Royal Mile

The Royal Mile runs 1.8 kilometres from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is technically not a mile: it is a Scots mile, an older unit slightly longer than an English one. The street has four different names along its length (Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street, and Canongate), and most tourists walk the whole thing once and spend much of it dodging kilt shops. There is a better version available if you use the closes.

The Closes

The closes (narrow alleyways running off the main street on both sides) are where the actual history is. Brodie’s Close is named for Deacon Brodie, Edinburgh city councillor and moonlighting burglar who was hanged in 1788, inspiring Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde. Mary King’s Close, a preserved 17th-century street now underground beneath the Royal Mile, is a ticketed attraction (around GBP 20 for adults) that gives the best physical sense of the layered history; the Mile was essentially built on top of older streets as the city expanded upward.

The Castle

Edinburgh Castle entry runs GBP 19.50 to 21 for adults. The Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny (the coronation stone returned to Scotland in 1996 after 700 years in London) are the main exhibits. The views from the Half-Moon Battery across the New Town and the Firth of Forth are genuinely impressive. The 1pm cannon fires daily except Sunday.

What Not to Bother With

The Scotch Whisky Experience on Castlehill is fine but expensive for what it delivers. Better to walk to Cadenhead’s whisky shop on Canongate (independent bottlers operating since 1842) and taste something you cannot find in airport shops.

Eating

The Witchery by the Castle at the top of the Mile does special-occasion Scottish cooking properly. For something more casual and considerably cheaper, Makars Gourmet Mash Bar handles comfort food well and is usually quieter than the obvious tourist choices. The Canongate end of the Mile has a Lidl, which is a perfectly honest observation about self-catering options.

Getting Around

Edinburgh’s centre is compact and the Royal Mile is walkable from most central accommodation. A Lothian Buses day ticket (around GBP 4.20) covers the wider city including Leith, Portobello, and the Royal Botanic Garden.