A perfect day in Leith
The Edinburgh that tourists overlook
Leith spent most of the twentieth century in decline: warehouses shuttered, docks quiet, the tenement streets that once housed dock workers and merchants slowly emptying. Today the same geography — the Shore, the Constitution Street warehouses, the nineteenth-century merchant buildings — has become the address for Edinburgh’s best restaurants, the Royal Yacht Britannia, a growing craft drinks scene, and a neighbourhood character that the Old Town, with its tourist overlay, has largely lost.
A full day in Leith requires no castle tickets, no queue management, and no decisions about which ghost tour to book. What it requires is appetite, comfortable shoes, and the willingness to get off the Royal Mile.
Getting there
Leith is 2.5 kilometres from the Old Town — a 30-minute walk downhill via Leith Walk, or a 10-minute bus journey on the 22, 35, or 49 from the city centre. The tram also stops at Balfour Street, a short walk from the Shore. See the transport guide for options.
Morning: the Shore and the Water of Leith
Start at the Shore — the cobbled quayside that follows the Water of Leith through the heart of Leith. In the morning, before the lunch crowd arrives, this stretch of old merchant buildings and converted warehouses is quietly beautiful. The warehouses date from the seventeenth century, when Leith was Scotland’s busiest port and traded cloth, coal, and wine with the Continent.
Walk upriver along the Water of Leith walkway toward the Dean Village. This stretch of the path — particularly the section through the Stockbridge colonies — is one of the nicest walking routes in the city, and largely free of tourist traffic. See the Water of Leith walkway guide for the full route.
Coffee: Artisan Roast on the Shore or the small espresso bar inside the Leith Market building on Dock Place. Both roast their own beans.
Mid-morning: the Royal Yacht Britannia
The Royal Yacht Britannia, moored at Ocean Terminal, is one of Edinburgh’s most underrated attractions. The ship served the Royal Family from 1953 to 1997, carrying them on 968 official voyages across the globe, and was decommissioned with considerable public emotion when it was decided that the cost of refitting was too high.
The self-guided audio tour (around £17 adults) covers the state apartments, the engine room, the royal bedrooms (modest, almost quaint), and the crew’s quarters — which housed 220 men in considerably less comfort than the deck above. The level of preservation is extraordinary: the Queen’s sitting room looks as though she stepped out five minutes ago. An Edinburgh Royal Yacht Britannia ticket is the standard approach; book ahead in summer. See the Britannia review.
Allow 1.5-2 hours. Ocean Terminal also has a café if you want a coffee on the deck with a view across the Firth of Forth toward Fife.
Lunch: the Shore and surrounding streets
Leith’s lunch and dinner options are Edinburgh’s best, and the Shore concentration means you can take your pick without walking more than 200 metres.
The Fishmarket on the Shore is a reliable choice for fresh seafood at lunch — the langoustines when they’re running are exceptional, and the chips are properly good. Roseleaf, tucked on Sandport Place, is a slightly eccentric cafe-bar serving good food in a warm, non-touristy atmosphere with mismatched crockery and an excellent cocktail list.
For a lighter option, Mimi’s Bakehouse on the Shore does outstanding baked goods and a solid breakfast menu until the early afternoon.
Budget roughly £15-20 per person for a proper lunch with a soft drink.
Early afternoon: the Port of Leith Distillery
One of Edinburgh’s newest distilleries, the Port of Leith Distillery opened in 2023 in a converted grain silo on Commercial Street. The building is visually extraordinary from the outside — a cylindrical tower rising above the dockside — and the tour (roughly £18) takes in the full whisky production process in the working distillery. A Port of Leith distillery tour and tasting includes a proper tasting of the house single malt and a gin.
For non-whisky drinkers: the nearby Pickering’s Gin distillery at Summerhall also does tours, and the Edinburgh Craft Beer scene has grown substantially, with Pilot Beer’s taproom on Dock Street worth a visit.
Mid-afternoon: Leith’s market and independent shops
Constitution Street and Great Junction Street have a growing concentration of independent shops — record shops, bookshops, ceramics studios, and a handful of excellent charity shops that benefit from Leith’s changing demographics. The Leith Collective on The Shore is a cooperative gallery and shop run by local artists and makers, and one of the better places in Edinburgh to buy something original and Scottish.
The Sunday Leith Market on Dock Place (when running) brings local food producers, secondhand books, vintage clothing, and handmade goods together in a relaxed outdoor setting.
Late afternoon: St Mary’s Church and the ocean terminal walk
The walk east from the Shore along Lindsay Road and Commercial Street toward Ocean Drive gives a good sense of Leith’s ongoing transformation: Victorian dockside warehouses converted into flats, new residential developments beside the old harbour infrastructure, and glimpses of the Forth between the buildings. St Mary’s Star of the Sea church on Constitution Street — a nineteenth-century Gothic Revival building — is worth a five-minute stop.
Dinner
The concentration of serious restaurants around the Shore makes dinner in Leith the obvious end to a day here.
Fishers Leith at The Shore has been serving excellent seafood since 1991 and maintains consistent quality at moderate prices (£18-24 for a main). The Kitchin (two Michelin stars, booking essential months ahead) is the fine-dining pinnacle of the neighbourhood. Hanedan on Albert Street is Edinburgh’s best Turkish restaurant and consistently underrated.
If you are travelling with children, The Shore Bar and Restaurant has a welcoming atmosphere and a menu broad enough for all tastes.
Finish the evening at one of the Shore’s bars — Teuchters Landing, set over the water in a converted Victorian pub, is one of the most atmospheric spots in the city.
Where to stay in Leith
Staying in Leith rather than the Old Town gives better value, a quieter neighbourhood, and the full Shore experience without commuting to it. The Malmaison on Tower Place and the Harbour by Amba are both good mid-range options directly on the water. See the Edinburgh accommodation guide for a wider comparison.
Leith’s history: why it feels different from Edinburgh
Leith was a separate burgh for most of its history — Edinburgh’s port, with its own council, its own churches, its own identity. The port handled Scotland’s trade with the Continent: wine from Bordeaux (a trading relationship dating from the twelfth century), cloth to and from Flanders, coal from the Lothian pits. Mary Queen of Scots landed at Leith in 1561 on her return from France. George IV landed here in 1822 on the first royal visit to Scotland in over 170 years.
Leith was only merged with Edinburgh in 1920, and only after the Leith electorate had voted against it seven years earlier. The neighbourhood retains a distinct identity: more port city in character, more working class in its roots, and currently more interesting than anywhere on the Royal Mile.
The Shore at different times of day
Morning (before 9am): Almost entirely empty. The cobblestones are clean, the water still, and the buildings have the quality of a film set before the cast arrives. The best time for photography.
Lunchtime: Restaurants fill from 12:30. The outdoor seating along the quayside is popular on warmer days.
Evening: The Shore’s best hour. Restaurants full, bars warming up, and the combination of water, old stone, and evening light — particularly in summer — gives an atmosphere that is genuinely difficult to leave.
Beyond the Shore: the wider Leith neighbourhood
The Shore is the visitor entry point but the broader Leith neighbourhood rewards exploration. Constitution Street is the main commercial artery, lined with independent businesses that have moved in alongside established cafés and restaurants. The Leith Walk itself — the long straight road connecting Leith to the city centre — is one of Edinburgh’s most genuinely diverse streets: Vietnamese restaurants, Turkish barbers, Polish delis, Caribbean takeaways. It is the Edinburgh that postcards never show.
Frequently asked questions about a day in Leith
How do I get from Edinburgh to Leith?
The 22, 35, and 49 buses from Princes Street to Leith Walk take 15-20 minutes to the Shore. The tram stops at Balfour Street, a ten-minute walk from the Shore. On foot, it is 35-40 minutes downhill from the Old Town — a pleasant walk in good weather via Leith Walk.
What is the best restaurant on the Shore?
For seafood: Fishers Leith, consistently reliable since 1991, at fair prices. For higher-end dining: The Kitchin (book well ahead). For a relaxed lunch: Roseleaf is the most atmospheric option.
Is Leith safe?
Yes. Leith had a difficult reputation through the 1980s and 1990s but has transformed substantially. The Shore and surrounding streets are well-populated and safe at all times of day and evening.
