What's on in Edinburgh, United Kingdom through the year

Peak crowds — Christmas market, Hogmanay

• Rule

  Castle and attraction timed tickets

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

  Edinburgh Castle sells dated, timed entry and sells out days ahead in August and over Hogmanay. The one o'clock gun is the slot everyone wants, so book around it rather than for it. Source ↗

Still on: Christmas market (15 Nov – 4 Jan (usually)), Hogmanay (30 Dec – 1 Jan)

Peak crowds — Six Nations at Murrayfield, February half-term in United Kingdom

• Festival

  Six Nations at Murrayfield

  1 Feb – 20 Mar · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Two or three Saturdays between February and mid-March. Sixty-odd thousand people arrive for the afternoon and the city's rooms price as if it were Hogmanay. Source ↗

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Six Nations at Murrayfield, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Six Nations at Murrayfield (1 Feb – 20 Mar (usually))

Busy — Easter / spring holiday in United Kingdom, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Haar season

  1 Apr – 31 Aug · usuallyFog seasonRisk

  An easterly off the North Sea rolls cold grey over the city while ten miles inland it stays clear. In early summer it can sit all day and take the castle and Arthur's Seat with it.

• Nature

  Blossom in the Meadows

  5 Apr – 5 May · usuallyCherry blossom

  The cherry avenue across the Meadows comes out for a fortnight in April and the students treat it as the first day of summer, whatever the temperature says. Source ↗

• Nature

  Seabird season on the Forth

  10 Apr – 25 Jul · usuallyBirdlife season

  Gannets pack the Bass Rock and puffins come ashore on Craigleith and the Isle of May from spring; the boats go from North Berwick, half an hour out of town. Source ↗

• Festival

  Beltane Fire Festival

  30 AprMajor festival

  A ticketed fire procession up Calton Hill on the night of 30 April, run by volunteers and cold enough that most of the audience regrets what they wore. Source ↗

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — Edinburgh Marathon Festival, Late-May half-term in United Kingdom

• Festival

  Edinburgh Marathon Festival

  22–31 May · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  A weekend of road races at the end of May that shuts the coast road out to Musselburgh and fills the hotels a full three months before the Fringe does. Source ↗

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Haar season (1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually)), Blossom in the Meadows (5 Apr – 5 May (usually)), Seabird season on the Forth (10 Apr – 25 Jul (usually))

Peak crowds — Royal Highland Show, Late-May half-term in United Kingdom

• Festival

  Royal Highland Show

  18–25 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Four days of livestock, forestry and food at Ingliston next to the airport, with two hundred thousand through the gate and the tram out west running full both ways. Source ↗

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Haar season (1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually)), Seabird season on the Forth (10 Apr – 25 Jul (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in United Kingdom, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Haar season (1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually)), Seabird season on the Forth (10 Apr – 25 Jul (usually))

Peak crowds — Fringe and International Festival, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

• Festival

  Fringe and International Festival

  7–31 AugMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The Fringe, the International Festival and the book festival run at once for most of August. The city's population roughly doubles, and accommodation is booked from the previous autumn at three or four times the rate. Source ↗

• Festival

  Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

  7–29 AugMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Stands go up on the castle esplanade for the month, which closes the approach in the evenings and changes how the whole Royal Mile moves after eight. Source ↗

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Haar season (1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Opening

  Doors Open Days

  20–30 Sep · usuallyMajor festival

  One weekend in late September when buildings that are normally shut — the closes, the vaults, working churches and civic rooms — open free. Popular ones need booking a fortnight ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — October half-term in United Kingdom, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Christmas market, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Christmas market

  15 Nov – 4 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowded

  The market and the big wheel fill East Princes Street Gardens from the middle of November, and the walk along Princes Street becomes a shuffle after four in the afternoon. Source ↗

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — Christmas market, Hogmanay

• Festival

  Hogmanay

  30 Dec – 1 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The street party in the centre is ticketed and fenced, so the choice is to buy in or stay out of the cordon. The Loony Dook in the Forth on New Year's Day is the other tradition. Source ↗

Still on: Castle and attraction timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Christmas market (15 Nov – 4 Jan (usually))