40 of the best · Edinburgh, Scotland
The National Galleries, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Fruitmarket, the Usher Hall and the Queen’s Hall, the Lyceum and the Traverse, Filmhouse, and the August festivals and Hogmanay.
Our 40 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
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Three we return to, chosen by people who know Edinburgh’s closes, crescents and quaysides.
National Galleries of Scotland
The national collection of fine art on the Mound, between the Old Town and the New.
The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2ELExplore View on map
National Galleries of Scotland
The red-sandstone gallery of Scotland’s people on Queen Street, with its painted Great Hall.
1 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JDExplore View on map
Lothian Road
Edinburgh’s great concert hall on Lothian Road, for classical music, rock, pop and spoken word.
Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2EAExplore View on map
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August’s festivals, the galleries and the stages.
The back story
Every August the International Festival, the Fringe, the Book Festival and the Tattoo fill the city; the rest of the year, the national galleries, the theatres and the concert halls carry on.
Visual arts
The National Galleries and the museums of Scotland’s story.
Culture Edinburgh
The city’s collection of Scottish art and touring exhibitions, by Waverley.
Market Street, Edinburgh EH1 1DEExplore View on map
Culture Edinburgh
The city’s own museum on the Canongate, in a group of 16th-century houses.
Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8DDExplore View on map
Chambers Street
Scotland’s national museum on Chambers Street: natural history, world cultures, science and Scotland’s story, under one roof.
Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JFExplore View on map
National Galleries of Scotland
The national collection of fine art on the Mound, between the Old Town and the New.
The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2ELExplore View on map
Modern One and Two
Modern One and Modern Two, facing each other across Belford Road in the west of the city, with Charles Jencks’s Landform.
75 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DRExplore View on map
National Galleries of Scotland
The red-sandstone gallery of Scotland’s people on Queen Street, with its painted Great Hall.
1 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JDExplore View on map
From the Mound to Calton Hill and Jupiter Artland.
City Observatory, Calton Hill
Contemporary art in the old City Observatory on Calton Hill.
38 Calton Hill, Edinburgh EH7 5AAExplore View on map
120 acres
Contemporary sculpture across 120 acres of meadow and woodland, west of the city.
Bonnington House Steadings, Wilkieston EH27 8BYExplore View on map
Founded 1826
The academy of artists and architects on the Mound, with exhibitions through the year.
The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2ELExplore View on map
Photography since 1977
Scotland’s centre for photography, on Cockburn Street.
Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1BPExplore View on map
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh’s gallery in the Old College.
Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YLExplore View on map
Contemporary art
A contemporary art gallery on Market Street, beside Waverley.
45 Market Street, Edinburgh EH1 1DFExplore View on map
St Giles’, the Georgian New Town, Holyrood and the Forth Bridge.
On the Royal Mile
The High Kirk of Edinburgh on the Royal Mile, with its crown spire and the Thistle Chapel.
High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1REExplore View on map
Opened 1890
The red cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015.
National Trust for Scotland
A New Town house on Charlotte Square, furnished as it was in Georgian times.
Charlotte Square, EdinburghExplore View on map
Tours of the building
Enric Miralles’s building opposite Holyroodhouse, open to visitors.
Horse Wynd, Edinburgh EH99 1SPExplore View on map
Performing arts
The Usher Hall, the Queen’s Hall and the city’s orchestras.
Built 1932
A 1930s theatre in Leith, brought back to life as a venue for music and culture.
Ferry Road, Edinburgh EH6 4AEExplore View on map
Founded 1974
One of Scotland’s national orchestras, with its home seasons in Edinburgh.
Clerk Street
An independent live-music venue in a former church on Clerk Street: classical, jazz, folk and rock.
Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9JGExplore View on map
Lothian Road
Edinburgh’s great concert hall on Lothian Road, for classical music, rock, pop and spoken word.
Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2EAExplore View on map
The Lyceum, the Traverse, the Festival and King’s theatres and the Playhouse.
Musicals
The big theatre at the top of Leith Walk, for touring musicals.
Greenside Place, Edinburgh EH1 3AAExplore View on map
Capital Theatres
Musicals, drama, dance and comedy at Capital Theatres’ two stages: the glass-fronted Festival Theatre and the Edwardian King’s.
Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9FTExplore View on map
Grindlay Street
The Victorian theatre on Grindlay Street, home of the Lyceum company.
Grindlay Street, Edinburgh EH3 9AXExplore View on map
New writing
Scotland’s new-writing theatre, beside the Usher Hall.
Cambridge Street, Edinburgh EH1 2EDExplore View on map
Filmhouse, the Cameo and the Dominion.
Reopened 2025
The independent cinema on Lothian Road, reopened in June 2025 after a long campaign.
Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9BZExplore View on map
Burns, Scott and Stevenson, and the stories told on the Royal Mile.
On the Royal Mile
Storytelling, music and theatre beside John Knox House on the Royal Mile.
43–45 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SRExplore View on map
Burns, Scott and Stevenson
Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson, in Lady Stair’s House off the Lawnmarket.
Lady Stair's Close, Edinburgh EH1 2PAExplore View on map
Independent
An independent bookshop by Calton Hill, with author events.
Folk & cultural traditions
Dovecot’s looms and the city’s kiltmakers.
Tapestry studio
A gallery of art, design and textiles built around a working tapestry studio, on Infirmary Street.
Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LTExplore View on map
August’s festivals and Hogmanay.
Every August
The world’s great open-access arts festival, filling the city each August.
180 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1QSExplore View on map
Every August
Writers and thinkers from around the world, every August.
Every August
Opera, music, theatre and dance from around the world, every August.
The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NEExplore View on map
Every August
Independent cinema each August; the 79th edition ran from 13 to 19 August 2026.
Four days at New Year
Four days of New Year celebrations, with the Street Party under the castle.
On the castle esplanade
Music, dance and the massed pipes and drums on the castle esplanade each August.
