Only have a day to play tourist in Edinburgh? One thing you should definitely have on your to-do list is a quick climb up Holyrood Park to experience a panoramic view of this incredibly beautiful city. The park is easily accessible as it’s located right in the middle of the city, just a short walk from The Royal Mile, and it won’t take up much of your day if you’re on a tight schedule. Holyrood Park Edinburgh is a royal park and is home to the tallest point in the city; Arthur’s Seat at 251 meters.
Since I didn’t plan an itinerary before arriving, I had no clue a hike was a possibility, so we didn’t have the proper attire or shoes to climb all the way up to Arthur’s Seat. Given the incredible views we saw about halfway up, I can only imagine how beautiful it must be at the top.
We were only able to spend eight or so hours in Edinburgh, given our tight schedule, so we wanted to make the most of it. As we were working our way down the streets and exploring the city, we came across the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Just to its right we could see a large hill with people hiking up it, so we decided to head over and check it out.
After doing a quick Google search, we decided that we could hike halfway up to see the city from up top for a bit. The trek up is extremely easy – children should have no problem climbing up. Getting to level ground took us about 10 or so minutes and then we walked around Holyrood Park until we couldn’t continue along our path. This was where you would climb up to reach Arthur’s Seat.
I am so glad we decided to head up Holyrood Park Edinburgh, as it was a nice change of scenery from the bustling streets, and you could see how architecturally diverse and charming the city was!