Cycle Route Argyll - Glasgow - Edinburgh

Monday to Sunday

The Old Town of Edinburgh represents the historic core of the Scottish capital, built eastwards of the Castle Crag, along the Royal Mile to Holyrood. This article also covers the areas to the immediate south and west of the Old Town - Southside and Tollcross.

Along with the New Town , the Old Town was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995.

See

• ⊙Edinburgh Castle, Castlehill, ☎ +44 131 2259 846. daily Apr-Sept 9:30AM–6PM, Oct-Mar 9:30AM–5PM, last entry 1 hour before closing time Summer 2020 - open from 1 August, advance booking required. Edinburgh Castle is a magnificently situated royal fortress located on one of the highest points in the city. The castle has been continuously in use for 1000 years and is in excellent condition. Highlights include the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish Crown Jewels) and the ancient St Margaret's Chapel. The audio tour, which costs £3.50 per headset, is extremely detailed and worth hiring, providing both location based and chronologically based commentary on the castle. The Esplanade is the parade square in front of the castle, normally free to access in daylight hours, with good views of the city. The Edinburgh Tattoo and concerts are staged here, so access is restricted then, and views are cramped by the temporary banks of seating. Adult £17.00, child up to including 15yrs £10.20, concession (60 yrs+ and UK unemployed, proof required) £13.60, Young Scot and Euro 26 cardholders 10% discounts. Edinburgh Castle is part of Historic Scotland. (updated Sep 2017)
• ⊙Abbey and Palace of Holyroodhouse, ☎ +44 131 5565 100. The Palace opens at 9:30AM and closes at 6PM April to October and 4:30PM during the rest of the year. The Palace is a royal residence, and hosts the Queen's Gallery containing a collection of art from the Royal Collection. The Palace is best known as the home of Mary Queen of Scots and as the site of the murder of Mary's secretary Rizzio, allegedly by her husband, Lord Darnley. Palace admission is £10 adults, £6.50 concessions, and £4.00 children. Separate admission to the gallery is £5 adults, £4 concession and £3 children. Joint admission to the gallery and the palace is £11 adults, £9 concessions and £5.50 children.  
• ⊙St Giles' Cathedral, The Royal Mile (between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse). Open daily. The historic City Church of Edinburgh is also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh and takes its name from the city's patron saint. St Giles' is Presbyterianism's Mother Church and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle (Scotland's chivalric company of knights headed by the Queen). The building bears a distinctive crowned spire and was first officially dedicated in 1243, although a church probably existed on the site since before the 9th century. Free.  
• ⊙Old Parliament Hall (Behind St. Giles' Cathedral). This 1639 Old Parliament Hall is within the Parliament House which is home of the Scottish Supreme Courts. The hall is the location where the earlier meetings of the Scots Estates, or Parliament, took place, prior to the enactment of the 1707 Act of Union (of the Parliaments of Scotland and England).  
• ⊙North Bridge. Offers spectacular views of the city skyline. It connects Old Town and New Town with Waverley Station just below.  
• ⊙Gladstone's Land, Lawnmarket (In the Lawnmarket at the top of the Royal Mile). Reopening in 2021. It is a 17th-century Old Town tenement (known as a 'Land') decorated with period furniture. It has an impressive painted ceiling. £6.50 Adult, £5 Concessions.  
• ⊙Greyfriars Kirkyard (Off the Southwest corner of George IV Bridge, close to the National Museum). A very old graveyard that contains some impressive, ancient grave markers and fantastic views of the surrounding Old Town. Many folk, of course, will be drawn here by its links to ⊙Greyfriars Bobby, that loyal little dog brought to worldwide fame by Walt Disney. The grave of Thomas Riddell is said to be the inspiration of "Tom Riddle" from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter.  
• ⊙The Scottish Parliament (eastern end of the Royal Mile, opposite the Palace of Holyrood House), ☎ +44 131 3485 200, toll-free: 0800 092 7600. M F Sa and public holidays 10AM-5PM; Tu-Th 9AM-6:30PM (last admission 30 min before closing time); opening times may vary. A unique building, designed by the Spanish (Catalan) architect Enric Miralles, with a £431 million price tag which is much higher than the original back-of-an-envelope estimate. Highly controversial among Scots, who consider it either a daring showpiece of postmodern architecture or a national embarrassment. The Parliament generally meets Tue-Thu and you can watch debates from the Public Gallery. Ask for tickets at the reception. The First Minister's Question Time is normally on Thursdays 12:00-12:30. You need to reserve tickets in advance (up to 7 days). If you did not get a ticket, you are put on a waiting list if you arrive in person from 10AM on the day and might get access if other people did not show up. You can follow the question time from the Overspill Room while waiting. On non-business days (M F Sa) you can view the debating chamber from the Public Gallery without tickets. In the lobby area there are often exhibitions. Entrance to the building and all tickets are free.  
• ⊙Camera Obscura, Castle Hill. daily Jul-Aug 9AM-10PM; Sep–Oct 9:30AM-19:00; Nov–Mar 10AM-6PM (closed 25 Dec); Apr–Jun 9:30AM-7PM. Over 150 years old, the Camera Obscura focuses light from the top of the tower onto a large dish in a dark room below, allowing a 360-degree view of all of Edinburgh! The tower is also host to a fun and quirky gallery of optical illusions. Great views of the city from the top of the tower. Adult £15, student (with ID) or senior £13, Child (5-15 years) £11, under 5 free, carer for a person with disabilities free of charge. (updated Jul 2017)
• ⊙Dynamic Earth, Holyrood Road, EH8 8AS, ☎ +44 131 5507 800. A visitor experience with interactive exhibits about the natural aspect (volcanoes, polar ice, rainforest) of our planet. £13.50 adults, £9 chilrden (4-15), £11.50 concessions. (updated Sep 2016)
• ⊙Grassmarket. This is the area beneath and just south of the castle, a pleasant cobbled stretch of shops, pubs and eating places. Some are tourist-trappy - see "Buy" & "Drink" for specific reviews, but overall the place is a tribute to gentrification of what had been a depressing quarter of town. In the 1820s Burke & Hare lived here, preying on its denizens to supply fresh corpses to the anatomists. Until the 1970s it was the abode of derelicts and rough sleepers - then property values soared. Grassmarket is close to Usher Hall & Lyceum to the west; the 3 streets leaving it to the east lead up the Royal Mile, down into Cowgate and up to Greyfriars Bobby. (updated Oct 2017)

Museum and galleries

• ⊙National Museum of Scotland, ☎ +44 3001 236789. Daily 10AM-5PM. The museum mixes innovative modern architecture with the best of Scotland's heritage. The Royal Museum has a magnificent airy Victorian atrium now with the Millennium Clock at one end - arrange to be there when it is chiming. Exhibits in the Museum of Scotland include Scottish pottery and weapons from the Roman era and the Renaissance. The museum had a major rebuilding in the early 2010s. The roof terrace on the seventh floor (free access) offers nice views over Edinburgh. Summer 2020: Museum reopens 19 August, visitor numbers limited, advance booking required.. Free, charges for some temporary exhibitions. (updated Mar 2015)
• ⊙Anatomical Museum, University of Edinburgh, Doorway 3, Medical School, Teviot Place. Open on the last Saturday of each month 10AM–4PM (last admission 3:30PM). Closed June/July and December. The Skeleton of William Burke is on display. Together with William Hare he killed at least 16 people in 1828 and provided them for dissection. The museum also shows life and death masks from famous scientists, politicians and murderers. Free entrance. 
• ⊙St Cecilia's Hall - Concert Room and Music Museum, Niddry Street, Cowgate, EH1 1NQ, ☎ +44 131 6502 600. Tu-F 10AM-5PM, Sa noon-5PM (opens at 10AM on Saturdays in August), Su M closed; last admission 30 min before closing time. St Cecilia's Hall is Scotland's oldest purpose-built concert hall and opened in 1763. After restoration work that started in 2015 it re-opened in May 2017 and now contains the University of Edinburgh collection of historic musical instruments (16th to 20th century) that focuses mostly on instruments no longer in use today. Concerts and other events take place in the concert room. Free entry. (updated Aug 2017)
• ⊙Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge, ☎ +44 131 6502 210. Tu-F 10AM-5PM, Sa noon-5PM. A gallery with changing exhibitions of cutting edge modern art. Even if the art is not to your taste, it is worth visiting due to its location in the Old College of Edinburgh University, a fine building built between 1789 and 1827 by Robert Adam and Henry Playfair. The Georgian Gallery has a Playfair interior and a mixture of Old Masters and modern installations. Free entry to all exhibitions.  
• ⊙Fruitmarket Gallery, 45 Market Street (behind Edinburgh Waverley Rail Station), ☎ +44 131 2252 383. Closed until summer 2020 for rebuilding (M-Sa 11AM-6PM; Su noon-5PM). The Fruitmarket Gallery aims to find the most appropriate way to bring artists and audiences together. It is a not-for-profit organization and a registered charity. Whilst the gallery is closed for rebuilding there is a temporary bookshop and event space in the top floor of Waverley Mall. Always free. (updated Sep 2016)
• ⊙Surgeons' Hall Museums, Nicolson Street (opp. Festival Theatre), ☎ +44 131 5271 711, +44 131 5271 600. Daily 10AM-5PM. The permanent exhibitions comprise of the Pathology Museum, the History of Surgery Museum and the Dental Museum. Not suitable for young children (under 10) as the exhibits include human remains. £6 adults, £3.50 concessions. (updated Mar 2016)
• ⊙City Art Centre, 2 Market St (across the road from Fruitmarket Gallery), ☎ +44 131 5293 993. Tu-Su 10AM-5PM, last entry 4:20PM. Four-floor gallery run by the city council with changing exhibitions. Charges for some exhibitions, but usually one floor is free. (updated Nov 2020)
• ⊙The Peoples' Story Museum, 163 Canongate, ☎ +44 131 5294 057. daily 10am - 5pm. A museum giving the local's view of life in Edinburgh over the last 200 years. Free. (updated Jun 2019)
• ⊙Museum of Childhood, 42 High Street, ☎ +44 131 5294 142. daily 10AM-5PM. See if you can find your old toys in the collection, or maybe the ones that your grandparents had. Free. (updated Jun 2019)
• ⊙Museum of Edinburgh, 142 Cannongate, ☎ +44 131 5294 143. M-Sa 10:00-5PM; Su closed (except in Aug: noon-5PM). Museum of Edinburgh's history. Free. (updated Mar 2015)
• ⊙The Writers' Museum, Lady Stair's Close (near the top of The Mound), ☎ +44 131 5294 901. daily 10AM-5PM. Museum about famous Scottish authors, focussing on Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. The museum is in a house built in 1622. Free. (updated Jun 2019)
• ⊙National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, ☎ +44 131 6233 700. Exhibitions: M-Th 10AM-7PM; F Sa 9:30AM-5PM. A permanent exhibition of works from the John Murray archive and changing temporary exhibitions, usually about historic literature. The main library is a copyright library and you need to apply in advance to access the reading rooms. Free. (updated Feb 2019)
• ⊙Stills Gallery, 23 Cockburn Street, EH1 1BP, ☎ +44 131 6226 200. Daily 11AM-6PM. Photography gallery with changing temporary exhibitions. Darkrooms and digital lab available to hire by the hour. Gallery free. (updated Apr 2017)
• ⊙Museum on the Mound, The Mound, EH1 1YZ, ☎ +44 131 2435 464. Tu-F 10AM-5PM; Sa Su 1-5PM. Museum about money, in the former Bank of Scotland headquarters. Free. (updated Apr 2017)