The Edinburgh City Guides deal with the questions every visitor has: where to eat good haggis away from the Royal Mile, which museums cost nothing, how to get into the castle without queuing and where a folk session starts with no cover charge. Each guide is a short, opinionated list that gives the reason to go, what to order or look for and a practical tip for every place, and it opens in your browser as soon as you have paid.
About the Edinburgh City Guides
- 144 places
- 6 guides
- 9 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The six Edinburgh guides
Food guide
24 places
Pork rolls and fish suppers, haggis cooked properly, Leith seafood, markets and delis, good coffee and the tourist traps to walk straight past.
Things to do guide
24 places
Free museums and galleries, the castle without the queue, the best views in town and the walks and neighbourhoods worth a morning.
Family guide
23 places
Parks and a volcano in the middle of town, big attractions with queue tricks, ideas for cold wet afternoons, pushchair notes and food kids will eat.
Nightlife guide
25 places
Speakeasy cocktail bars, Victorian pubs, folk and jazz sessions, beer with a view and the right pie at the right hour.
Day trips guide
24 places
Windswept beaches, the west by train, the fishing harbours of Fife and castles and chapels, all reachable from Waverley without a tour bus.
Budget guide
24 places
Free national museums, free hilltop views, soup and pies for under €10, the bus ticket that beats the tourist passes and free folk music every night.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Howies Victoria Street
Victoria Street, Old Town
Modern Scottish cooking you can count on, from venison to a vegetarian haggis, with sticky toffee pudding to finish. Book the set lunch or the early evening menu to eat well for less. From the food guide.
The Bow Bar
80 West Bow, Victoria Street
A small bar in 1950s style with more than 300 whiskies on the shelves and cask ales on the pumps, but no music and no kitchen. Let the staff steer you to a dram: the right start to a first evening in town. From the nightlife guide.
Stirling Castle
Stirling, 55 min by train
The finest castle outing from Edinburgh: the restored royal palace, the Great Hall and the Unicorn Tapestries, with views from the walls as far as the Highlands. Give it three hours. From the day trips guide.
Finish the game, then open the guide
World City Trail’s Edinburgh scavenger hunt, escape game and audio tour lead you through the Old Town. The guides take over once the game is done: a dram in a tiny whisky bar, the short climb up Calton Hill for a free view, a train to Stirling or North Berwick, or a free national museum when the rain comes in.
Questions about the Edinburgh guides
What do the Edinburgh City Guides include?
Six guides with 144 places altogether: food, things to do, family, nightlife, day trips and budget. For each place you get why it is worth going, the area, opening notes and a practical tip.
How do I receive the guides once I have paid?
The links show up on your order page straight after payment and arrive in your order email too. They open in the browser of any phone or laptop, with no app and no account.
Can I use the guides offline in Edinburgh?
Yes. Open each guide once while connected and it keeps working without signal, with your ticks and notes. Map links need mobile data.
Which languages are the guides available in?
English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Greek and Polish. You can change the language inside the guide whenever you like.
Can I buy only one guide?
Yes. One guide is £4.49, two are £7.99, four are £13.99 and all six are £16.99. Together with a World City Trail game, the food guide costs £3.49 and all six cost £12.99.
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