Edinburgh has a reputation for being expensive, and in August during the Festival that reputation is entirely justified. But for the other eleven months, and with a bit of sense about where you spend, it’s genuinely one of the UK’s better-value cities. The best things in it are mostly free.
Free Museums and Galleries
Scotland’s national collections are free, and they’re excellent. The National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street is one of the best museums in the UK – permanent collections covering Scottish history, natural history, science, technology and world cultures across six floors of a stunning building. It’s free, open daily, and reliably good in all weather. Budget a full half-day at minimum.
The Scottish National Gallery on the Mound has an outstanding permanent collection – Raeburn, Ramsay, the Impressionists, the old masters – in a neoclassical building with a free café downstairs. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery on Queen Street is equally free and underrated. The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One and Modern Two) in Belford is free for the permanent collection, worth the 20-minute walk from the city centre. Edinburgh has museum and gallery riches that would cost you significantly in London and they cost you nothing here.
Arthur’s Seat – Free
Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat: 640 acres of public parkland, including a 251-metre summit with the best view in Edinburgh, free to enter any time of day or night. The Scottish Government manages the park and it’s free in perpetuity. It’s the anchor of any budget Edinburgh visit – you don’t need to book a tour, buy a ticket or queue for anything. Just walk up the hill.
Mosque Kitchen – £5 Curry
The Edinburgh Central Mosque kitchen on Nicolson Square is one of Edinburgh’s most beloved budget eating options – an open canteen serving freshly made curries, rice, dhal and naan at prices that haven’t lost touch with what a hot meal should cost. Around £5 gets you a proper curry. It’s genuinely excellent, wildly popular with students and locals, and queues at lunch are the norm. Cash traditionally preferred. If you eat one budget meal in Edinburgh, this is the benchmark.
Free Walks and Views
The Royal Mile is free to walk and the closes and wynds off it are free to explore. Victoria Street costs nothing to look at. Calton Hill is free to climb at any hour. The Dean Village walk from the West End takes 20 minutes and costs nothing. Stockbridge and the Water of Leith are free. Edinburgh is unusually generous with its viewpoints and its architecture – most of what makes the city beautiful is visible from public streets and paths.
Budget Eating Beyond the Mosque Kitchen
Greggs exists, obviously. More interestingly: Hendersons on Hanover Street is Edinburgh’s legendary vegetarian restaurant that has been feeding people well and cheaply since 1962. The Meadow Bar and other student-area pubs do food deals. The Elephant House on George IV Bridge (the famous café where Rowling wrote early Harry Potter sections) has reasonable café pricing. The various food courts and markets at Waverley and St James Quarter offer proper cheap options – Bao Ngon at St James does Vietnamese banh mi at prices that compete with supermarket meal deals.
Accommodation
Edinburgh has a well-developed hostel scene – Castle Rock Hostel, St Christopher’s Inn and Kick Ass Hostel are all established names in good locations. Outside Festival season, dorm beds start around £15-25. Budget guesthouses in Bruntsfield, Leith and the New Town offer double rooms from around £50-70 off-peak. Only book during Festival (August) with significant lead time – prices triple and availability evaporates.
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