A capital built on an extinct volcano, with a medieval old town on the ridge and a Georgian new town laid out in a grid below. Three days covers both, an extinct volcano climb, and the closes and stairs that connect them.
Edinburgh · 3 days United Kingdom
Best time: May, June, and September for long daylight and the best chance of dry.
The Royal MileDay 1
🏰9:30 AM
Edinburgh Castle
On the volcanic plug above the city, holding the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny. The one-o'clock gun still fires daily except Sunday.
🚶 ~13 min · 🚗 ~2 min · 0.5 mi
📍1:00 PM
Royal Mile and the closes
The spine from castle to palace, with narrow closes dropping off both sides into hidden courtyards. Some run underground beneath later buildings.
🚶 ~17 min · 🚗 ~2 min · 0.6 mi
🏰4:30 PM
Holyrood Palace
The monarch's official Scottish residence, with the ruined abbey behind it and the room where Mary Queen of Scots watched her secretary murdered.
Arthur's Seat and the museumsDay 2
📍8:30 AM
Arthur's Seat
An extinct volcano 251m above the city, climbable in about an hour from Holyrood, with the whole Firth of Forth laid out at the top.
🚶 ~30 min · 🚗 ~4 min · 1.1 mi
🖼️12:30 PM
National Museum of Scotland
Free, enormous, and genuinely good: Dolly the sheep, the Lewis chessmen, and a roof terrace most visitors never find.
🚶 ~2 min · 🚗 ~1 min · 410 ft
📍4:00 PM
Greyfriars Kirkyard
A seventeenth-century burial ground of table tombs and mortsafes fitted to stop body-snatchers. The names on the stones are why parts of it feel oddly familiar.
New Town and the waterDay 3
🖼️10:00 AM
Scottish National Gallery
Free, and small enough to do properly: Titian, Vermeer, Raeburn's skating minister.
🚶 ~23 min · 🚗 ~3 min · 0.9 mi
📍1:00 PM
Dean Village and the Water of Leith
A former milling hamlet in a gorge five minutes from the shopping street, with a river walkway running out through Stockbridge.
🚶 ~37 min · 🚗 ~5 min · 1.4 mi
🌳6:30 PM
Calton Hill
Ten minutes up for monuments including a deliberately unfinished Parthenon, and the classic view back along the ridge at sunset.
✈ Live flight status🚶 Travel time between stops🌤 Weather each day📎 Passes & receipts🔗 Share with your group
This is how Petrel lays out a trip. Upload your own confirmations and it builds this for your dates: flights and hotels included, with live flight status and the travel time between stops.
Make this Edinburgh plan yours
Forward your real booking confirmations to Petrel and it builds this exact day-by-day view for you: flights, hotels, reservations, live flight status, and the travel time between stops. Under a minute.
Best time to goMay, June, and September for long daylight and the best chance of dry. August is the Festival and Fringe, which is extraordinary and doubles the price of everything. Winter is dark by four but atmospheric.
Getting aroundWalk; the city is compact and the interest is in the vertical layering. Buses and a tram cover the rest, contactless capped daily. Expect stairs, wynds, and steep closes everywhere.
Local tip: If you come in August, book accommodation months ahead and expect the city to be three times as full. Otherwise: the weather changes hourly, so carry a layer and a waterproof regardless of the forecast.
The full plan as text
The same day-by-day plan as text. Times are starting points, not homework.
Day 1: The Royal Mile
9:30 AM
Edinburgh Castle
On the volcanic plug above the city, holding the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny. The one-o'clock gun still fires daily except Sunday.
1:00 PM
Royal Mile and the closes
The spine from castle to palace, with narrow closes dropping off both sides into hidden courtyards. Some run underground beneath later buildings.
4:30 PM
Holyrood Palace
The monarch's official Scottish residence, with the ruined abbey behind it and the room where Mary Queen of Scots watched her secretary murdered.
Day 2: Arthur's Seat and the museums
8:30 AM
Arthur's Seat
An extinct volcano 251m above the city, climbable in about an hour from Holyrood, with the whole Firth of Forth laid out at the top.
12:30 PM
National Museum of Scotland
Free, enormous, and genuinely good: Dolly the sheep, the Lewis chessmen, and a roof terrace most visitors never find.
4:00 PM
Greyfriars Kirkyard
A seventeenth-century burial ground of table tombs and mortsafes fitted to stop body-snatchers. The names on the stones are why parts of it feel oddly familiar.
Day 3: New Town and the water
10:00 AM
Scottish National Gallery
Free, and small enough to do properly: Titian, Vermeer, Raeburn's skating minister.
1:00 PM
Dean Village and the Water of Leith
A former milling hamlet in a gorge five minutes from the shopping street, with a river walkway running out through Stockbridge.
6:30 PM
Calton Hill
Ten minutes up for monuments including a deliberately unfinished Parthenon, and the classic view back along the ridge at sunset.
Make this Edinburgh plan yours
Forward your real booking confirmations to Petrel and it builds this exact day-by-day view for you: flights, hotels, reservations, live flight status, and the travel time between stops. Under a minute.