Grassmarket, Old Town & the Canongate

Best time: Any day from noon; Thursday to Saturday from about 1pm is ideal (Salt Horse opens at 4pm Monday to Wednesday). Start early on Friday and Saturday, when the Grassmarket fills up with groups after 9pm. Opening hours change, so check each venue before you set off.

The stops

1. 

   Cold Town House

   4 Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2JU

   Three-floor Grassmarket bar with Cold Town Beer brewed on site, Neapolitan pizza and a rooftop terrace looking straight up at the Castle. The terrace reopened in April 2026 after a £500,000 refit with a retractable glass roof, so it works in the rain. Open daily from noon (to 11pm Sunday to Tuesday, midnight Wednesday and Thursday, 1am Friday and Saturday).

   Open in Google Maps

2. 

   The Bow Bar

   80 West Bow, Edinburgh EH1 2HH

   One-room Scottish alehouse with eight cask lines on traditional tall founts, guest kegs and 400+ malt whiskies. No music, no TV. Pies at lunchtime. Open noon to midnight daily.

   Open in Google Maps

3. 

   Salt Horse

   57–61 Blackfriars Street, Edinburgh EH1 1NB

   The Old Town's specialist craft beer bar and bottle shop: 14 rotating draught lines, around 200 cans and bottles (strong on Belgian lambic) and burgers. Opens 4pm Monday to Wednesday, noon Thursday to Saturday, 12.30pm Sunday.

   Open in Google Maps

4. 

   The Holyrood 9A

   9a Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AE

   Wood-panelled craft beer pub with 20-plus taps of Scottish and international beer and big 'two-hander' burgers. Open from 10am daily until midnight (1am Friday and Saturday).

   Open in Google Maps

5. 

   BrewDog DogHouse Edinburgh

   5 New Street, Edinburgh EH8 8BH

   BrewDog's beer hotel off the Canongate: a ground-floor bar with about 30 taps (roughly a third guest beers) and a second-floor roof terrace with fire pits. Open daily from 7am until 11pm (midnight Wednesday to Saturday).

   Open in Google Maps

Getting there: start in the Grassmarket, about a 12–15 minute walk from Waverley station or 10 minutes from the Princes Street tram stop. The route finishes at New Street, about 5 minutes from Waverley's Market Street exit.

Bow Bar to Salt Horse (about 700 m) is the longest leg. Go up Victoria Street, along George IV Bridge and down the Royal Mile to Blackfriars Street. The Old Town is hilly and the cobbles are slippery when wet.

Optional detours a few minutes off the route: The Halfway House (24 Fleshmarket Close) for cask ale, or Sandy Bell's (25 Forrest Road) for its nightly folk sessions.

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