7 Different Rainy Day Activities in Edinburgh
There are plenty of things to do in Edinburgh when it’s raining, but in this blog post, we’re going to share with you some more ‘out of the box’ suggestions that we haven’t mentioned before. You can obviously go to places like the National Museum of Scotland and Camera Obscura on a rainy day because they are indoor to begin with and popular tourist attractions, so we’re going to give you hopefully a few different ideas!
This blog post accompanies our YouTube video, so be sure to check it out!
1. Enjoy Some Afternoon Tea
First on the list is to enjoy some afternoon tea! Afternoon tea did originate in England, but it is popular up here in Scotland as well, with a wide variety of places to choose from.
Here are just a few popular options for afternoon tea in Edinburgh:
Colonnades at The Signet Library
This is one of the most popular (and pricey!) places for afternoon tea and is located just off of Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile.
Address: Parliament Square, Edinburgh EH1 1RF
Hours: 11.00 - 16.30 (Wednesday - Sunday)
Price: £60.00 per person
The Dome is easily recognisable with its Corinthian columns on the exterior, and its Georgian Tea Room is another popular place for afternoon tea, located in Edinburgh’s New Town.
Address: 14 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PF
Hours: Daily from 11.00 - 17.00
Price: From £27.00 per person
Palm Court at The Balmoral Hotel
One of the most prestigious addresses in Edinburgh, you can savour some award-winning afternoon tea at The Balmoral Hotel’s Palm Court.
Address: 1 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 2EQ
Hours: Daily from 12.00 - 17.00
Price: From £55.00 per person
If you’re looking for something extremely unique, there is the Red Bus Bistro, which is afternoon tea aboard a classic red British double decker bus! The bus takes you on a 1.5-hour journey through some of the highlights of Edinburgh.
Address: Stance ZE, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3BH
Hours: Departing at 12.00 and 15.00 (Tuesday - Sunday)
Price: £10.00 per child (8-17), from £42.50 per adult (18+)
2. Visit a Distillery
Next up is to visit a distillery! While most distilleries, most notably whisky distilleries, are dotted all over Scotland, there are some in Edinburgh as well.
Holyrood Distillery offers both whisky and whisky & gin tours, along with additional tasting options, depending on your preference!
Address: 19 St Leonard’s Lane, Edinburgh EH8 9SH
Hours: 11.30 - 19.00 (Sunday - Thursday), 11.30 - 20.00 (Friday & Saturday)
Price: From £16.00 per person, depending on tour or tasting
If you’re more partial to gin, as mentioned above, Holyrood Distillery also offers gin tours, as do Edinburgh Gin Distillery and Summerhall Distillery, just to name a few.
Opened in 2010 in Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Gin Distillery actually has two distilleries, with one located in the heart of the city and the other located in Leith in the north of Edinburgh. Their tours take place at their city centre location.
Address: 1A Rutland Place, Edinburgh EH1 2AD
Hours: Daily from 10.45 - 16.45
Price: From £25.00 per person, depending on tour
Home to Pickering’s Gin is Summerhall Distillery, which was built by the founders, Matthew Gammel and Marcus Pickering, and is situated just south of Edinburgh’s Old Town.
Address: 1 Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1PL
Hours: 12.00 - 19.00 (Thursday - Sunday)
Price: From £25.00 per person, depending on tour
3. Go on a Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tour
A hop-on, hop-off bus tour may sound strange, but hear us out! This may be best if you don’t have much time in Edinburgh and the weather doesn’t want to cooperate. You can sit shielded from the elements inside the bus while still getting a whirlwind tour of the city!
The biggest hop-on, hop-off bus company is Edinburgh Bus Tours, and they offer three tours - the Edinburgh Tour, the CitySightseeing Tour, and the Majestic Tour. All tours last up to 75 minutes and standard tickets are valid for 24 hours.
Address: St Andrew Square, North Side, Edinburgh EH2 1AF
Hours: Daily, hours vary according to tour
Price: (For each individual tour) Free per child (5-15), £16.00 per adult (16-59), £15.00 per senior (60+); more ticket options on their website
Another company that runs hop-on, hop-off bus tours in Edinburgh is Bright Bus Tours, which offers two tours - the Edinburgh City Tour and the Britannia Tour.
Address: St Andrew Square, North Side, Edinburgh EH2 1AF
Hours: Daily from 09.00
Price: (For each individual tour) £9.00 per child (5-15), £15.00 per adult (16-59), £14.00 per concession (60+) and student; more ticket options on their website
4. Make Some Potion Cocktails
Next on the list is potion cocktail making! If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, all things wizard-y, or just looking for something different to do, then you can check this out! You get the opportunity to make your own potion cocktails (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), which is quite a fun experience. A few options in Edinburgh for potion cocktail making are the Department of Magic and The Cauldron.
The Department of Magic’s bubbler cocktails are very cool (and indeed bubbly!), but their magical potions are where the fun really is. After choosing your potion, you’re provided with all of the materials along with an instruction sheet on how to make the potion!
Address: 9 Blair Street, Edinburgh EH1 1QR
Hours: Daily from 10.00 - 23.00 (booking time slots may vary)
Price: From £6.00 per person, depending on cocktail or potion option
The Cauldron’s potion making is on the pricier side when compared with The Department of Magic, but includes a rental magic wand, a welcome drink, and two molecular cocktails or non-alcoholic drinks to make.
Address: 57a Frederick Street, Edinburgh EH2 1LH
Hours: Varies according to ticket types
Price: (Off-peak tickets) £20.00 per child (5-17), £32.99 per adult (18+), £26.39 per student (18+); more ticket options on their website
5. Visit an Escape Room
Escape rooms are especially great if you are visiting Edinburgh perhaps with a group of friends, but is completely doable for couples as well! There is no shortage of escape rooms in Edinburgh, with some options including the Department of Magic, which we mentioned above for potion cocktail making, Escape Reality, and Locked In Edinburgh.
Escape Reality offers several escape rooms, including Tortuga Pirates and Alcatraz. Each room has a recommended number of players, with a minimum of two players and a maximum of six players.
Address: 1 Fountainbridge, Edinburgh EH3 9QB
Hours: Daily from 12.00 - 20.30
Price: £25.00 per person for two players, £23.00 per person for three players, £22.00 per person for four players, £20.00 per person for five and six players
Voted #1 in the UK and with four rooms, Locked In Edinburgh is the only escape room in Edinburgh that uses real rooms and not purpose built sets! Each room has a varying minimum and maximum number of players.
Address: 1 Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1PL
Hours: 10.00 - 22.00 (Tuesday - Sunday)
Price: Varies according to room and number of players
6. Go on an Underground Vault Tour
Another way to get away from the rain is to simply go underground! Find out about the history of Edinburgh’s oldest and deepest vaults by joining a tour. Mercat Tours and Auld Reekie Tours both offer tours into Edinburgh’s extensive vaults.
Mercat Tours takes visitors to the Blair Street Underground Vaults in the heart of Old Town, where you learn some fascinating history. You can choose the Historic Underground tour or the Ghostly Underground tour, depending on how much you’d like to be scared!
Address: (Tour starting point) Mercat Cross, High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1RF
Hours: Varies according to tour
Price: £15.00 per child (5-15), £20.00 per adult (16-64), £18.00 per concession (65+ and students)
Auld Reekie Tours also offers several underground tours, including The Vaults Tour and Haunted Vaults Tour.
Address: (Tour starting point) 300 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PH
Hours: Varies according to tour
Price: From £14.00 per person, depending on tour
7. Pet Some Cats at Maison de Moggy
Okay, so we have mentioned Maison de Moggy before, but we couldn’t resist mentioning them again! Maison de Moggy is Scotland’s first cat cafe and the cats there are so adorable! They have 10 resident cats, many of whom are super fluffy, and you can enjoy coffee or tea and cake while visiting with the furry animals.
Address: 17-19 West Port, Edinburgh EH1 2JA
Hours: Daily from 10.30 - 11.30, 11.45 - 12.45, 13.00 - 14.00, 15.00 - 16.00, 16.15 - 17.15, 17.30 - 18.30 and (Thursday only) 19.00 - 20.00
Price: From £10.00 per person, plus any refreshments
Top Tips for Visiting Edinburgh in the Rain
If you’re unaware, Edinburgh can be quite a windy city, so most of the time, an umbrella is completely useless. You’re better off wearing waterproof layers and just getting wet, and be sure to wear shoes with good traction for those slippery cobbles!
The good news is that rain in Edinburgh does tend to be very on and off, so it’s usually unlikely that you’ll be soaked from morning til night.
Do be sure, though, to check the weather forecast in the morning before you head out because even if the sun is gloriously rising in front of you, it may very well rain in the afternoon!
We hope you found this blog post helpful! Let us know what your favourite ‘out of the box’ rainy day activity in Edinburgh is in the comments below!
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