3 days in Edinburgh: enjoy authentic historic Scotland

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As a native Scot, I’ve been to Edinburgh a few times in my life. But this was my first solo trip there.

I say solo, but in actual fact I was there with business colleagues for the first part of the week as it was one more of those business trips to which I’d tacked on a few extra personal days (read about other such travels to Barcelona and Amsterdam).

Photo (above) of Edinburgh’s Forth Bridge is by Andy Fotheringham (andy_fotheringham)

Afterwards, as a solo traveler, my plan was to see as much of the city as I could — and I did! So what did I plan to see with only 3 days in Edinburgh city?

Read on and you’ll find out — and I’ve also included some other top-rated choices in case you want to switch up your itinerary.

Planning for 3 days in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a city that effortlessly blends history, culture, and charm. The city is essentially split into two areas:

Old Town: (on the south side of the main rail line) made up mostly of buildings constructed prior to 1760 with medieval charm, narrow alleys, and historic landmarks.
New Town: (on the north side of the railway) made up of buildings constructed after 1760 with georgian architecture, elegant streets, and modern shops.

Between Old Town and New Town are two adjacent public parks, collectively called Princes Street Gardens. The gardens lie in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle and were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch (Scots for “lake”). The Loch itself has a fascinating history and there’s more about that below.

In 1995, Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites as part of the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

There is lots to see in Edinburgh and no hope you can see it all in three days! In planning for my trip, I consulted online sources, friends, family members that still live in Scotland — and, yes, even made a few decisions on the fly when I was actually there!

You can wander by yourself or take one of the many guided tours. I ended up doing both and sometimes not intentionally!

Day 1 – Getting into the city from the airport, open-top bus tour

Typically, any cross-Atlantic flights I take land in the early morning on the European side of the pond. The upside of that is that its not terribly busy when you get there.

Edinburgh airport is relatively small and quite busy. Parking is not great but there is a very convenient tram service that starts at the airport and goes all the way through town, and I took that to get to my hotel. More on that below.

While I got my bearings, I grabbed a quick hot chocolate at the airport’s Café Nero (if you know anything about me by now, you know I love a good hot chocolate) — it was good but we still haven’t found anything better than the hot chocolate from The Barn in Nova Scotia!.

Pro tip: consider NOT renting a car because of the tram line. It’s quick, clean, efficient, and well-maintained and goes right through the middle of the city. You can pay with cash or card. You’ll find ticket machines at each stop along the line and you can buy a single (one-way) ticket, a return ticket, or even a multi-day ticket.

Hop-on hop-off bus tour: intro to Edinburgh

After settling in at my hotel (more on accommodations below), I caught a hop-on hop-off open-top bus to tour around the city.

Open-top bus tours are a great way to quickly acquaint yourself with the highlights of the city and, with only 3 days in Edinburgh to spend, get a quick overview of things you might like to see in more detail.

*Not a great view through the window on a rainy day in Edinburgh…*

On the day I arrived, it was raining (this IS Scotland after all) — but I decided to go anyway and snagged a seat at the front of the top level for a great view (and under the roof to stay dry!).

While the recorded commentary was useful and interesting, the view through the rain was less so. It was difficult to see much of the detail although it made for interesting abstract pictures through the window.

I opted to try the open-top bus tour again the following day as it was dry and sunny. This time, the tour didn’t disappoint.

My hop-on hop-off bus tour in Edinburgh

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BOOK City sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus tour

What’s unique about this tour?

Open-top bus tours are a great introduction to your destination and you can determine which sights you want to see more of later.

Your ticket is good for 24 hours so you can hop off the bus to see more of an attraction that catches your fancy and then hop right on the next one to continue your tour. (Just keep an eye on the time when the last bus of the day is on the road…)

You can order your ticket online and catch the bus at any of the stops along the route. And because your 24-hour ticket is good all day long (and possibly into the next day depending on when you first caught the bus), it’s a good substitute for an expensive taxi when you want to go somewhere around the center of the city.

During the City sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus tour you’ll see such places as:

Grassmarket: a historic market square in the Old Town, once a bustling marketplace for cattle and a site for public executions, it’s now filled with shops, pubs, and restaurants.

National Museum of Scotland: with numerous collections of natural history, European art and design, science and technology, and Scottish history.

The John Knox house museum: one of the oldest buildings in Edinburgh dating back to 1470, and documents Protestant reformer John Knox and his conflict with Mary, Queen of Scots.

Holyrood Palace: The official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.

Dynamic Earth: world-class Science Centre and Planetarium, telling the epic story of planet earth in a 90-minute interactive walk-through.

Arthur’s Seat: A prominent hill offering panoramic views of the city.

The Royal Mile: A bustling street filled with historic landmarks and vibrant shops.

What past guests have said:

“Very inexpensive way of getting around and learning about the city, would highly recommend for first time visitors!”

— Chris (see more reviews)

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Hopping off at Calton Hill

One of the places I hopped off at during the tour was Calton Hill, the remnants of volcanic rock that houses some of the most interesting structures on the tour. It’s just a short climb up some steps from the road and, of course, when you’re done you just go back down the steps to catch the next open-top bus to continue the bus tour.

Initially I was intrigued by the promise of a high-up view of the city, and I wasn’t disappointed in the result.

The scenic views swept from Edinburgh Castle at one end of the city to Holyrood House at the bottom of the Royal Mile. Arthur’s Seat was directly opposite the lookout point and, in the opposite direction, I could see across Leith and the Firth to Dunfermline on the far shore. The Forth bridges were off to the west in the distance.

Altogether it was a very spectacular and breathtaking view!

Also, the buildings that dot the summit of the hill have an interesting background. The first ones were built in the late 18th century and work continued into the 19th century.

The National Monument of Scotland was an attempt to build a replica of the Parthenon in Greece because some people regarded Edinburgh as the “Athens of the North”. Started in 1826, it was intended to be a memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars.

But by 1829 the money to build it had dried up and the building was never finished. Only the 12 columns that you can see today were completed, leading to a disparaging, sometimes-used nickname, “Edinburgh’s disgrace”.

There’s also an observatory (can’t go inside), the Dugold Stewart Monument, and the Nelson Monument, commemorating Admiral Lord Nelson and the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

I’ve since learned that there’s a festival held there every year on April 30th. The Beltane Fire Festival is a modern reinterpretation of an ancient Iron Age Celtic ritual that celebrates the start of summer involving bonfires and other entertainment. From the looks of it, it may appeal more to the younger set.

Day 2 – a great cup of tea, the castle, walking the Mile, murder & mystery tours

Day 2 of my 3 days in Edinburgh was the busy one. It was a mixture of tours and private exploration, which is great because sometimes it’s really adventurous to just be able to follow your whims.

Clarinda’s Tea Room

Since the open-top bus tour had spilled over to this sunny day, I hopped-off to go to the small, but delightful Clarinda’s Tea Room — a place recommended by another native-to-Edinburgh traveller friend.

Clarinda’s was named for a friend and mentor to Robert Burns, the famous Scots poet. The tea room certainly didn’t disappoint, with it’s warm hospitality, a great selection of teas and coffees (although I’m fairly rooted in black tea), and yummy pastries.

Although it’s small, it’s a popular place and is for walk-ins only (that is, no reservations). So if you want a seat for lunch or afternoon tea, it’s best to arrive early. We arrived at about 11:30 and ended up being part of the small line-up, but were seated within 20 minutes.

Edinburgh Castle: one “tourist trap” worth touring!

Probably one of the most storied castles you can visit in Europe is Edinburgh Castle. Its perched dramatically high above the city on Castle Rock and affords visitors a wide expansive view of Edinburgh and the countryside around it.

The castle has been around since the 11th century and was a royal residence until 1633, after which it was principally a military garrison.

Some travelers will warn you to stay away from Edinburgh Castle because it’s flush with tourists and you need to allocate some time to appreciate it. And this is certainly a wise warning depending on the time of year you’re there.

But my take is that if you only have 3 days in Edinburgh and haven’t seen it before, then its one of the things you should try to squeeze in to your schedule. It’s flush with Scottish history and having a good guide to tell you what you’re seeing will go a long way to make it meaningful.

There are several ways to enjoy a tour of the castle:

Audio tour: rent a walkman-like device with earbuds at the castle gate, which tells you about the castle features and history as you walk around. These are available in a multitude of languages.

Castle-run live guided tour: the castle itself offers 30-minute guided tours in English only. These have to be pre-booked on their website and are available year-round (although there are fewer scheduled daily tours from October to March). As a guest, you’ll get a receiver and headset so you can hear the guide even if you linger at a point of interest for a short while.

Commercial tour companies: specialized tour groups provide comprehensive tours of the castle and the price typically includes your entry ticket. Just meet the guide at the pre-arranged place on the Royal Mile and enjoy the tour (this is what I did).

Castle highlights tour including castle tickets, map & a guide

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