Walk
Royal Mile
Walk Edinburgh's historic spine from the castle down to Holyrood, exploring the narrow closes.
Typical duration
90 min
Price
Free
From port
25 km / 15.5 mi
Transfer time
60 min
Indoor / Outdoor
outdoor
Queue risk
low
🕐 Best time to visit
Morning, before the street gets busy; the lower Canongate stays quieter all day.
The Royal Mile runs about 1.8 km from the castle esplanade down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It's really four streets in a row: Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street and the Canongate. The best bits are off the main street. Duck into the closes, such as Advocate's Close, Lady Stair's Close (home of the Writers' Museum) and Dunbar's Close Garden, for quieter corners and views over the New Town. Downhill is the easy direction.
Getting there from the port
From Waverley station, walk up the Fleshmarket Close steps or Cockburn Street to the High Street (5–10 minutes).