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Turreted stone tenement with crow-stepped gables and a lamppost in Edinburgh's Old Town
A collection · Things to do

Great Things to Do with Kids in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a brilliant city with children, with so much of it outdoors and free. From museums and gardens to a hillside you can climb in an hour, these are the things that keep everyone happy.

Curated and written by Hidden Scotland

Updated 23 September 2026. Across Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is a brilliant city with children, mostly because so much of it is outdoors and free. There's an extinct volcano to climb in an hour, a garden that's been growing for three centuries, museums built for small hands, a zoo, a camera that shows you the whole city from a rooftop, and a great deal of ice cream.

We've rounded up our favourite things to do with kids in Edinburgh, mixing the ones worth paying for with the many that cost nothing at all.

Where these are

More of Edinburgh

Castle, closes and a festival every August

Our guide to EdinburghThings to do on EdinburghOn the map

Days out on Edinburgh

Ready-made days, stop by stop, with somewhere to eat
More infoA morningCoffee at Steampunk and the Coastal Communities MuseumNo car neededMore infoA walkA walk round Blackness Castle by the foreshoreBy carMore infoA walkA walk down the Royal Mile by its closesNo car neededMore infoA walkA walk through Princes Street Gardens, east to westNo car needed

Stay on Edinburgh

Places to stay we know, near these
A man walks past Bucken Booths entrance flanked by black lamp postsMore infoEdinburghOld Town ChambersPlace to stayA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.More infoEdinburghMoment George IV BridgeSleeps 2A black kitchen counter with flowers on the worktop stands before a curved timber slatted screen opening onto a bedroom.More infoEdinburghCartshedSleeps 2More infoEdinburghWoodshedSleeps 2
The Best of Edinburgh

The Best of Edinburgh

Everything on this page, on paper. The closes, the corners and the tables worth booking, in a book that fits a coat pocket and needs no signal.

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Hidden Scotland, issue 13

Hidden Scotland, in print.

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