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Things to do in Leith

Our most recommended things to do in Leith

Edinburgh: Royal Attractions with Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours

1. Edinburgh: Royal Attractions with Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours

Make getting around Edinburgh's top sights easy with a 48-hour Royal Edinburgh hop-on, hop-off bus ticket. Dive into the history and culture of Scotland with access to Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Yacht Britannia, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Easy to use, the all-inclusive ticket is fantastic value if you want to go to Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the Royal Yacht Britannia. The ticket also includes 48-hour unlimited travel on three of Edinburgh's hop-on-hop-off bus tours; Edinburgh City Sightseeing, Edinburgh Tour, and Majestic Tour. Use the bus to reach the attractions, leaving the city behind and heading to the coast at Newhaven through Edinburgh’s New Town. With stops for the Royal Botanic Garden and Royal Yacht Britannia, it couldn’t be simpler. As the bus returns to the city center, you can jump off at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Canongate section of the Royal Mile to walk up to Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh: Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Pass with 3 City Tours

2. Edinburgh: Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Pass with 3 City Tours

Save money and explore Edinburgh at your own pace with a 3-route hop-on hop-off bus tour ticket. Pick from a ticket that lasts for 24 or 48 hours. Explore the city with stop options like Grassmarket, Edinburgh Castle, National Museum of Scotland, and the Royal Botanic Gardens. Hop aboard and embark on your city adventure. Contrast the Old and New Towns, see the royal attractions of Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Yacht Britannia (entrances not included). Live guides provide English commentary on the Edinburgh Tour, while audio guides are available in up to 9 languages on the City Sightseeing Tour and the Majestic Tour. Hop on and off as often as you like at dozens of attractions, and enjoy unique, scenic views from the open-top upper decks. City Sightseeing Tour: Hear about the people and events that shaped Edinburgh, from the cramped conditions of the Old Town to spacious Holyrood Park, on a classic sightseeing tour in 9 languages. Enjoy Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories with the on board Horrible Histories Children’s Channel - history with all the gory bits left in! • Hanover Street • Princes Street Gardens • St. John’s Church • Grassmarket • Johnston Terrace • Edinburgh Castle • National Museum of Scotland • Museum of Childhood • Scottish Parliament • Our Dynamic Earth • Palace of Holyrood House • Burns Monument Edinburgh Tour: Enjoy the best views aboard an open-top bus, as live commentary in English brings Edinburgh’s history to life. Explore the Old Town and Georgian New Town, hopping off at 9 strategic stops. • Hanover Street • George Street • Charlotte Square • The Mound • Lawnmarket • Grassmarket • Our Dynamic Earth • Scottish Parliament • Canongate Kirk Majestic Tour: Leave the city center and head to the coast at Newhaven, with stops for the Royal Botanic Garden and Royal Yacht Britannia. This multi-language tour offers commentary through headphones in English, Gaelic, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Russian. Return via the Palace of Holyrood House and the Canongate section of the Royal Mile. • Hanover Street • George Street • Royal Botanic Gardens • Ferry Road • Newhaven Harbour • Cruise Terminal • Ocean Terminal (Royal Yacht Britannia) • Leith Mills • Elm Row • Queen Mary’s Bath House • Queensberry House • Canongate Kirk

Edinburgh: Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours & Firth of Forth Cruise

3. Edinburgh: Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours & Firth of Forth Cruise

City Sightseeing Edinburgh See all the main attractions with CitySightseeing Edinburgh. There’s multi-language commentary in 9 languages and a special Horrible Histories commentary for your children, narrated by Terry Deary himself. Edinburgh Tour Explore Edinburgh's city center taking in the spectacular buildings including Edinburgh Castle, the Scottish Parliament, and the architecture of the Georgian New Town with a live guide in English. Majestic Tour The Majestic Tour heads north of Edinburgh's City Centre towards the port of Leith with highlights including Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, The Royal Yacht Britannia, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Majestic Tour features a multi-lingual commentary in 10 languages.  Firth of Forth Bus and Boat Trip Board your bus at Waterloo Place - in the heart of Edinburgh for a tour to South Queensferry with English commentary via headphones, followed by a boat tour aboard one of Forth Boat Tours fleet of vessels. Enjoy superb views of Edinburgh and Fife’s coastlines as well as the iconic Three Bridges, the Forth Road Bridge, The Forth Bridge and the new Queensferry Crossing. Get your camera out and look for puffins and seals along the way.

Edinburgh: Full-Day City Center Shore Excursion

4. Edinburgh: Full-Day City Center Shore Excursion

Discover the sights of Edinburgh on a full-day shore excursion, departing from Edinburgh. Take a round-trip tour of the city center, and continue onto the Royal Mile to visit historic Edinburgh Castle, named the UK’s best heritage attraction in 2014. Learn all about its history, and see the famous Stone of Destiny; the traditional crowning seat of the ancient Scottish monarchs. Then, enjoy some free time for refreshments and to explore Castlehill, the city’s oldest street. Discover one of the many atmospheric “closes” or alleys running off the back-bone of the Royal Mile. See attractions such as St. Giles Cathedral and the Scottish Parliament building. Next, visit the Palace of Holyrood House, the official Scottish residence of the Royal Family. Learn the history of the baroque palace, best known as the home of Mary Queen of Scots. Finally, visit Duddingston Loch in Holyrood Park. Dates and Ship Names: 2023 April 11th, 19th, 26th May 6th, 9th, 16th, 17th, 19th, 22nd, 26th, 28th, 29th June 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 14th, 17th, 22nd, 24th, 27th, 29th July 4th, 6th, 11th, 12th, 16th, 19th, 23rd, 25th, 28th, 29th, 30th August 4th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 26th, 28th, 29th, 30th September 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 14th, 16th, 21st, 26th

Edinburgh: Urban Street-Art Self-Guided Walking Tour

5. Edinburgh: Urban Street-Art Self-Guided Walking Tour

Explore the street art scene in Edinburgh. Along the 5km route from the Leith waterfront back to Edinburgh city centre, learn all about the local scene of artists, get to know different techniques and find your favourites on this self-guided tour of the most famous graffiti, the most beautiful murals, stencils and paste-ups. There are exciting tasks and tricky questions at the stops. For example, who knows Cowboy Joe and what does it have to do with Trainspotting? The tour is a great way to get outside and discover new things with friends or on your own. It's like being shown Edinburgh by a good friend. The tour can be started anytime and over and over again, on site or from home, in the browser of a smartphone. Have fun in the colourful district of Leith!

Other Sightseeing Options in Leith

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What people are saying about Leith

Overall rating

4.8 / 5

based on 5,352 reviews

Well worth getting the 3 tours for 48 hours, yes the green and red are very similar, but they are frequent enough to save your feet as it’s easy to walk all day. The green tour has a guide who gives you that little bit more information so is worth the extra. You get to see all of Edinburgh, so it’s worth doing a full tour to get your bearings then start exploring.

We pre-booked the Royal Tour over 48hrs. This gave us entrance tickets into Edinburgh Castle, HMS Brittania and Holyrood Palace. The ticket sellers were very helpful with giving us times and advice. We were also able to book tickets to the Zoo with them, he told which bus to catch and we visited on our way to the airport on our last day.

I wanted to be shown street art without chasing after a group. That worked great.

On time really regular and the green one with the guide was brilliant

Great introduction to Edinburgh and its main attractions