Christmas in Edinburgh | Scotland

Scotland.

The land of haggis and kilts.

At least that’s what most people think of when they hear about Scotland. Unless if you’ve watched Outlander. In that case, you probably think of Jamie Fraser, shirtless, on a horse, galloping through some lushes green forests… Anyway, let’s get back to the regularly scheduled program!

This was my first time in Scotland and I was really excited to go during the holidays. Although, going anywhere in Europe during December is great because of the Christmas markets and beautiful holiday decorations.

Before my trip, I spent months researching places to go around Edinburgh from Instagram and other bloggers. I compiled a well organized list on my google maps and I’m excited to share the places with you on this post. My list wasn’t extensive. The only thing we skipped was Lilith Lounge, a cocktail lounge I saved from Instagram. Everything else we had time for.

Dean Village

Dean Village is a charming place to walk around and get some nice photo opportunities.

It was on the way to and from our hotel and the city’s center, so we walked by a few times. Basically, any time we weren’t taking the local Lothian buses or a stagecoach.

Princes Street & Gardens

Princes Street I quickly learned is the hub for everything. It’s a crowded street with stores and restaurants on one side and historic Edinburgh right on the other. Essentially, new town verses old town with Princes Street as the divider. Whether you try to or not, you will end up on Princes Street at some point during your trip to Edinburgh. If you go the first week of December like we did, prepare for crowds, but lots of beautiful festive lights!

The Princes Street gardens were nice to walk around but not as much to see as I expected as far as gardens. The Christmas Market and Scott Monument are definitely the stars of the show this time of year.

Scott Monument

The Christmas market next to Scott Monument (you can’t miss it) had some rides and gift shops, but I was more excited about the food. There was lots of food to choose from. I ended up going with loaded haggis fries and a mulled wine. It was my first time trying haggis and let’s just say I wasn’t a fan of the flavor. It might have been the liver taste or crispy texture that had surprised me. I knew I had to try it one time when I was in Scotland. At least the fries were good! So I just ate around the haggis.

The Dome

When near Princess Street, we walked two blocks over on the New Town side to The Dome. This was a place I saw featured on a few different Instagram accounts because it was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

I thought we could just walk in, get some pictures, and leave. I guess I was wrong because there was a long line out front. We waited in the line, which may have been for the restaurant/bar inside, or just to limit the amount of people going inside. Either way, we walked in, I got my pictures of the Christmas tree and dome, and walked back out. Was it worth waiting in line just to take some pictures? Probably not for most people. But it was on a nice street with Christmas lights all over. Plus, we were in the area anyway to eat at Dishoom right before and get scotch whiskey at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society right after.

Dishoom had very yummy Indian food. I can see why it’s a favorite in London & Edinburgh. Even my Scottish friend back home asked if I went there during my trip! And I knew I had to try whiskey while I was in Edinburgh too. I’m glad I had this place saved on my list because it was cozy and we were the only two sitting inside for most of our tasting. The tasting, by the way, was very strong. It’ll put some hair on your chest AND make you sound like a man. At least that’s what happened to my voice after sipping on three different malts.

Circus Lane

Circus Lane is another place I would see on Instagram. It isn’t some exciting must-see place. From what I understand, it’s a place for photographers to get some cool pictures of a lovely street called Circus Lane. It was worth it for the pictures alone.

Edinburgh Castle

Somehow we got lucky and showed up to the castle on a free entry day. That was a pleasant surprise. It’s nice when you go on trips and are met with something like that verses “sold out for the week” or “closed for private event.”

A quick Google search shows the castle is free every first Sunday of the month. However, we went on a Wednesday. I’m not sure what happened there.

We walked around Edinburgh Castle for about two hours. There’s a few history and art museums throughout as well as the prisons. You don’t really need a guide since you can read signs as you walk around, but I would have preferred one.

Royal Mile

There is so much to see and do around the Royal Mile it would be overwhelming to telling you about all of it and include all the pictures. When we went, we walked all the way from Holyrood Palace to Edinburgh Castles and back a few times. I loved the historic buildings, the ghost tour we had in the area, and the fish and chips from Bertie’s Proper Fish & Chips on Victoria Street. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, make sure to walk down this street because it’s said to have been the inspiration for Diagon Alley and close to where J.K. Rowling would sit to write.

National Museum of Scotland

I could not believe how huge this museum was. I’m sure Kim was sick of me by the end because I was making him walk through every floor and section. I don’t want to miss something interesting! We were definitely walking faster by the end just to get through it. We even had a break to eat at Nando’s and went back after. I don’t think Kim wanted to go back, but we’d only seen the first two floors by that point. I had the whole upstairs to explore still! We were there at least four hours. I thought it was interesting, but I would have preferred a professional tour that highlights everything important and sends you on your way in an hour.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

I booked tickets for Christmas at the Botanics two weeks in advance. I am so glad I did! It would have been such a bummer to miss this. It was probably both our favorite thing to see. At least Christmas lights wise. And speaking from experience, tickets are always sold out the day of for things like this.

I have no idea what the park looks like during the day since we only went this one night. But I think I would’ve preferred a garden covered in holiday lights anyway.

After the Christmas at the Botanics, we went to The Marshmallow Lady for some epic hot chocolate. This was another Instagram find that I had saved. The marshmallows were delicious and there are new flavors all the time! I recommend just getting a marshmallow if you don’t have an extreme sweet tooth. I had to get the hot chocolate plus marshmallow on top for the cute Instagram photo. It was a sugar overload for me. Side note: I remember them having strange hours so make sure to plan accordingly. We tried to go once before and they were closed.

Did you go anywhere this December? Let me know in the comments. 🙂

Happy Holidays,

Ayla ♥