1 day Edinburgh itinerary – The PERFECT way to spend a day in Edinburgh (+ Map)

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In our experience, Edinburgh is the ideal place for a 1 day city break. If you are short on time or budget you can still pack a lot into a 1 day Edinburgh itinerary to make it feel like you have come away with a good sense of the cities main attractions.

The city is easily reachable by bus from the airport and many of the main places of interest are within a short walking distance of one another.

One mistake we are really keen for you to avoid when spending a day in Edinburgh is to try to cram everything into a day and spend the entire time running from one location to the next.

As much as you will want to see the sights, it is more important to allow yourself sufficient time to enjoy them.

With that, our strongest recommendation, is to centre our day around a few key locations, prioritise those and you will also naturally see some of the others in passing as you navigate the city.

The other key thing to maximising your day in Edinburgh, is to use the hop on/hop off bus tour.

The bus gives you great flexibility, save you time and energy walking between locations and the guides usually have some good tips along the way as well.

The other key consideration is choosing where to stay in Edinburgh. Again, if you are limited for time, always choose the most convenient, centrally located option to free up as much time as possible for exploring the city.

1 Day Edinburgh Itinerary Overview

Before we go into more detail, here is a quick snapshot of everything you are going to cover during your day in Edinburgh.

You can access quick links to some of the best activities we did during our trip below to help you start planning your itinerary out early and avoid missing out on some of the best things Edinburgh has to offer.

Where to stay in Edinburgh – at a glance

Where you choose to stay in Edinburgh will largely come down to the type of trip you would like to have and budget.

If you only have a day in Edinburgh, we would always recommend booking a hotel as central as possible to avoid losing time getting to and from key attractions. (See our detailed guide on where to stay)

• Old Town – Medieval area filled with winding cobblestoned streets, ancient castles and dungeons and Harry Potter inspiring locations. This area really feels like a step back in time. We would recommend staying at Virgin Hotels.
• New Town – Trendy area full of shops, bars and restaurants. Great for anyone wanting to enjoy the nightlife in Edinburgh and luxury hotels. We would recommend staying at Hotel Indigo.
• Stockbridge – This is a picturesque village area set along the Leith walkway. We would recommend staying at Nira Caledonia
• West End – Trendy area great for musicals and concert goers. Lots of great luxury hotels in this area. We would recommend staying at The Bonham.

Our top picks for things to do in Edinburgh

There are so many great things to do in Edinburgh and the great thing is that most of our favourites are completely free.

As mentioned, if you are restricted for time, we would always recommend taking either a hop on/hop off bus tour or a guided walking tour to maximise your day in the city. Both of these options will save you time and effort in navigating Edinburgh and afford you more time to actually enjoy the location.

Some of our favourite things to do include the Glenfinnan Viaduct tour, which although not centred around Edinburgh itself, is unmissable in our view and gives you a real feel for Scotland as a whole in a short space of time – one of the best tours we have taken in the UK more broadly.

The tour takes you along the famous steam train route seen in the Harry Potter films, as well as giving you a peak at the Scottish Highlands, an area that is stunningly beautiful in itself.

Within the city itself, we loved this Harry Potter & Edinburgh Castle tour, which takes you through lots of the major attractions dotted around the Old Town like Victoria Street (the inspiration behind Diagon Alley); the cafe where the book was originally drafted, Greyfriars Kirkyard – the graveyard where many of the characters names were sourced and the beautiful castle itself.

1 day Edinburgh Itinerary – Castles; Wizards & Medieval Dungeons

Morning – Old Town charm (Harry Potter sites & Edinburgh Castle)

Your day in Edinburgh is going to be a mix of the old, the new, the mystical and the mythical. Old Town Edinburgh has the ability to immediately make you feel like you have been transported to the past and it is a place that we keep coming back to at every opportunity.

The area has retained all of its old charm and has lots of subtle nods to its medieval past, as well as the sights that formed the birthplace of the Harry Potter franchise.

The most efficient way to use your morning in the Old Town, would be to take this Harry Potter inspired walking tour, which finishes up at Edinburgh Castle.

This tour will guide you through all of the key sights of the Old Town along the ‘Harry Potter’ trail including Royal Mile, Greyfriar’s Kirkyard (where many of the character names were taken from); Victoria Street, Elephant Cafe, Old College & the castle.

These locations are exactly what we would recommend including in your Edinburgh itinerary regardless, but with the added bonus of your castle entry being taken care of and some great insights into the history of the area from the tour guide.

If you do decide to go it alone our recommendation would be to do a walking loop starting at Vennel Viewpoint and finishing with a tour of Edinburgh Castle.

Vennel Viewpoint is situated in the Grassmarket area at the bottom of the Old Town and has perfect views overlooking the castle.

From there, make your way up along Victoria Street, the inspiration behind Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter franchise. This winding street lined with colourful buildings is an ideal place to get a few photos.

If you are a Harry Potter fan, stop off along the street at The Elephant House, which is the cafe where much of the original book was written.

From there, make your way along the Royal Mile, passing St Giles’ Cathedral to Cockburn Street. This street has a similar feel to Victoria Street with less of the colour and we would suggest grabbing a coffee at The Milkman.

A short walk from there we would recommend checking out the Old College and Writer’s Museum before finishing up with a tour of Edinburgh Castle.

This may seem like a lot but you will naturally pass through these locations as you work your way around the loop, so it should still ensure you have plenty of time to explore the castle.

Afternoon – Circus Lane & Dean Village

Spend your afternoon in our favourite part of Edinburgh, Stockbridge. Away from the crowds of the Old Town, you will discover two of Edinburgh’s most beautiful locations.

Again, in the interest of time, if you only have a day in Edinburgh, we would recommend this walking tour where you will be guided through the exact laces we would recommend visiting in this area: Circus Lane; Dean Village & The Botanical gardens.

Starting off at Circus Lane, this is possibly the most photogenic location in Edinburgh and we make sure to take a walk along this street every time we are in Edinburgh.

It has a Cotswold style feel to it, with a cobbled street running through the low rise cottage terraces framing the street and St. Stephen’s Church providing a beautiful backdrop.

After Circus Lane, take the short walk to Dean Village – the area was an old milling community as recently as the 19th Century and really embodies Edinburgh’s industrial past.

Equally though, it is a beautiful place to get some photos from your trip but we would always encourage you to be mindful of the fact that this is still a residential area so do be respectful of the locals when visiting.

Evening – New Town Dinner & Drinks

Your evening in Edinburgh will be spent in the newer part of the city, while you can also enjoy a couple of the sights along the way.

Namely, as you make your way into New Town you will pass by Scott Monument, which is the second largest monument to a writer in the World. This Gothic landmark is a a good base to use as a point of reference to the centre of Edinburgh as well – if you can still see the monument you won’t be very lost.

You could also take a walk through Prince Street Gardens before dinner where you will get an amazing view of Edinburgh Castle from Ross Fountain.

Prince Street is also Edinburgh’s high street so if you plan to do any shopping during your time in Edinburgh this is the place to do it.

For dinner, we would recommend trying out some local cuisine at Under the Table which really emphasises using local Scottish ingredients in their dishes.

Alternatively, we also really loved the Spanish Butcher which does an amazing steak, something we always try to get on a trip away. We also really enjoy Asian cuisine and tried out Tattu while we were in Edinburgh which is a great option as well.

After dinner, try out one of Edinburgh’s many great cocktail bars and speakeasy’s. We really liked Copper Blossom when we visited, and you can also get food there if you would prefer to stay in one place.

There is also a really cool speakeasy style bar that we visited called Panda & Sons that we would really recommend as well to close out your day in Edinburgh.