---
node: spot_edinburgh_royal_mile
type: spot
slug: royal_mile
destination: dest_edinburgh
title: "Royal Mile"
lead: "The Royal Mile is the spine of Edinburgh's Old Town, running downhill from the castle on its rock to Holyrood Palace at the bottom. Everything medieval in the city hangs off it, mostly down the closes on either side."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_edinburgh_royal_mile.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anchor-close.jpg"
image_author: "Mactographer"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 3.0"
---

## Overview

The mile is four streets under one name, laid along the ridge left by a glacier, with narrow closes dropping away on both sides because a walled town could only build upward and inward. Those closes are the interesting part: Mary King's Close was built over and survives underground, and half the others end in a courtyard nobody photographs. The street itself is now heavily given to tartan and fudge, which is worth knowing before you decide how long to spend on it.

## Highlights

Walk downhill from the castle, not up — the gradient is serious. Turn into the closes at random; that is where the Old Town actually is. During the August festival the street becomes impassable and the rest of the city is better.