Visiting The Royal Mile & Old Town in Edinburgh - What to See & Do
At approximately a mile long, The Royal Mile is a series of ʻOld Townʼ streets connecting Edinburgh Castle at the top with the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the bottom. In the video above (just press red button) I walk the Royal Mile and show you all the highlights. I’ve listed all the places in the video at the end of this article*. Hope you enjoy the video and it inspires you to visit. If you’d like a private tour you can book with me here.
The Royal Mile is built on a sloping tail of glacial debris, left behind a volcanic plug on which the Castle is built (yes, it’s built on an old volcano!)
Some highlights of the Royal Mile include Edinburgh Castle, the Camera Obscura, The Scotch Whisky Experience, Victoria Street, Gladstone's Land, The Writer’s Museum, St Giles' Cathedral, the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Mary King's Close, John Knox House, The Museum of Edinburgh, Canongate Church, The Scottish Poetry Library, Dunbar’s Close Garden, The Tolbooth, Holyrood Palace, the Scottish Parliament and Dynamic Earth (all covered in my brand new Edinburgh City Guide book or why not book a tour with me).
Don’t be afraid to walk down wynds and ‘closes’ (a Scots term for alleyway), which are often named after a memorable resident or local trader. Many have some quite surprising architecture and gardens, that are all too easy to miss, like Dunbar’s Close Garden in the Canongate.
Some of my favourites Royal Mile closes are: Milne’s Court, Riddle’s Court, Tweeddale Court, Makar’s Court and Lady Stair’s Close, Anchor Close, Trunk’s Close, Bakehouse Close, Dunbar Close (and garden) and White Horse Close.
Start at the Castle and walk down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse zig-zagging in and out of the closes. Don’t miss the magnificent Thistle Chapel in St Giles’ Cathedral and The Real Mary King’s Close on the way.
If you’d like a private tour of The Royal Mile, I’d be delighted to give you a personal tour which you can book here.
If you’re visiting Edinburgh soon and don’t want to miss anything, you can buy & download my brand new 100-page Edinburgh City Guide here. Hope you enjoy it :-)
*Places in The Royal Mile featured In this video:-
Holyrood Palace, Queen Mary's Bath House, The Queen's Gallery, The Scottish Parliament, White Horse Close, The Canongate, Dunbars Close Garden, The Museum of Edinburgh, Robert Fergusson Statue, The Canongate Kirk, Bakehouse Close, The Canongate Tolbooth, Chessel's Court, Tweeddale Court, John Knox House, The High Street, St Giles' Cathedral, The Mercat Cross, The City Chambers, The Heart of Midlothian, David Hume Statue, Castlehill, Wardrop's Close, The Writers' Museum, Lady Stairs Close, The Jolly Judge Pub, Edinburgh Castle & Esplanade + views, Ramsay Garden, George Heriot's School, Arthur's Seat, Camera Obscura, The Scotch Whisky Experience, Boswell's Court, The Witchery Restaurant, Victoria Street & Terrace, West Bow, Colonnades at Signet Library, Parliament Square, Adam Smith Statue, Hunter Square and Niddry Street.
The Edinburgh City Guide - Out Now!
A 100-page Guide to Edinburgh by tour-guide and local resident, David Wheater.
