10 Places To Visit & 10 Places To Eat In Edinburgh

There’s no hiding my love for Edinburgh after visiting the city five times. I first visited the city on a solo trip in 2016 as part of 12 trips in 12-month challenge that I set myself. And it’s been love ever since. There’s so much to do and see in Edinburgh, but it’s nowhere near as large or busy as other huge cities such as London or New York.

I’ve still got a list of mainly foodie places to experience in Edinburgh, but here are 10 places you should visit in Edinburgh, and 10 places to eat in the city.

Places to visit

You can’t come to Edinburgh and not experience……

Whenever you go to a new city you need to do the hop-on hop-off bus tour. I think they’re the best way to see a new city and get your bearings, plus you get transport for the whole day (or two). You can jump on the green majestic city bus from Waverley Bridge (right next to the main station) and the 90-minute tour takes you around old and new town with a live guide on tour.

Edinburgh castle

The castle is perhaps the most iconic place in the city which may seem like an obvious one, but it’s a must-visit. You can get a free guided tour around the castle which is a great way to gain some information and see the main outside areas. Definitely worth checking out the times. As the castle is on top of a hill you can get some amazing views over the city on a clear day. Make sure you’re there for 1 pm when the cannons are set off from the castle grounds.

Talk a walk up the Scott monument

The first time I came to Edinburgh I walked past the Scott monument but had no idea what it actually was. It’s situated in he gardens along Princess Street next to Waverley Bridge and the station. It’s the largest monument dedicated to a writer; Sir Walter Scott.

You can climb right to the summit and get some beautiful views out over the city.

Visit the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh

Like most cities, there are a handful of great museums, and the Museum of Scotland is our favourite. We may be a little biased as it was on the rooftop of the museum that me and Luke got engaged, but I loved it before then.

There are loads of exhibits including Dolly the Sheep herself, and a great Formula 1 section with cars and some simulators and games you can try out.

A ghost tour including the underground vaults

Mercat Tours do a great tour called Doomed Dead and Buried which is just under 2 hours and takes in the Blair Street Underground Vaults, Canongate Graveyard and features plenty of gruesome tales from Edinburgh’s past. The underground vaults can only be accessed through this tour company so it’s pretty unique.

The guide we had was really engaging, and despite it being quite a big group it still felt personal. The vaults themselves are a little creepy, and you rely on candlelight from your guide, but the stories were really interesting.

Get a tipple from Edinburgh gin distillery

I’ve done the distillery tour three separate times now, so it’s safe to say I am a fan. When I went the gin distillery tour was just a tenner, but I suspect it’s gone up a bit since then. The tour lasts an hour running through the history of gin, and you can smell the botanicals. Then you get to go into the small distillery and see how it’s made, finishing off with a gin and tonic.

I did another tour where you do a proper tasting with multiple different flavours of Edinburgh Gin which was great. And the gin is widely sold in loads of supermarkets and shops now. So if you fall in love with a flavour it should be easy to pick up.

Walk the royal mile and do some shopping

The Royal Mile runs from the Castle on one end, to Holyrood House on the other and it’s a lovely walk. The streets are lined with Spirit of Edinburgh shops, whiskey stores and some really cool independent shops. Pick up some tartan, shortbread or fudge as you wander the stores.

There’s also a year-round Christmas shop which makes you feel so festive, even if it’s the middle of summer. You can get loads of personalised ornaments so we have quite a few from over the years.

Less traditionally Scottish things to do in Edinburgh

Camera obscura

If you love optical illusions and lots of hands on exhibits then the Camera Obscura is perfect for you. The museum is split over a few levels with exhibitions on each floor. The roof is where the camera obscura itself is housed, and you get excellent views of the castle next door.

NQ64

If you love video and arcade games then make sure you head to NQ64. The neon splattered interior is filled with loads of arcade games from racing and shooter games to Pacman and guitar hero. You can buy tokens for all of these machines, but there are also various consoles you can play for free.

We spent a few hours here and could have easily spent all evening. They had a great menu full of cocktails based around games including my favourites the ‘Power Star Martini’ ansd the ‘Aku Aku Fruit Punch’.

Do a book crawl in Edinburgh

If you’re anything like me and love a great book shop then Edinburgh has some awesome treats for you.

Some of my favourites include:

• Rare Bird Books- a bookshop dedicated to books written by women, and it’s a dog friendly bookshop
• Golden Hare Books- a smaller independent bookshop with a great selection and asethic
• Transreal- this small independent is home to all things fantasy and Scifi and they have a great selection across these genres
• Toppings and Co- a huge bookshop with absolutely loads of first editions/ signed/ special edition books. I could have spent days here
• Blackwells- there aren’t too many of these stores around, but it’s a huge unit with a great selection of books and they do 3 for 2 on certain books

Now for 10 places to eat at in Edinburgh

Perhaps the best burgers…..

Me and Luke love a good burger spot, and we found our absolute favourites at Buttaburger. I couldn’t tell you quite why they’re so good, but they’re firmly in our number one spot.

We got some chicken strips and they were succulent with a great coating. With our burgers we got the beef dripping dip which comes in a pot to dip your burger into. I had the parmesan truffle fries which were great, although my eyes were too big for my belly and I couldn’t finish them.

You need to have hog roast in Edinburgh

There are a whole bunch of Oink stores around Edinburgh and you need to stop and get a hog roast roll. You pick the size of your roll, your bread, stuffing and then any sauce, it’s as simple as that.

The first time we went to Edinburgh Luke got one but I didn’t but I made sure to change that this time. Even if the queues look long it moves quick and it’s worth the wait.

Civerinos

The pretty pink fronted restaurant is down one of the side streets on the Royal Mile and they do some of the best pizza I’ve had. Not too greasy with a slight char on the base. Plus I’m a huge fan of their giant mozzarella stick and their crust bites.

You used to be able to walk in and buy pizza by the slice at the main branch, but they now have two separate Civerinos Slice stops where you can do this. I had no idea the new stores existed when we were last there, so something to add to my list for next time.

Tony macaroni in Edinburgh

To me a restaurant name called Tony Macaroni seems a bit gimmicky, but don’t make that mistake if you spot the restaurant. They serve Italian cuisine and the menu is absolutely huge with all ingredients sources from the best local and Italian suppliers.

If you head there make sure to grab some of the sourdough foccacia pizza bread which is excellent. Then it’s up to from there as there’s pizza, pasta, seafood, risotto, ribs and so much more.

Boozy cow

I’ve got another burger spot for you that do not just amazing burgers, but great milkshakes and cocktails too.

Luke got something called the Capaldi burger which had a glazed donut on top instead of a bun, and he seemed to love it. They do a great range of bites and starter, plus some sliders if you can’t pick what burger you want.

Makars Gourmet Mash Bar in Edinburgh

Now this is the only foodie place that I’ve not actually visited myself, but my family absolutely loved it when they went there. I had this on our plans for our last trip but I tried to cram too much food in and we couldn’t fit it in.

Their plan was to create traditional Scottish food that wasn’t the deep fried mars bar and they wanted the food to have that homemade cosy feeling. There are loads of different dishes you can pick from and nine different mash varieties you can have with it.

Sweets treats and drinks to visit in Edinburgh

Fancy some ice cream?

Mary’s milk bar seems to be a popular spot as I’ve spotted quite long queues for this little ice cream spot. And understandably as they do some great flavours that taste excellent.

Looking for a sweet baked treat?

If you’re looking for a quick place to stop and have a drink and a sweet treat then Mimi’s little bakehouse is where you need. It’s located on the Royal Mail nearer the Holyrood House end and they do loads of cakes, traybakes, pastries etc. You can even stop for afternoon tea.

A bar you’d easily walk past

Unless you knew it was there you would walk right past Bramble Bar as it’s hidden away down some stairs without much signage. It’s a lovely cosy bar with a huge range of cocktails and spirits perfect for a quick tipple.

Cocktail geeks

If you love your pop culture then check out what the theme is at cocktail geeks. Every three-four months they shut and retheme the bar and their drinks to a new theme. When we went it was Catini themed so full of Star Wars props and lightsaber drinks. When my family went it was Marvel themed, and they’ve done all the obvious choices.

Special shout outs for other places in Edinburgh

These places didn’t quite make the top ten places to visit or places to eat at but they’re all great:

• Panda & Sons – great bar hidden behind the front of a barber shop
• Zoo – this is a pretty great zoo complete with pandas
• Royal Britannia Yacht
• Holyrood house

Have you been to Edinburgh? Do you have any more top recommendations?