Edinburgh is a fantastic city to visit at any time of year, but Edinburgh in August packs a punch on another level when the Edinburgh Festivals take over the city. For a month the streets are alive with theatre, music, street performers, comedians and, of course, an overwhelming number of visitors.
As a result, you need to start planning early, and January is not a moment too soon. Here is how I plan an Edinburgh Festival visit, month by month.
Book your accommodation and travel in January, buy tickets for the big International Festival shows and the Tattoo as soon as they go on sale, and pick your Fringe shows as the programme is released through the spring. Then leave gaps in your diary for the shows you only hear about once you’re there.
People talk about visiting “the Edinburgh Festival”, but it isn’t actually one festival. Several festivals take place in Edinburgh in August, including:
Edinburgh International Festival: World-class theatre, dance, opera and classical music.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The open-access festival everyone means when they say "the Fringe".
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo: Military bands and pageantry on the Castle Esplanade.
Edinburgh International Film Festival: New films and premieres in venues across the city.
Edinburgh Art Festival: Exhibitions in galleries and some unexpected spaces.
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Author events for adults and children.
The festivals run at various times across August, overlapping so the city is awash with performances throughout the festival period. The dates change every year, so check each festival’s official website (I’ve listed them below) before you book anything.
The Edinburgh International Festival was founded in 1947 and today brings performers from around the world to the city for around three weeks of dance, drama and music. If you want to see top-quality ballet, opera or theatre, this is the time and place to do it.
By way of example, we saw Succession actor Brian Cox in Make It Happen, a National Theatre of Scotland production, which was excellent.
Set on the Castle Esplanade, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is quite a spectacle and one of the big events of the August calendar, watched by a packed arena each night and by many more on television.
It brings together military bands from around the world, who march in formation under the lights while playing their instruments and somehow never crash into each other. Audience participation is encouraged.
My own experience of the Tattoo was memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. I went with my son when he was younger and we were caught in rain of biblical proportions. We wore ponchos over our cagoules and still ended up soaked. The Tattoo looked and sounded great, but the rain did take the shine off the main event, so I hope you have more luck when you go!
The Fringe was born out of the International Festival back in 1947, when eight theatre groups turned up uninvited to perform outside the official programme. This set a precedent for an alternative festival, with more and more unscheduled performers arriving each year until a Fringe Society was formed in 1958.
Today the Edinburgh Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival.
The Fringe is open access, which means artists can perform without being selected, to encourage creativity and new ideas. As a result, the quality can be mixed, so booking Fringe shows is a bit of a lottery. That’s half the fun of it, and sometimes the misfires are the best talking points!
You never quite know what you’re going to get, from well-known artists showcasing their latest work and comedians trying out new material, to drama students and young performers trying to get noticed. There is so much variety that there is something to suit everyone’s taste.
Over the years we’ve seen:
Kids' shows: Including a kids' pub quiz, a man performing with giant bubbles and Julia Donaldson reading Room on the Broom.
Comedy: Including Peter Kay in his breakout year, and Ed Byrne.
Improvisation: Paul Merton's improvised comedy show.
Musicians: Including Hazel O'Connor and Ray Davies of The Kinks.
Musical theatre: A theatre school's Les Misérables in the Spiegeltent, which was seriously impressive.
Illusionists: Too many to name.
Ventriloquism: Nina Conti, who uses audience members as her puppets.
Cabaret: Drag artists and a David Bowie impersonator (sorry, Dave!).
Drama: Too many and too varied to list.
Nudity is not unusual at the Fringe, so take care what you book if you're visiting with children. We once booked an early morning show (thankfully without the kids) only to be confronted by full nudity at 10am!
Do you want to do some general sightseeing while you’re in the city, or are the festivals the main event? To be honest, Edinburgh in August is not the best time for general sightseeing because the city is so busy.
My advice would be to keep the two trips separate, but you could take a break from shows to climb Arthur’s Seat, which is a welcome escape from the crowds on the streets below.
Not all the shows are announced at the start of the year, but you can look at the Edinburgh International Festival website to see whether any of its headline performances appeal.
If you love books, films or art, you might time your visit around the dates of that festival. My own approach is not to worry too much about when you go, because there is always something good to see.
If you just want to immerse yourself in the festivals, three to four days is a good length of time to see plenty of shows and still give yourself some downtime. If you’d like to fit in general sightseeing as well, add on another couple of days.
Yes, I know it seems early, but the August festivals attract huge numbers of visitors and rooms go quickly. I start by looking on Booking.com, as you can often reserve with free cancellation and pay later. It’s better to secure somewhere early and be able to cancel it than to miss out.
Budget for much higher prices than usual, because even booking early doesn’t mean it will be cheap during festival season, but the later you leave it, the less choice there will be and the higher the cost.
If you’re flying to Edinburgh, book your flights early to avoid disappointment or high fares. If you’re taking the train, put a reminder in your diary to book as soon as advance tickets for your dates are released, or you could miss out on your preferred trains and seats.
Try not to drive to Edinburgh in August. Moving around by car is difficult and parking is limited (and expensive when you find it), so public transport is a much better bet.
Each festival has its own newsletter for programme and ticket news.
The official Fringe app is handy for browsing shows and buying tickets on the go.
Edinburgh International Festival: eif.co.uk
Edinburgh Festival Fringe: edfringe.com
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo: edintattoo.co.uk
Edinburgh International Film Festival: edfilmfest.org
Edinburgh Art Festival: edinburghartfestival.com
Edinburgh International Book Festival: edbookfest.co.uk
The Fringe releases its programme in batches through the spring before the full programme launches. Keep an eye on the Fringe website (or your inbox, if you’ve signed up) and book anything you’re desperate to see as soon as it appears.
These usually go on sale in the spring. Book early for the headline shows, because they sell out.
These go on sale well ahead of August, so book as soon as you can if the Tattoo is on your list.
Book as soon as advance fares for your travel dates are released.
Research and book anywhere special you’d like to eat.
If you prefer to choose your shows on paper, you can order a printed programme or pick one up when you arrive in Edinburgh.
It can be overwhelming to see the full Fringe programme in one place, though, as there’s so much to choose from. The search filters on the Fringe website are a lifesaver, because you can narrow your options by date, genre, suitability for children and more.
Research and book any non-festival activities you’d like to do, such as a whisky tasting or a visit to Edinburgh Castle, because they get busy in August too. If you’d like the castle’s stories as well as the views, the Edinburgh Castle Guided History Tour with Tickets includes your entry ticket and is on our list for a quieter time of year.
It’s time to go!
Be prepared for anything. We have visited in blistering heat, pouring rain and everything in between.
Wear comfortable walking shoes. Edinburgh is a very walkable city and during festival season you’ll clock up the steps moving from show to show. Now is not the time to break in a new pair of shoes!
There is no escaping them. Edinburgh in August is packed, and you’ll find yourself weaving through crowds who have stopped to watch a street performer on the way to your next show. Pack your inner Zen and soak up the atmosphere as you move around the city.
Book a variety of shows, such as comedy, drama, musical theatre, physical performance and something unusual.
Choose some shows by well-known performers and offset them with random picks from unknown performers and young companies, so you see the full range of the festival.
I once did this with a show called Life, Death and Duran Duran.
It can spoil your enjoyment. Moving around the city takes longer than usual because of the crowds, so leave time between bookings.
Our rule of thumb is no more than three shows a day, with one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening (unless we’ve booked a restaurant). Fringe shows tend to be shorter than a typical theatre performance, often around an hour, so this is very doable.
With space in your schedule, you can add a show you’ve just spotted or had recommended, tickets allowing. Chatting to people in Edinburgh is a great way to pick up tips, and the team at the Fringe Shop know what’s selling well too.
Try to book shows in the same part of the city, to cut down on criss-crossing through the crowds.
Leave time to stop and watch the street performers, or just sit and people-watch over a coffee. The atmosphere in Edinburgh in August is incredible, with so much to see. Look out for the fully tattooed lady wandering around!
There’s no getting away from the fact that a trip to Edinburgh in August can be expensive. You might still be reeling from the cost of the accommodation before you even start to add in show tickets and food. So, if you want to keep costs down:
Book a variety of shoPoints can cover a free or reduced night’s stay. We once paid for a central stay at a Holiday Inn Express on the Cowgate with IHG points (other hotel loyalty schemes are available!). If you’re new to collecting points, start with our guide to hotel reward schemes.
Some of the best entertainment of the festival costs nothing.
Pack sandwiches and eat them in Princes Street Gardens between shows.
Ask at the Fringe Shop for ideas.
You pay a membership fee upfront in return for discounts and other benefits, which you’re likely to make back if you’re seeing several shows.
It sells discounted tickets for shows starting the same day or the next morning. This works well when you’ve left gaps in your schedule and can add shows in while you’re there.
Many venues offer 2 for 1 tickets in the opening days of the Fringe, so check the Fringe website for the current offer.
In closing
Advance planning gives you the best experience of Edinburgh in August, but if you're not a natural planner, rest assured you can still be spontaneous at the festivals. The downside of spontaneity is likely to be higher prices and less choice, because accommodation and the most popular shows sell out early.
My advice is to plan a framework using the steps above, but leave spaces in your schedule for a couple of extra things you discover once you're in Edinburgh. And if you can't get there in August, fear not, as the city has events all year round, from the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival in summer to the Hogmanay celebrations at New Year. If you have a few days to spare, Glasgow is a short train ride away and makes a brilliant contrast, so take a look at our Glasgow city break guide.
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