How to enjoy festival month - and then escape the crowds.
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Holidays in Scotland - Scenic Leith Harbour on the north east side of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The historic dock buildings and surrounding area have been developed to make an attractive and popular destination for tourists and locals Edinburgh in summer. Photo / Getty Images
In August, Edinburgh hosts both The Edinburgh Fringe and the Edinburgh International Festival. To escape the crowds, local Robin Gauldie suggests retreating to the waterside neighbourhood of Leith.
A juggler beside a balancing platform is taking the acclaim from a large audience. Edinburgh Fringe. Photo / Getty Images
At Festival time, Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is lined with living statues and street performers, and every cafe, eatery and pub in the
city is rammed with festival fans taking a break from highbrow culture and low comedy. Whether it’s stand-up, ballet, opera, classical music or jazz, you’ll find it here.
You won’t be alone. The Edinburgh International Festival pulls in around 400,000 people, the famed Fringe sells more than 2 million tickets, and 250,000 people attend the grand finale fireworks display.
Fringe venues cluster around the Old Town and the Edinburgh University campus area. The glass facade of the Festival Theatre is a landmark, and the Pleasance has been a Fringe epicentre since the event’s beginnings almost 80 years ago. You can take in more than 250 shows this year without straying far from its multiple venues and bars.
Clustered in the city’s “cultural quarter” off Lothian Rd, you’ll find classical music at the grand Usher Hall, drama at the Lyceum and the Traverse Theatre, famed for pioneering new writing, while the Filmhouse Cinema is the main venue for Edinburgh Film Festival screenings. Cross Princes St to the New Town to find famed stand-up venues like The Stand and the Assembly Rooms.
Make like the locals and escape the crowds
Central Bar, Leith. Photo / Robin Gauldie
We locals have a love-hate relationship with festival season. We love the buzz as much as you do (we love your money, too). We’re not so keen on being unable to find a table or a space at the bar in our favourite pub, or negotiating thronged pavements. But some of us have a secret getaway. It’s Leith, the no-longer-scruffy waterfront neighbourhood linked to the city centre by two-mile-long (3.2km) Leith Walk.
Malmaison Leith. Photo / Robin Gauldie
It’s a 10-minute tram ride to a whole different side of Edinburgh – or a downhill stroll that can easily turn into a pub crawl down a boulevard dotted with cafes and bars. Midway down, Brass Monkey is a venue for the Free Fringe Festival – a gallant attempt to take the Fringe back to its roots with free performances all over the city – and Leith Depot is a favourite neighbourhood bar and music venue.
Insider intel
Edinburgh in summer. Photo / Unsplash
I moved to Leith 10 years ago, in time to watch the neighbourhood go boho. Now, artisan bakeries and coffee shops, vintage boutiques and Michelin-starred restaurants rub shoulders with old-school boozers like the Central Bar, built in 1899.
Leith’s new landmark is the Port of Leith Distillery, a nine-storey black obelisk which is Scotland’s first “vertical distillery”. Its first batches of carefully crafted whisky aren’t yet quite old enough for sipping, but you can book a tour to discover its ultra-modern distilling technology.
Leith also has a gang of upstart craft breweries with taprooms: try the brews at Campervan, Moonwake or Newbarns.
Despite this upward mobility, Leith has kept its down-to-earth vibe.
“Everyone’s friendly,” says Kirsty McEwan, owner-manager of Bludge, a boutique independent wine merchant, who moved to Leith five years ago.
“It’s very community-minded, and there’s a lot of support for independent traders. It’s definitely become a bit more gentrified. I’m sure that’s entirely a good thing, but it feels safer.”
Mary Queen of Scots, who landed here in 1561 (a plaque marks the spot on The Shore) to claim her throne, said she found Leith “delightfully sunny”, according to author and local historian Tim Bell, who leads lively guided walks around the neighbourhood. To discover Leith’s golden age, when its merchants grew fat on trade with ports from Bordeaux and Bruges to Bergen and the Baltic, tour Trinity House; for almost 200 years, it was the headquarters of the Incorporation of Mariners and Shipmasters of the Port of Leith and is now a museum.
Best places to eat
Mary’s ancestor James I built The King’s Wark in 1434 as his Leith pied-à-terre. It’s now a lively waterfront gastropub, one of a clutch of places to eat and drink around The Shore, Leith’s medieval harbourside, that includes a trio of Michelin-starred establishments: Martin Wishart, the restaurant that kick-started Leith’s culinary revolution; The Kitchin; and more recently heron.scot, where chef Sam Yorke has held a Michelin star since 2023. Barry Bryson’s microrestaurant Barry Fish opened last year to rave reviews, and along the cobbled quayside a gaggle of gastropubs offers less formal dining and al fresco drinking. The Shore stands out for its choice of ales and malt whiskies, classic interior and live jazz on Sunday afternoons.
Coastal connection
Edinburgh in summer. Photo / Unsplash
A couple of miles down the coast, Portobello, with its sandy beach, is Edinburgh’s own seaside. This summer, Porty, as it’s affectionately called, launches its own Porty Fringe festival, promising everything from stand-up to Galician and flamenco guitar, foot-tapping fiddlers and musical tribute shows.
Portobello Beach. Photo / Robin Gauldie
For refreshment, you’ll find some of the best ice cream and fish and chips in the city along its esplanade, including Oscar’s Gelato and the St Andrew’s Restaurant, as well as Shrimpwreck.
Shrimpwreck seafood shack portobello. Photo / Robin Gauldie
Edinburgh International Festival events: eif.co.uk
Edinburgh Fringe: edfringe.com or for discount tickets (in person only) Half Price Hut, Fringe Box Office, High St.
Love the Fringe (multiple tickets, deals and discounts at bars and restaurants from £30 ($69) including four shows). lovethefringe.com
Edinburgh Film Festival: edfilmfest.org
Free Fringe Festival: freefestival.co.uk
GETTING AROUND
The best way to get around the city centre is on foot. For longer jaunts, use the excellent Lothian Buses network. TapTapCap contactless bus or tram fares cost £5 ($11.50) per day or £24.50 (56) for a week.
The writer travelled at their own expense.
Update: Tram and replacement bus services to Leith have been impacted by a fire on Princes Street in early July. Check transport updates before travelling.
