Wanderful Women’s Travel Guides offer a comprehensive resource to start planning your travels. We aggregate helpful travel tips from Women Travel Creators who visit or live in the destination so you can learn from various perspectives. Get started planning your trip with help from the global Wanderful community!


Wanderful Women’s Travel Guide to Edinburgh, Scotland

Ready to plan a trip to Edinburgh? Start with this women’s travel guide, which highlights places to eat, explore, learn, and meet new friends.

If this is your first visit to Edinburgh, you’re in for a treat! From ancient history to modern art, Edinburgh welcomes visitors from around the world for a wide variety of reasons.

Edinburgh is easily accessible due to its international airport just outside the city. There is also easy train access from throughout England and Scotland, and buses are available to connect visitors from throughout the region.

View of a narrow close with a lamp overhead - tips for planning a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, from Wanderful
Photo credit Amanda Walkins

For solo female travelers, Edinburgh is a fantastic city to explore. With a warm welcome and friendly banter, Scotland is known as a safe and fun destination to explore.

Get all our travel tips for Edinburgh in the links below. We have tapped into our global Wanderful community to gather the resources and insights you need to start to plan a trip to Edinburgh — and elsewhere in Scotland!

Looking for travel inspiration? Wanderful is a global community for travel-loving women. Connect with us!


What to See and Do in Edinburgh, Scotland

The top things to see in Edinburgh include everything from historic Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace to the annual festivals and events that make the city come alive. Whether you like history, nature, architecture, or literature — Edinburgh is the city for you!

Recommendations for Things to See and Do in Edinburgh:

Neighborhoods to Explore

And here’s an iconic view in Edinburgh:

Beaches and Islands

How about an island you can walk to near Edinburgh? So cool!

And then check these out:

Nature and Walking

View of Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh on a sunny day
Photo credit Amanda Walkins

Things to do

Travel Types


¿Prefieres información en español? ¡Patricia, de Mad About Travel, puede ayudarte!


Edinburgh is a very old city, which can pose problems with accessibility. There have been great efforts to improve this, but here is a helpful resource to learn more.

Tours to Try

Day Trip Options

When you’re ready to go farther afield, Amanda Walkins recommends you take these easy day trips from Edinburgh to explore more of Scotland.

And Maggie McKneely of Pink Caddy Travelogue offers an epic 8-day itinerary starting and ending in Edinburgh.

Queens View in Pitlochry - an easy day trip from Edinburgh for this lush vista over Loch Tummel

Listen: Music, Arts, & Events in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is known as The Festival City. You can visit almost any month of the year and enjoy a major event, from the world-leading Fringe Festival in August to Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) in December to the International Film Festival in June.

If you’re not up for the big events, Edinburgh also has plenty of places to enjoy live music, marvel at the arts, and dance the night away.

Recommendations for Music & Events in Edinburgh:

Sonja, a Kiwi expat living in Edinburgh and blogger at Migrating Miss, recommends you visit Edinburgh in August for the incredible festival season, especially the Royal Edinburgh Miltary Tattoo. She says, “I never knew quite what to expect with the Tattoo, even though I’d watched it on TV as a child, but I was completely blown away.”

There are 5 simultaneous festivals in Edinburgh in August. Check them all out for an extraordinary cultural experience!

Get more advice for visiting during the August festivals:

Other Festivals in Edinburgh

Pop Culture

Want to prepare yourself for the Scottish accent? Watch these movies filmed in Edinburgh (although not all of them feature Scots).

Live Music & Dancing

  • Want to check out some live music during your visit? The Skinny is a helpful resource.
  • You can’t visit Edinburgh without trying a ceilidh! A ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) is a traditional dance in Scotland, which you can learn and try at Ghillie Dhu.
  • For more ideas on live music — from jazz to classical to metal and more — check out Timeout’s guide for venues in Edinburgh.

Taste of Edinburgh: What to Eat and Drink

Edinburgh (and all of Scotland) is known for a few things, whisky being one of the more famous. But there’s also haggis, Irn Bru, deep-fried Mars Bars, and so much more.

Edinburgh is a very international city these days, though, so you’re sure to find a wide variety of cuisines to eat and diverse options for drink beyond the traditional dram.

A tray full of drams of whisky resting on tartan at Edradour Distillery in Pitlochry, Scotland
Photo credit Amanda Walkins

Recommendations for Food & Drink in Edinburgh:

What to Eat and Drink in Edinburgh

Vegan Options

  • These vegan restaurants in Edinburgh prove that Scottish fare has evolved beyond the traditional and into the much more diverse modern options.
  • Want more vegan options? There’s a whole blog for that! Check out Vegan Edinburgh.

Where to Eat in Edinburgh

Pubs and Beer Gardens

Beer garden at Cold Town House in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a view of Edinburgh Castle above
Photo credit Amanda Walkins

Whisky (and Gin!)

Edinburgh has a big gin following these days, so you should take an Edinburgh gin tour like Victoria of The Aye Life.

Kathi, of Scottish travel blog Watch Me See, recommends you try the Water of Life when you visit Edinburgh, either as part fo a tour or in a local pub. She says, “Whether you are already a connoisseur, or still green behind your ears like I was when I arrived in Glasgow, a trip to Scotland would not be complete without a Scottish whisky experience of some sort.”

She has an Essential Guide to Trying Scottish Whisky to get you started!

Understand: History, Culture, and Going Beyond the Tourist Track in Edinburgh

If you travel to Edinburgh, you simply can’t miss the depth of history this city has to offer. From the castle atop a dormant volcano to the dark stories of plague, witch hunts, and more — Edinburgh has layers of history reflected in the layers of the city itself.

Museums, tours, and delving deeper into the culture is a great way to learn more about Edinburgh while visiting Scotland.

Recommendations for Learning About Edinburgh:

Museums and More for Learning

Dark History

Life in Edinburgh

Want to know what it’s like to move to Scotland? Amanda Walkins shares her take on being an American expat in Scotland and Yvette Webster shares what it’s like as a Kiwi living in Edinburgh.

Sustainable Travel in Edinburgh and Scotland

Yvette, local blogger at Wayfaring Kiwi, recommends you support businesses with a Green Tourism Certificate to be a more sustainable traveler in Scotland. She says, “You will know that businesses with these awards are doing their utmost for a sustainable Scotland- so book your tour, accommodation, lunch date etc with them!”

She has 24 other tips for being a better visitor to this bonnie country, so take heed!

Connect: Meet Wanderful Women in Edinburgh

The Wanderful Edinburgh Chapter would love to welcome you when you visit this historic city! You can connect directly via the members-only app.


Interested in joining the next members-only event? Learn more about membership right here. (Disclosure: This is the affiliate link for the Edinburgh Chapter Director)


Other Resources for Planning a Trip to Edinburgh


Have you visited Edinburgh, Scotland? Share your favorite things about the city in the comments below.

Looking for travel inspiration? Wanderful is a global community for travel-loving women. Connect with us!