Meghan and Harry on their wedding. Holyrood Palace is a beautiful location, with romantic ruins of the abbey and a nice view of Arthur’s Seat.

Arthur’s Seat

There are many rumours about why this volcanic rock is called Arthur’s seat but my favourite is that its the location of Camelot. Whilst I did not manage to hike all the way up to Arthur’s Seat, the little that I did gave me an amazing view of the city of Edinburgh.

Greyfriars Kirk

Greyfriars Kirk is an active Christian church located in Edinburgh’s old town with almost 400 years of history. The church is located a few minutes walk from Grassmarket and is situated opposite the National History museum of Scotland.

National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland was formed in 2006 after a merger of two museums and now has over 12 million items making it the largest multi-disciplinary museum in Scotland. Entry to the museum is free as are the audio guides which I love using to exemplify my experience when I visit museums.

Edinburgh is such a gorgeous city, I arrived a few days before the Fringe festival and I was gutted to have missed it. Next time when I plan my visit to the city, I will plan it wisely and I will definitely not been spending just 24 hours in Edinburgh, I am think at least 72 hours.