Royal Mile

Sights, shopping and street art

Noteworthy for: The Mile is the performance hub for both the Fringe Festival and the Edinburgh Tattoo, so walking along here during the summer months can be an amusing challenge.
Word to the wise: As the busiest street in Edinburgh, it is a popular hangout for pickpockets, so keep a close eye on your belongings at all times.

Stretching from Edinburgh Castle down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the stone-cobbled Royal Mile is the historical and spiritual centre of the Old Town. This beautiful boulevard is, in fact, a collection of six streets – Castle Esplanade, Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street, Canongate and Abbey Strand – which together boast an eclectic mix of old wooden houses, time-honoured pubs, imposing law courts and - yes - kilt-selling tacky tourist outlets. Home to both old and new Scottish parliaments, this is also the country's political and legal heart.
While the western stretch of the decorative Esplanade - venue of the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo - to Lawnmarket is the most tourist centric with the pervasive sound of electronic bagpipes whining out the 17th century houses, once you get to the High Street, there are both sights of real interest - St Giles' Cathedral and the 'Heart of Midlothian' for example - as well as excellent eating and drinking options around the bridges.