Before travelling to Edinburgh, find out what you’ll need. And remember: here you can see all four seasons in a single day! Edinburgh has been the capital of Scotland since the 15th century, and its Old Town and New Town were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.
Documents
The United Kingdom is outside the Schengen Area, so to enter the country you must pass through border control run by the British authorities. This requires a valid travel document, usually a passport.
Many visitors, including EU and US citizens, also need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before travelling. Requirements change, so check the official UK government website before you book.
Once in the UK, you don’t need to carry your ID at all times. It’s best to keep it somewhere safe and carry a photocopy, to avoid losing it and having problems when leaving the country.
Language
Scotland has three languages: English, Scots and Gaelic.
Everyone speaks English, so communicating in English is generally not a problem, especially in Edinburgh. Most people speak with a Scottish accent, which can be a little hard to understand at times, but it is not as strong in Edinburgh as in other parts of the country.
Weights and measures
The imperial system of units dates from 1824, when the Weights and Measures Act standardised units across the British Empire.
As the Empire dissolved, most countries adopted the metric system during the 20th century.
However, some imperial units are still used in the UK today, such as miles on road signs and pints in pubs. Here are their metric equivalents.
Imperial to metric conversions
Length
| Unit | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 inch | 25.4 mm |
| 1 foot | 30.48 cm |
| 1 yard | 0.91 m |
| 1 mile | 1.61 km |
| 1 nautical mile | 1.85 km |
Volume
| Unit | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 fluid ounce | 28.4 ml |
| 1 pint | 568 ml |
| 1 gallon | 4.55 l |
Weight
| Unit | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 ounce | 28.35 g |
| 1 pound | 453.6 g |
| 1 stone | 6.35 kg |
| 1 ton | 1,016 kg |
Currency
The UK’s official currency is the pound sterling. Its symbol is £ and its abbreviation GBP. It is the oldest currency in the world still in use.
Since 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. Before then, a pound was divided into 20 shillings, and each shilling into 12 pence, making 240 pence to the pound. Shillings and old pennies are no longer in circulation.
Coins come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 pence, and 1 and 2 pounds. Bank of England notes come in 5, 10, 20 and 50 pounds.
Scottish banknotes
In Scotland, as well as Bank of England notes, you will also find notes issued by three Scottish banks: the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank. Unlike Bank of England notes, they don’t show the monarch’s portrait.
Scottish notes are accepted throughout the UK, although, rarely, they may be refused outside Scotland, and they can be hard to exchange in banks abroad. That’s why we recommend spending or exchanging your Scottish notes before you leave Scotland.
They come in 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pounds, and the Royal Bank of Scotland also prints a £1 note, although it is rare to see one. You may occasionally see notes from Northern Irish banks too, which are also accepted across the UK.
Paying by card
To avoid withdrawing cash and paying exchange fees, a safe option is to pay by card. In Edinburgh and throughout Scotland, you can pay by card or contactless almost everywhere.
Check with your bank about any transaction fees and the exchange rate they apply.
Paying in cash
If you prefer to pay in cash, Edinburgh has plenty of cash machines (ATMs). Fees vary depending on the company that owns the machine, but they must show you the fee on screen before you confirm.
You can also change money at the many bureaux de change in Edinburgh, several of them on the Royal Mile and Princes Street.
Weather in Edinburgh
The weather in Edinburgh, and across Scotland, is extremely changeable. People often talk about seeing “four seasons in one day”, or say that “if you don’t like the Scottish weather, just wait a bit”.
Edinburgh’s weather is generally fairly mild for its latitude, the same as Moscow’s, thanks to its closeness to the sea, its low altitude and the Gulf Stream. The average annual temperature is around 8.5°C, and annual rainfall is about 700 mm.
Rain in Edinburgh
Although it rains on more than 250 days a year, around 20 days a month, heavy rain is unusual. Edinburgh’s 700 mm of annual rainfall is actually less than many European cities known for being wet.
It rains fairly evenly throughout the year, slightly more often in summer and autumn.
Heavy snow is rare, and few winters see significant snowfall in the city.
Temperatures in Edinburgh
Temperatures are cool all year round, but rarely extreme. In summer they range from around 10°C to 20°C, and in winter from 0°C to 6°C.
However, it often feels colder than it is because of the wind, which blows strongly at all times of year. So bring warm clothes whenever you visit.
Daylight hours
Because it lies so far north, the number of daylight hours in Edinburgh varies dramatically through the year.
On the summer solstice (20 or 21 June), the sun rises before 5am and sets around 10.30pm, with more than seventeen and a half hours of daylight.
On the winter solstice (21 or 22 December), the sun rises at almost 9am and sets before 4pm, leaving only about seven hours of daylight.
2026 bank holidays in Scotland
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year’s Day |
| 2 January | 2nd January |
| 3 April | Good Friday |
| 4 May | Early May bank holiday |
| 25 May | Spring bank holiday |
| 3 August | Summer bank holiday |
| 30 November | St Andrew’s Day |
| 25 December | Christmas Day |
| 28 December | Boxing Day (substitute day) |
When a bank holiday falls on a weekend, it is usually moved to the following Monday.