Edinburgh: Loch Ness, Glencoe & the Scottish Highlands Tour
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Romantic Edinburgh is an unexpectedly brilliant shopping destination. Its charming cobbled streets hide independent boutiques where you can discover lovely craft items and design pieces, quirky greetings cards, tempting treats and bottles of fine whisky, including rare collector’s editions.
Along the main thoroughfares in the city centre, you can pick up bargain fashion from high street chains or splash out on luxury at international designer boutiques. Shopping centres are perfect for rainy days, whilst farmers’ markets and charity shops offer a glimpse of authentic local life.
Our shopping guide to Edinburgh helps you make the most of your visit: it includes the best shopping areas in the Scottish capital, tips on what to buy, typical souvenirs and other useful information. Remember to change your currency to pounds sterling and leave space in your luggage for gifts: now you’re ready to go!
Shops generally open at 9:00 am and operate continuously, but typically on weekdays close by 6:00 pm and on Sundays at 5:00 pm.
Closing times vary by day of the week, but independent shops and shopping centres usually close between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm, whilst supermarkets close between 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm.
During the Christmas period opening hours are often extended.
Not sure what to take home from Edinburgh? Here are some ideas for your purchases.
After sampling a typical Scottish whisky in one of Edinburgh’s characterful pubs, you’ll likely find it hard to resist taking home a bottle as a souvenir.
Specialist shops are plentiful and you’ll find them in virtually every area of the city. Among the most famous are Royal Mile Whiskies, The Whisky Trail and Cadenhead’s: three havens for lovers of Scotland’s national drink.
Before you go, read our guide to Scottish Whisky to get an idea of what you might like to buy. You’ll find the history of Scottish whisky, the most famous brands, descriptions of different whisky styles and tasting tips.
Moving from glass to plate, typical Scottish products you can buy in Edinburgh include smoked salmon, sold in convenient vacuum packs, and haggis, almost a symbol of Scottish cuisine. It’s a spiced sausage made from lamb offal, also available in convenient tins for those wanting to share a taste of Scottish cooking with friends back home.
For something sweet, you can’t go wrong with rich shortbread biscuits, perfect for an indulgent treat, or oatcakes, traditional oat biscuits. You’ll find them everywhere: in supermarkets, bakeries, souvenir shops and, if you’re running late, at the airport duty free.
For something more original, try Edinburgh Castle Soft Rock, soft and crumbly sweets made with sugar, water, cream of tartar and flavourings.
The most iconic souvenir from Edinburgh and all of Scotland is the kilt, the traditional male skirt in tartan pattern – horizontal and vertical coloured stripes interwoven, usually on a blue, red or green background (though other colours are possible).
Today Scots wear the kilt only on formal occasions such as weddings, awards ceremonies and traditional dance performances. It’s genuinely formal wear, crafted from quality materials with meticulous attention to detail: a proper kilt isn’t an inexpensive souvenir and sometimes needs to be ordered in advance.
Don’t worry though: you can easily find affordable imitations in all the city’s souvenir shops; alternatively, you can pick up all manner of tartan-patterned items: scarves, towels, tablecloths, tea towels, caps, socks, mini skirts…
Another typical Scottish souvenir is a rugby shirt, as rugby is hugely popular in Scotland: you can choose to support the national team or a Scottish league side.
There are also the souvenirs you’d find in any European capital, naturally personalised with Edinburgh’s name, such as t-shirts, fridge magnets, bags, umbrellas and keychains.
A trip to Edinburgh is the perfect opportunity to add warm winter pieces to your wardrobe in cashmere or tweed wool: scarves, skirts, jackets and if you have room in your case, a delightful coat that will comfort you with its warmth and colours even on the coldest days!
You can also take the chance to buy traditional silver jewellery with Celtic designs or home and fashion accessories with modern design. In particular, if you love rustic-chic style, you can have fun shopping for lovely objects to decorate your home: it’s a style much loved in the UK so there’s quite a range to choose from.
The shopping destination par excellence in Edinburgh is Princes Street1, a lively street in the historic centre flanked on one side by a continuous row of shops and on the other by a green park. It’s an unusual shopping street where the joy of shopping is combined with a splendid view of Edinburgh Castle.
Here you’ll find clothing shops and flagship stores of the biggest chains in Britain such as Debenhams, or the ultra-affordable Primark, the mecca of budget shopping: it’s the right place to stock up on cheap t-shirts and dresses or buy little gifts to take home to friends. There are also international chains like Zara and technology shops including Apple Store.
Princes Street is connected by side streets to the city’s other main shopping area, George Street2. Prices are a bit higher here: the shops are more upmarket and the bars and restaurants more trendy.
Moving further upmarket, the top destination for luxury shopping in Edinburgh is Multrees Walk3, where you’ll find boutiques of British and international designers and prestigious brands. Some names? Victoria Beckham, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Gucci, Mulberry, Tommy Hilfiger and Stella McCartney.
For something special, take a stroll through the West End4, a characterful area full of design shops, independent designer boutiques and delicatessens where you can buy gourmet treats. It’s the ideal area to find original and quality gifts as well as simply browse around. The charming cafés in the neighbourhood with their tempting cakes are perfect for recharging your batteries during your shopping spree.
You can continue your search for special items at Grassmarket5 and Victoria Street6, Edinburgh’s best areas for vintage and craft shopping. Victoria Street is famous because it’s said to have inspired Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter novels. So you could say that shopping here is pure magic!
For something more traditional, head to the Royal Mile7. Here you can buy the most typical souvenirs, such as cashmere jumpers and bottles of whisky, and delightful local craft items.
Venturing slightly from the centre, you can shop in the lively neighbourhoods of Bruntsfield8 and Morningside9, which have a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. These areas are full of charity shops, non-profit stores whose proceeds go to charitable organisations. In these shops you can buy clothes, records, books and other second-hand items; with a bit of luck you can pick up some real bargains and buy prestigious brand clothing at very low prices.
If you don’t want to risk being caught in the rain whilst shopping, take refuge in one of Edinburgh’s many shopping centres.
Here are the ones not to miss:
They’re all located in the centre or easily accessible by car or public transport.
Among Edinburgh’s food markets, the two most famous are the Edinburgh Farmers' Market14, held every Saturday at the foot of the castle, and the Stockbridge market15: they’re two key destinations for locals and visitors wanting to buy local delicacies, fresh cheese, artisan bread, cakes and biscuits and other treats.
In December there are Christmas markets where you can buy decorations, craft items and sweets. While not typically one of the cities most associated with the traditional Christmas image often linked with German or Scandinavian countries, Edinburgh in December is truly atmospheric and shopping at its traditional markets is a real delight.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
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