Good free things to do in Edinburgh?

Im there for a day next week before going up to the Highlands. My train is at 4pm but I have about 6 hours.

What should I do? Dw to go to the castle or the HMC Britannia because they're about £20, but I would like free things to do besides shows. How fast can I get up Arthurs' Seat

Arthur's seat is a good call and isn't too far away from the train station - about 15 minutes walk up Jeffry street and then down the royal mile. Along the way, you can check out the scottish parliament and the palace of holyrood house (though the get in to the latter, you do need to pay). It takes around 20 minutes to half an hour to get to the top from the parliament side if you're going up it at a slow pace. You can easily do it in about 15 at a reasonable pace. Also, the national museum is free and worth seeing if you haven't been before! Other than that, you might want to go up calton hill which is really close to the station and just wander around the old town and join the tourist hoards! :P

Btw, if you're on a budget, I'd miss Brittania as its far away from everything else and it's not amazing! The castle might be justifiable....though expensive!

Hope you enjoy your time here!

Thank you! How long is it to get up and down Arthur's seat? I'm short on time too so not sure if I want to do the walk. Is Calton Hill a good alternative?

How much stuff is there to do in the Castle? Is it as good as the Tower of London or Warwick Castle? I kind of wanted to go.. just checked the price and it's £16 though.

https://museum.rcsed.ac.uk/
Depends on how squeamish you are, of course.

The Scottish National Gallery and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery are both free.

Thank you! How long is it to get up and down Arthur's seat? I'm short on time too so not sure if I want to do the walk. Is Calton Hill a good alternative?

How much stuff is there to do in the Castle? Is it as good as the Tower of London or Warwick Castle? I kind of wanted to go.. just checked the price and it's £16 though.

Thanks I'm squeamish... the galleries look good though. Is the free bus on?

Im there for a day next week before going up to the Highlands. My train is at 4pm but I have about 6 hours.

What should I do? Dw to go to the castle or the HMC Britannia because they're about £20, but I would like free things to do besides shows. How fast can I get up Arthurs' Seat

Well we have an end-of-year tradition of going up Arthur's Seat at 3am after spending a night in clubs etc. and that took about 15 minutes to get to the top. If a group of drunk teens can stumble up it in that time I think you'll manage it easily in about 20 - 25 mins at most allowing for the fact that you'll probably approach it from the side nearest to the city centre. I would allow about an hour to 90 mins to walk to the hill and get up it and then down again and back into town. Calton Hill is much smaller (but still a hill) and is about 5 minutes from Waverley station and takes about 5 minutes to walk up. But the views over princes st from the top are really nice!

Personally, I wouldn't pay £16 to go to the castle but that said, it's the most famous landmark in Edinburgh and it's not that small. However, I should warn you that you may be underwhelmed by it somewhat considering the entrance fee. There's not so much interactivity as in the tower of london and i've never been to warwick castle so i don't know about that one!

Don't know about that. I tend to go to walkable places in the centre. During the festival you will find more street entertainment than you probably want just by walking round the town. Walking up and down the Royal Mile up to the castle gates will give you plenty of idea what Edinburgh is like.

You could get up Arthurs' seat in like half an hour TBH ; it's just a big hill basically ; I've been up there a few times before and it's great

I'm a Harry Potter fan so doing the Royal Mile definitely Would you recommend paying £16 for the castle? On the fence



Thanks! What route do you take? (I posted the map above). Also are there dogs bc I'm allergic to them and sometimes they run up to me

I'm a Harry Potter fan so doing the Royal Mile definitely Would you recommend paying £16 for the castle? On the fence



Thanks! What route do you take? (I posted the map above). Also are there dogs bc I'm allergic to them and sometimes they run up to me

To every city that I go to I do a free walking tour. It's absolutely priceless! You get to see so much in 2 hours, get to know the city, the main monuments and the history from locals. Just google "Edinburgh free walking tour" and you will have plenty to choose from. I recommend Sandeman's tours.

Just a quick disclaimer, they advertise as free but they survive on tips. So if you give them a few pounds at the end of the tour they'll be more than happy.

Thanks. I'm going solo but might do a tour. A few pounds won't hurt

@Carnationlilyrose oh, nvm

Speaking as a regular visitor, I have to say that you won't struggle to find things to enjoy even just by wandering round without a plan. Take a camera and photograph things. There's all manner of interesting stuff. Like this:
http://www.edinburghspotlight.com/2012/08/photo-gold-postboxes-in-edinburgh-in-honour-of-sir-chris-hoy/

Good shout thanks I'm a big Hoy fan! Going to get a selfie next to one of them