In general Edinburgh can be considered a safe destination for visitors, but like all other major cities, it pays to remain attentive and use some common sense.
Try not to get too drunk: if you have had too much, it might be wise to get a taxi home. There are taxi ranks all around the City Centre.
Night buses (which depart from Waverley Bridge next to the train station) are affordable and safe alternatives to taxis, but stay on the lower deck. Night buses cost £3.00 for unlimited travel on a single night, so for groups of three or more travelling moderate distances, taxis can be more cost effective for single journeys.
Like most other cities, there are some rundown areas. For its size, Edinburgh does not have many, but there are still some suburbs that are better avoided by anyone unfamiliar with the area such as the following:
Niddrie and Craigmillar in the southeast of the city.
Sighthill and Wester Hailes in the west.
Muirhouse and Pilton in the north.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Edinburgh
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Edinburgh - updated May 2024
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Edinburgh Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
