Edinburgh is nothing if not greedy when it comes to festivals and August is when things reach fever pitch. Over the course of the month, the city hosts the International Festival (2 – 24 August 2024), the Fringe Festival (2 – 25 August 2024), the Art Festival (9th – 25th August), the International Book Festival (10 – 25 August 2024) and the International Film Festival (15 – 21 August 2024). Around 3 million visitors flock to the capital for the month, roosting in and around the resident population of just over 500,000. The streets groan under the weight of mostly sensible footwear (heels and cobbles are not good friends), while the air thrums and throbs with febrile expectation.
While festival season elicits mixed feelings amongst Dunediners, there’s no denying the economic boost the crowds bring to the city’s businesses. Edinburgh is a kind city but also a modest one and, for visitors during August, it can be hard to read and discover its real-life charms beneath the festival dazzle. Recently, Wallpaper* rounded up the best of modern Scottish fine dining restaurants, but to help anyone planning a jaunt in the coming weeks to get more out of their experience beyond the tents and stages, here’s a comprehensive guide to some of my preferred haunts around the city.
