Edinburgh on a budget: 2-day itinerary under £60 per day
Edinburgh: Old Town history and tales walking tour
Edinburgh on a budget is very doable
Edinburgh has a reputation for being expensive, and in August during the Fringe that reputation is entirely earned. But outside of August, and with some basic planning, Edinburgh is one of Britain’s more affordable major city destinations. The reason: a remarkable concentration of free attractions. The National Museum of Scotland, the Scottish National Gallery, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Arthur’s Seat, Holyrood Park, Calton Hill, and most of the city’s greatest views cost nothing at all.
This two-day budget itinerary demonstrates how to cover Edinburgh’s genuine highlights for under £60 per person per day — including accommodation, food, transport, and selective paid entries. The honest premise: you will skip Edinburgh Castle (the single most expensive entry in the city) and instead use the money saved to eat well and see more.
The paid-entry attractions covered here — Holyrood Palace, a walking tour, and one evening activity — are chosen because they offer the best value-for-quality ratio in the city. Everything else is free.
A note on the logic of the budget approach: many visitors assume that the most important Edinburgh experiences require ticket purchases. In fact, the three greatest views of Edinburgh — from Arthur’s Seat, from Calton Hill, and from Holyrood Park — are entirely free. The National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street is one of the most comprehensive national museums in Britain and it costs nothing. The Water of Leith walkway from Stockbridge through Dean Village is one of Edinburgh’s most beautiful short walks and it costs nothing. The closes off the Royal Mile — Brodie’s Close, Lady Stair’s Close, Advocates’ Close — are the most atmospheric parts of the Old Town and they are open to everyone. Edinburgh Castle is excellent, but it is by no means the only way to understand the city. The budget itinerary that follows this logic consistently produces a more satisfying visit than the rushed version that pays for everything and rushes through it. See the Edinburgh on a budget guide for the full list of free and low-cost activities.
Day 1: Old Town, free museums, and the big views
Morning: National Museum of Scotland (free)
9:30am — Start at the National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street is free, world-class, and opens at 10am. The Victorian main hall alone is worth the walk through the door. Allow two to three hours for a thorough visit, though you could easily spend a full day here. Key galleries:
- Scottish history from earliest times to the present: Exceptional coverage from Pictish stones through the Jacobites to the twentieth century. This is the best single overview of Scottish history available anywhere and it costs nothing.
- Natural world: Life-size dinosaurs, Scottish wildlife, and Dolly the sheep (the world’s first cloned mammal, preserved and on display).
- Science and technology: Well curated, engaging for adults and children alike.
Arrive early to avoid the school group rush that builds from around 11am.
Cost: Free.
Mid-morning: Greyfriars and the Old Town backstreets
10:30am (or after your museum time) — Greyfriars Kirkyard
A five-minute walk from the museum brings you to Greyfriars Kirkyard — one of Edinburgh’s most atmospheric churchyards and the site of the Greyfriars Bobby statue at the gate. Entry is free. The kirkyard itself is worth 20 minutes; the church can be visited by donation.
From Greyfriars, walk up Candlemaker Row and turn right onto the Royal Mile via George IV Bridge. The closes and wynds running off the Royal Mile are free to explore and collectively give you the best sense of the medieval city’s layout and scale.
The Old Town walking guide covers each close in detail. The Grassmarket just south of the Royal Mile has Edinburgh’s most atmospheric budget pubs. Lady Stair’s Close leads to the Writers’ Museum (free, dedicated to Burns, Scott, and Stevenson). Victoria Street and the Grassmarket are five minutes south and are among Edinburgh’s most photographed streets.
Cost: Free.
Lunchtime: eat like a local
12:30pm — Budget lunch options
The Mosque Kitchen on Nicholson Street (10 minutes south of the Royal Mile via South Bridge) serves Edinburgh’s best budget meal — large portions of rice, curry, and naan for £7–9. It is permanent queue of students, locals, and in-the-know visitors. The queue moves quickly.
Alternatives:
- Sainsbury’s Local (South Bridge or Princes Street): Standard meal deal, £4.
- Greggs or Boots: Conventional high street sandwich options.
- Cafe Milk (Drummond Street): Good independent cafe, £6–9 for lunch.
Eat in Greyfriars Kirkyard or on a bench in Princes Street Gardens if the weather allows.
Budget: £4–9.
Afternoon: Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat
1:30pm — Walk to Holyrood
Continue down the Royal Mile to the foot of the Canongate and into Holyrood. The Museum of Edinburgh in Huntly House (Canongate, free) is worth 30 minutes for context on the city’s history. Canongate Kirk and its graveyard are free.
2:30pm — Arthur’s Seat
Enter Holyrood Park through the gate near the Scottish Parliament (you can walk around the outside of the Parliament for free to see Norman Foster’s controversial building). The park itself is free and the ascent of Arthur’s Seat — the 251-metre extinct volcano that dominates the Edinburgh skyline — is one of the best free experiences in Britain.
The standard route from the Holyrood Park car park (on Queen’s Drive) to the summit takes 45–55 minutes. The path is steep in the upper section but well-marked and does not require any special equipment beyond shoes with grip. From the summit, you can see the entire city, the Firth of Forth, the Pentland Hills, and — on clear days — the hills of Fife.
Allow two hours for the full circuit.
If you want guided interpretation of the geology and history of the volcanic landscape, an Arthur’s Seat guided hike adds significant context, though this is one of the few places on this itinerary where self-guided is almost as good as guided.
Cost: Free.
Evening
5:30pm — Calton Hill sunset
After Arthur’s Seat, make your way to Calton Hill for the late afternoon or evening light. The hill is a 20-minute walk from Holyrood or a short bus ride, and the view from the summit is the widest and most photogenic in Edinburgh — the castle to the west, the New Town below, Arthur’s Seat to the east, the Firth of Forth to the north.
The National Monument, the Nelson Monument, and the City Observatory on the summit give the hill a theatrical quality. Sunset from Calton Hill is free and consistently one of the best views in Scotland.
Cost: Free.
7:00pm — Budget dinner
Edinburgh’s best-value dinner options:
- Mosque Kitchen (Nicholson Street): Open for dinner, same excellent value as lunch, mains £7–10.
- Hanedan (Leith Walk): Edinburgh’s best Turkish restaurant, mains £10–14, well away from the tourist zone.
- The Hanging Bat (Lothian Road): Good craft beer selection, pub food mains £12–16.
- Union of Genius (Forrest Road): Award-winning soup cafe with exceptional sourdough. Light dinner for £8–10.
After dinner, a free walk through the lit-up closes of the Old Town at night is one of Edinburgh’s underrated pleasures — the atmospheric lighting and quieter streets after 8pm make the city feel entirely different from the daytime Royal Mile.
Total day 1 cost: Free activities + £9 lunch + £12 dinner = approximately £21 in activity and food.
Day 2: New Town, Scott Monument, and Scottish National Gallery
Morning: Princes Street and New Town
9:30am — Princes Street Gardens and the Scottish National Gallery
Begin in Princes Street Gardens, which provide Edinburgh’s most famous view at no cost. The castle above the gardens changes hour by hour depending on light and cloud; early morning, when the gardens are quiet, is when it is most beautiful.
The Scottish National Gallery (free, opens 10am) on The Mound between the Gardens is one of the finest art collections in Britain. The Scottish collection is strong — Raeburn portraits, McTaggart seascapes, the Glasgow Boys — alongside European masters including a Botticelli, Titian, and Velázquez. Allow 1.5–2 hours.
Cost: Free.
Mid-morning: Scott Monument (optional paid)
11:30am — Scott Monument
The Gothic tower on Princes Street commemorating Sir Walter Scott is Edinburgh’s oddest and most distinctive monument. Climbing it costs £7.50 in 2026 and the view from the top — 287 steps up — is exceptional. On a budget this is one of the more defensible paid entries: it costs less than most attractions and the panoramic view from a different angle to Calton Hill is worth the money.
Alternatively, skip it and walk instead into the New Town for free.
Cost: £7.50 or free.
Mid-morning: Georgian New Town walk
12:00pm — Charlotte Square and the Georgian streets
Walk west from the Scott Monument along Princes Street and into the New Town. Charlotte Square, George Street, Moray Place, and Royal Circus are all free to walk around and collectively amount to one of the finest Georgian townscapes in Britain.
A guided Old Town history and tales walking tour is one of the better low-cost guided experiences in Edinburgh — typically £12–18 per person — though the New Town architecture is well-explained by the free New Town guide if you would rather do it independently.
Lunchtime
12:30pm — Lunch in Stockbridge
Walk north from Charlotte Square to Stockbridge (15 minutes). This independent neighbourhood has several affordable lunch spots:
- Raeburn Deli: Excellent sandwiches and salads, £5–8.
- Artisan Roast (Broughton Street): One of Edinburgh’s best independent coffee shops, good light lunch, £6–9.
- The Good Food Café (Stockbridge): Reliable and reasonably priced, mains £9–14.
Budget: £6–10.
Afternoon: Water of Leith walkway (free)
2:00pm — Water of Leith to Dean Village
From Stockbridge, follow the Water of Leith walkway west for 10 minutes to reach Dean Village — a nineteenth-century mill settlement in a deep gorge that feels surprisingly rural for its central location. This is one of Edinburgh’s best free walks and entirely missed by visitors who only do the Royal Mile.
Continue west along the Water of Leith to the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art (free) — two buildings (Modern One and Modern Two) set in grounds with large outdoor sculptures. The permanent collection is strong and entry is free; temporary exhibitions may charge.
Allow two hours for the full walk and gallery visit.
Cost: Free.
Late afternoon: Scottish National Portrait Gallery (free)
4:30pm — Scottish National Portrait Gallery
On Queen Street in the New Town, the Portrait Gallery (free, closes 5pm) has a superb collection of Scottish historical portraits — Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Robert Burns, and hundreds of others, presented in an ornate Victorian interior. Allow 45 minutes.
Cost: Free.
Evening
6:00pm — Final dinner and a drink
For a budget final evening, Broughton Street in the east New Town has several affordable independent restaurants:
- Café Andaluz (George Street): Spanish tapas, £8–12 per dish, relaxed atmosphere.
- The Basement (Broughton Street): Edinburgh institution, world food menu, mains £12–16, always busy.
- Bonsai (St Patrick Square): Good Japanese, lunch-level prices, mains £10–14.
After dinner, a walk up Calton Hill for the lit-up city view costs nothing, or find a pub in the New Town for a reasonably priced pint (£4–5.50).
Budget accommodation in Edinburgh
The budget itinerary’s £60-per-day target needs to include accommodation. The realistic options:
Hostels: Edinburgh has several well-rated hostels in central locations. The budget bed cost is £25–40 per night per person in a dormitory, or £70–110 for a private double room in a hostel. Central locations: High Street Hostel (Royal Mile), Budget Backpackers (Cowgate), Castle Rock Hostel (Johnston Terrace). The Cowgate/Grassmarket area has the highest hostel concentration.
Budget hotels: Edinburgh budget hotel chains (Premier Inn, Ibis, Travelodge) are available in central and near-central locations at £60–90 per room per night outside of August. These are not atmospheric but are clean and well-positioned.
Guesthouses and B&Bs: Some of the best value accommodation in Edinburgh is in guesthouses in the Newington or Bruntsfield neighbourhoods, 15–20 minutes from the city centre on foot or by bus. Rates from £50–80 per room per night. The slightly further location is offset by lower prices and sometimes better quality than the central budget hotels.
What to avoid: The Old Town premium hotels charge three to four times the guesthouse rate for an atmosphere that you will spend very little time in. On a budget trip focused on free attractions, your hotel is primarily somewhere to sleep.
See the where to stay in Edinburgh guide for full recommendations across all price ranges.
Two-day budget summary
| Cost | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| National Museum of Scotland | Free | Best museum in Edinburgh, 2–3 hours |
| Arthur’s Seat | Free | Best view, 2 hours |
| Calton Hill | Free | Second-best view, 30 minutes |
| Scottish National Gallery | Free | World-class art |
| Scottish Gallery of Modern Art | Free | Good permanent collection |
| Scottish National Portrait Gallery | Free | Strong Scottish historical portraits |
| Water of Leith / Dean Village walk | Free | Best urban walk |
| Holyrood Park | Free | Volcanic landscape, open all hours |
| Scott Monument | £7.50 | Optional paid entry |
| Meals (2 days, £10/day average) | £40 | Mosque Kitchen, delis, pubs |
| Transport | £5 | Lothian bus day tickets if needed |
| Total (two days) | ~£53–70 |
Frequently asked questions about Edinburgh on a budget
What is free in Edinburgh?
A remarkable amount. The National Museum of Scotland, the Scottish National Gallery, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art, the Museum of Edinburgh, the Writers’ Museum, Holyrood Park, Arthur’s Seat, Calton Hill, the Water of Leith walkway, Greyfriars Kirkyard, and Princes Street Gardens are all free. The Edinburgh on a budget guide has the full list.
Is Edinburgh Castle worth the money on a budget trip?
Probably not if you are on a strict budget. The entry fee (£18 adult) is the highest of any Edinburgh attraction and there is no budget alternative. The exterior view — from the Grassmarket, the Vennel, or Princes Street Gardens — is free and genuinely impressive. Save the entry fee for a second visit when you can spend more time. The free views of the castle are actually quite extraordinary.
What is the cheapest way to eat in Edinburgh?
The Mosque Kitchen on Nicholson Street offers the best value meal in the city — large portions of curry and rice for £7–9. The various supermarket meal deals (Sainsbury’s, M&S, Boots) are £3–4.50. Raeburn Deli in Stockbridge, Union of Genius soup cafe, and Artisan Roast for coffee and light food are all good independent options under £10. Avoid the Royal Mile.
What is the cheapest time to visit Edinburgh?
January through March is Edinburgh’s lowest season — hotel prices can be 40–50 per cent below August rates, attractions are quieter, and the city has a different, quieter character. The weather is grey and cold but Edinburgh in winter has its own atmosphere. Avoid August (Fringe) if budget is the priority — prices for everything spike significantly.
Is Calton Hill worth visiting?
Absolutely, and it is free. The view from Calton Hill is arguably better than the view from Arthur’s Seat for the cityscape (you can see the castle, New Town, and Firth of Forth in a single sweep) and it requires only 15 minutes’ walking from Princes Street. The Calton Hill guide covers the walk, the monuments, and the best times for photography.
Can you do Edinburgh cheaply without cooking your own food?
Yes. Budget £8–12 per meal if you are eating in inexpensive restaurants and delis, or £4–7 if you use supermarkets and takeaways. A realistic total food budget for two days is £30–45 per person eating three meals a day. This is comparable to or slightly better than other major British cities.
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