Live It!
The Royal Mile is the shorthand name for a series of streets running from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Starting form the top there’s Castlehill, then Lawnmarket, High Street, Canongate, and finally Abbey Strand. Along the Royal Mile’s cobbled length (actually it’s a little more than a mile by 107 yards), you’ll come across intriguing little shops, craftspeople making everything from woollens to bagpipes, and specialist tearooms and food shops.
It’s worth taking time to go ‘off piste’ occasionally to explore the narrow closes and wynds leading off the Royal Mile. Some open out into mediaeval squares; others lead to haunted vaults beneath the city. There are cafés, bars and restaurants en route to encourage you to linger a little longer and soak up the feeling of history around you.
The area is part of one of Edinburgh’s two protected World Heritage sites. Some of the city’s museums occupy buildings on the Royal Mile and you’ll find the Scottish Parliament at its foot just before the Palace. If you fancy someone to explain what you’re seeing as you go, there are guided walking tours you can join. And after dark, the stories get a little ghostly as Edinburgh’s darker history is explored. You can find out all about them as well as the best deals for an Edinburgh break with the links on the left.