Discover Edinburgh
Take an extinct volcano, an Old Town straight from medieval times, and elegant Georgian townhouses.
Book your flight to Edinburgh
Add in Michelin-starred restaurants, vibrant nightlife and a packed calendar of festivals, and you've got a city that genuinely has universal appeal. Edinburgh, you’re spoiling us.
Getting around
Pack your walking shoes — the best way to explore Edinburgh’s nooks and crannies is on foot. The good news? The city is relatively compact: you can walk from the medieval Old Town to the grandeur of New Town in less than 15 minutes. Not so good? Edinburgh is said to have been built on seven hills. Fortunately public transport is good.
Buses
You can’t miss the double deck maroon (the true colour is ‘madder’) and white Lothian Buses. Run by Transport for Edinburgh, which also operates Edinburgh Trams, they’ll take you around the city centre and its suburbs.
Buy your ticket on board – use exact change – or opt for reloadable citysmart cards available online or from the Lothian Buses Travelshops at Waverley Bridge, Haymarket or Hanover Street. Top them up as you go. Easier still, turn your mobile phone into a ticket with the Transport for Edinburgh app, buy your m-ticket and flash your phone to the driver. A DAYticket gives you unlimited travel by bus and tram.
If the weather’s good, head upstairs on a hop-on, hop-off open-top sightseeing bus. You’ll find them lined up at Waverley Bridge, close to the main railway hub, Waverley Station.
Trams
Edinburgh Trams run from the airport to the city centre with stops at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s headquarters at Gogarburn and Edinburgh Park, home to many financial services businesses.
It runs along Princes Street – with fabulous views of the castle – before halting at York Place, a stone’s throw from the bus depot and Waverley Station. Buy your ticket before you board, use your Transport for Edinburgh DAYticket, smartcard and m-ticket for the bus, as well as trams
Taxis
You’ll find plenty of traditional black hackney cabs at centrally located taxi ranks, or you can hail one that’s passing by.
Hire cars
Public transport in and around Edinburgh is so good you probably won’t need to hire a car. But if you’re heading further afield — perhaps to St Andrews, the home of golf, or north to the Highlands — then there it's well worth hiring a car in advance. You can hire a car with LCY for collection at Edinburgh Airport.