The short answer
Private walking tours of Edinburgh’s Old Town are available year-round, and operators ask you to dress for the weather. The biggest seasonal differences are the August festivals on the Royal Mile and the daylight: about 17½ hours at midsummer and 7 in midwinter, when an afternoon walk can end in the dark.
If your dates are flexible, May and September offer the best overall balance for a walking tour: long days, mild weather and a Royal Mile without the August festivals. May has longer, brighter days but cooler afternoons; September is a little warmer, with average highs around 17°C, but its days are shorter. June has the longest days, but more rainfall.
In August, the Fringe fills the Royal Mile with street performers and festival-goers, alongside the International Festival and the Tattoo, a military-music show at the castle. From mid-November to early January, the Christmas market below the castle and the torchlight procession for Hogmanay, Scotland’s New Year, brighten the shortest days of the year. January and February are quieter months in the city, and tours continue, but the days are short, cold and windy.
From November to January, book a morning or late-morning start for a walk of up to three hours, because the sun sets before 4pm in midwinter.
Whatever month you visit, check the rain and wind forecast and wear shoes with good grip on wet cobbles.
- Best overall:
- May and September
- Longest light evenings:
- June, with more rainfall
- Festival city:
- August, with a crowded Royal Mile
- Christmas lights and Hogmanay:
- Mid-November to early January (short days)
- Quieter city:
- January and February, short cold days
- Winter start time:
- Morning or late morning
- Check before you go:
- Rain and wind forecast; festival dates
- 17h 34m / 7h 01m:Daylight in mid-June and mid-December.
- 14.9°C / 16.9°C:Average high in May and September.
- 11 / 13 days:Rain in May or September; in October to January.
- 6–30 August 2027:The next Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Climate: Met Office averages for its Edinburgh station. Daylight computed for the Old Town, mid-month. How we know.
Check your own date
What will Edinburgh be like on your day?
Pick a date to see what is on in the city, your daylight and sunset, the best start time for a walking tour, and the forecast (within about two weeks) or the month’s average.
Private walking tours of the Old Town are available year-round. Pick a date above to see what is on, your daylight and sunset, and the weather to expect.
- What is on: The Fringe and the Tattoo in August; Edinburgh’s Christmas from mid-November to early January; Hogmanay from 29 to 31 December
- Daylight: About 17½ hours at midsummer, about 7 in midwinter
- Best start time: Morning or late morning from November to January; the start time makes little difference from May to August
- Weather: Changeable in every month; pack a waterproof and shoes with good grip
Walking tours go ahead in rain, so this is about what to wear and which start time to book.
Check availability & pricesOther Edinburgh Experiences You Might Enjoy
Whatever month you choose, Edinburgh pairs well with what is around it: Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile at its top, Greyfriars Kirkyard and the underground vaults beneath the Old Town, and day trips out to Loch Ness and the Highlands, Stirling Castle and St Andrews.
How the season changes a walking tour
The festivals on the Royal Mile
August changes a walk through the Old Town more than any other month. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Edinburgh International Festival and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo all take place then, and the Fringe alone is vast: in 2026 it staged 4,232 shows in 306 venues and issued about 2.8 million tickets. Its street events programme put 334 performers on the Royal Mile and the Mound, so expect crowds gathered around acts along the High Street.
In 2027 the Fringe runs from 6 to 30 August, its 80th edition, and the Tattoo runs on the castle esplanade from 6 to 28 August. If the festivals are why you are coming, that is the time to be here, and the atmosphere is unlike any other month. A private tour is your own group, so the crowds affect the streets around you, not the size of your group.
The winter festival is the other big change. Edinburgh’s Christmas runs from 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, with the market in East Princes Street Gardens below the castle, and Hogmanay, Scotland’s New Year celebration, begins with a torchlight procession of thousands of torch bearers on 29 December and ends with the Street Party on the 31st. Our guide to Edinburgh Castle at Christmas has the castle's festive opening days.
Daylight and your start time
Edinburgh sits at nearly 56 degrees north, so its days swing a long way: about 17½ hours of daylight in mid-June and about 7 in mid-December. From May to August there is light until late in the evening, so the start time makes little difference. In midwinter the sun sets before 4pm, so a walk of two and a half or three hours that starts after lunch finishes in the dark.
From November to January, a morning or late-morning start keeps the whole walk in daylight. On a longer booking, such as the four- and five-hour Greyfriars and castle options, start in the morning. If you would like to see the Old Town lit up, an afternoon start in winter gives you the second half under the street lamps instead. The clocks go back on the last Sunday in October and forward on the last Sunday in March, so sunset moves by an hour overnight; the date checker gives the exact time for your day.
Edinburgh is about 1,180km short of the Arctic Circle, so there is no midnight sun in June and the sun still rises every day in December.
Rain, wind and cobbles
Edinburgh’s weather is changeable but moderate: average highs run from about 7°C in January to about 19°C in July. At the Met Office station on the city’s western edge, rain of 1mm or more falls on about 11 days a month in May and September and about 13 from October to January. October is the wettest month, at about 83mm, and April the driest, at about 46mm. Each figure is the total for the whole month, not a daily amount, spread across many days, so pack a waterproof jacket whatever the month.
Rain does not stop a walking tour, but it makes the cobbles and the steep closes, the narrow lanes that run off the Royal Mile, slippery, so wear shoes with good grip and bring a waterproof.
Wind makes winter feel colder than the thermometer says. January and February are the windiest months at the station, with average highs of about 7°C, so bring a hat and gloves for a winter walk. July is the warmest month, comfortable weather for three hours on foot. The station stands on open ground near the airport: the closes are usually more sheltered, while Calton Hill and the castle esplanade are more exposed. Frost is recorded on about ten mornings in both December and January.
Edinburgh through the year
January and February. Far fewer people fly into Edinburgh than in summer, which suggests a quieter city. Burns Night falls on 25 January. Days lengthen from about 7½ hours in mid-January to nearly 10 by mid-February, and frosty mornings are common. It suits visitors who would trade long days for a quieter city.
March and April. Daylight returns quickly, from under 12 hours in mid-March to over 14 by mid-April, and April is the driest month at the city’s Met Office station. The clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March, giving lighter evenings straight away.
May and June. Light until late in the evening, mild afternoons and no festival on the streets. May is also the sunniest month at the station, with about 190 hours of sunshine, and June has the longest days of the year.
July. The warmest month, with average highs of about 19°C, and in 2025 the busiest month at Edinburgh Airport. The light still lasts until late evening.
August. The Fringe, the Tattoo and the International Festival. Street performers fill the Royal Mile and shows run in venues across the city.
September and October. The festivals are over. September keeps mild afternoons and more than 12½ hours of daylight in mid-month. October is the wettest month, and once the clocks go back on its last Sunday the afternoons darken early.
November and December. The Christmas market opens below the castle in mid-November and Hogmanay closes the year. These are the shortest days, with only about 38 hours of sunshine in the whole of December at the station, and the market stays open into the evening.
| Month | Daylight (mid-month) | Average high | Rainy days (1mm+) | Rainfall | Sunshine | What is on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7h 35m | 6.9°C | 13 | 73mm | 47 hours | Burns Night, 25 January |
| February | 9h 36m | 7.5°C | 11 | 61mm | 78 hours | No major festival |
| March | 11h 45m | 9.3°C | 10 | 52mm | 111 hours | Clocks go forward, last Sunday |
| April | 14h 09m | 12.0°C | 9 | 46mm | 148 hours | The driest month |
| May | 16h 17m | 14.9°C | 11 | 50mm | 190 hours | No major festival; light evenings |
| June | 17h 34m | 17.5°C | 11 | 69mm | 159 hours | The longest days |
| July | 17h 03m | 19.4°C | 11 | 72mm | 161 hours | The warmest month |
| August | 15h 08m | 19.2°C | 11 | 75mm | 146 hours | Fringe, Tattoo, International Festival |
| September | 12h 49m | 16.9°C | 11 | 55mm | 125 hours | No major festival |
| October | 10h 31m | 13.2°C | 13 | 83mm | 94 hours | The wettest month; clocks go back |
| November | 8h 18m | 9.5°C | 13 | 74mm | 67 hours | Christmas market from mid-month |
| December | 7h 01m | 7.0°C | 13 | 75mm | 38 hours | Christmas market; Hogmanay 29–31 December |
How busy Edinburgh gets
The best free monthly guide to how busy Edinburgh gets is the number of passengers using Edinburgh Airport. In 2025 it handled about 0.95 million in January against 1.78 million in July, so about half as many people passed through in the depth of winter. May and September, at about 1.6 million each, were roughly a tenth below July and August.
The count includes residents flying out on holiday and misses everyone who arrives by train or road, so read it as the direction of demand in 2025, not a headcount on the Royal Mile.
Booking a tour around the season
Every featured tour on this site is a private walk for your own group, available in every month, and the guides keep walking in the rain. In winter, choose the start time with the daylight in mind; in August, we would book as early as you can if you have a particular day in mind, because each guide takes one group at a time and the city is very busy during the festivals.
If the castle is your priority, our guide to Edinburgh Castle tours covers tickets, timed entry and the best time of day inside the castle. To walk the Royal Mile on your own first, follow our free self-guided Royal Mile route, and if you are weighing up the options, we compare free and private walking tours.
How we know
Climate figures are the Met Office’s long-term averages for its Edinburgh, Gogarbank station, covering 1991–2020, read from the Met Office location-specific averages page on 10 October 2026. Gogarbank sits on open ground near the airport, about 9km west of the Old Town, so treat its figures as a guide to the city’s climate, not as readings for the Royal Mile. Rainfall is a monthly total; rainy days count days with 1mm or more.
Daylight is computed for the Old Town with the standard NOAA solar-position method, taken on the 15th of each month and rounded to the minute. It is calculated, not observed, and agrees with published sunrise tables to within a few minutes.
Festival dates and figures come from the organisers: the Fringe Society’s 2026 closing release and its 2027 dates, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. Edinburgh’s Christmas dates are from the city’s official tourism site, edinburgh.org. Edinburgh Castle’s Christmas closure on 25 and 26 December, which matters only for tours that include castle entry, is from the castle’s opening-hours page.
Airport passengers are the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s 2025 monthly airport data (terminal passengers, Edinburgh). Tour details, prices and ratings are from the GetYourGuide listings on 10 October 2026, and the advice to dress for the weather comes from the operators’ own listings and from Mercat Tours, whose storytellers meet their groups in “hail, rain, wind or snow”.
Where the evidence stops. There is no free monthly count of visitors to Edinburgh: VisitScotland’s accommodation survey gives Edinburgh hotel occupancy only for the year as a whole and ended in 2024, so the airport figures, for one year, stand in as a proxy for visitor numbers and are never used to rank a month. They do not count anyone arriving by train or road. A long-term average is not a forecast. The International Festival had not published its 2027 dates when we checked, and Edinburgh’s Christmas dates should be confirmed before mid-November.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best month to visit Edinburgh?
For a walking tour, May and September offer the best overall balance: long days, mild weather and a Royal Mile without the August festivals. May has longer, brighter days, and September has slightly warmer afternoons. June has the longest days of all but more rainfall. If the festivals are why you are coming, choose August, and for the Christmas market and Hogmanay, mid-November to early January.
Is August a good time to visit Edinburgh?
Yes, if you want the festivals. The Fringe, the International Festival and the Tattoo all take place in August, and in 2026 the Fringe put 334 street performers on the Royal Mile and the Mound. Walking tours still run, through a crowded, lively Old Town, so book early if you have a particular day in mind. In 2027 the Fringe runs from 6 to 30 August. If you would rather see the Old Town without the festival crowds, choose May or September.
How much daylight does Edinburgh get in winter?
About 7 hours in mid-December, against about 17½ in mid-June, and the sun sets before 4pm in midwinter. On a walking tour of two and a half or three hours, that means an afternoon start finishes in the dark from November to January, so book a morning or late-morning start if you want to finish in daylight. By late February the afternoons are light enough for an afternoon tour again.
What is the wettest month in Edinburgh?
October, with about 83mm of rain across about 13 rainy days at the Met Office’s Edinburgh station, and April is the driest, at about 46mm. Rain of 1mm or more falls on about 137 days a year there, so expect some rain whatever month you visit. Walking tours go ahead in the rain; wear shoes with good grip on the cobbles.
Do private walking tours of Edinburgh run in winter and in the rain?
Yes. Private walking tours are available year-round, and operators ask you to dress for the weather. In winter, choose a morning or late-morning start so the walk finishes in daylight, and bring a hat and gloves: January and February are cold and windy, with average highs of about 7°C.
When is Edinburgh least busy?
January and February. In 2025 Edinburgh Airport handled about 0.95 million passengers in January against 1.78 million in July, about half as many, which suggests a quieter city. Tours continue through winter, but the days are short and cold. November also had far fewer air passengers than summer, about 1.19 million in 2025.