Edinburgh has to be one of the most magical and picturesque cities I’ve been to. If you’re visiting, you won’t be short of things to do and see. And you best have your camera ready too. Let’s be honest, we all love to get a good Instagram picture. I couldn’t help but keep my eyes peeled for good locations for pictures, although this was by no means difficult. It turns out there are unlimited Instagrammable places in Edinburgh!
The cobbled streets of this old medieval city ooze character and there are photo opportunities at every turn. I’ve picked a few of my favourite spots, so here they are, 6 Instagrammable spots in Edinburgh.
6 Instagrammable places in Edinburgh
1. Dean Village – Picturesque places in Scotland
The Dean Village was probably my favourite place in Edinburgh to explore. Walking around, you can’t help but feel you’ve been transported back hundreds of years. When it was established in the 12th century, it wasn’t even part of Edinburgh – the city hadn’t expanded that far yet. The village used to accommodate loads of water mills to make flour.
The beautiful cobbled streets, and old colourful buildings are so picturesque – and very Instagrammable. It’s a little walk from the city centre, but definitely worth it. Photo opportunities at every turn!
I have an entire post dedicated to photos taken in Dean Village, if you wana see here.
How to find it:
2. Scott Monument – Best Instagram Places in Edinburghh
Standing tall in Princes Street Gardens, Scott Monument stood out straight away for a striking Instagram picture. The monument is for writer sir walter scott. – the second largest monument dedicated to a writer in the world, yeeep! I only found out after, that you can actually pay to go to the top, would love to have known at the time! You’d get incredibly shots up there I’d bet!
There’s a set of pedestrian traffic lights and hatched road markings on St. David Street looking straight down on the monument – the perfect place stand and get a picture in front of it, but please be careful of traffic! I stood waiting for the traffic to move for ages to get this. Eoghan got so impatient and walked away, but I was so happy with this shot. I think it would be even more impressive with a person in the foreground though.
How to find it:
3. Victoria Street – Instagrammable Places in Edinburgh
Pretty sure no one goes to Edinburgh without talking a walk down Victoria Street. It’s in the old town and it has to be one of Edinburgh’s prettiest and most photographed streets. It bursts with colour, interesting independent shops and has an upper story. Yes it’s a multi story street, with shops and a walkway on a second level, how cool is that?! Can’t get more Instagrammable than Victoria Street, can it?
It is said that this eccentric busy street was the inspiration behind Diagon alley. Jk Rowling spent time living in Edinburgh, and it was here she gave life to Harry Potter. There are so many Harry Potter sites in Edinburgh. If you’d like to see some more of them, I did a post on Must see Harry Potter sites in Edinburgh! There’s just so many!
Victoria Street is crazy busy, so I suggest visiting either very early or late to get a good shot.
How to find it:
4. Edinburgh Castle – Most Instagrammable Spot in Edinburgh
Views of this medieval castle perched on top a mountain pretty much dominate the city. It looks pretty impressive no matter what time of day, but at night when it is all lit up, it looks so beautiful. At night you can clearly see how it may have inspired J.K Rowling when dreaming up Hogwarts for Harry Potter. In the books, Hogwarts is described as “perched on top a high mountain,it’s windows sparkling in the starry sky” – the connection is unmistakable!
For full list of Harry Potter locations in Edinburgh, check out my “Must See Harry Potter Locations in Edinburgh“!
How to find it:
5. Forth Road Bridge – Best Instagram Places
The Forth Road Bridge has a real impact on the eyes. When it opened, it was the largest suspension bridge outside of the US. Sadly we ran out of time and were only able to go looking for it after dark. The first time we drove by, I knew it would be an unreal backdrop for an insta pic. Although I didn’t get much time to get my shot, I can imagine what creative photographs others could come up with! Very Instagrammable!
How to find it:
A good place to see and photograph it is in North Queensferry. It’s a small village in Fife, which looks out at the bridge and across to Edinburgh.
6. Instagrammable Cafes and Pubs in Edinburgh.
While walking the streets, you cant help but notice all the vibrant and charming cafes and coffee shops. There was way too many to narrow down for this post so I’ll just name a couple
6.1 The marshmallow lady
This place was one I’d seen on Instagram before the trip and it went straight on the “must visit” list. So vibrant and the marshmallow lady makes her own delicious marshmallows – as you could probably guess! You can get them toasted with a blow torch and piled up on the top of your hot chocolate – mmm delicous. There were so many Instagrammable spots at this place, both inside and out – and there were board games to play while enjoying your home made treats! To see more pictures of inside this delightful place, have a look at my Scotland photodiary- Day 1.
How to find it:
6.2 Frankeinstein pub.
If you love horror movies then The Frankenstein Pub is a must-visit on your trip. In this pub they play the original Frankeinstein movie on a loop on a big screen. The inside is so cool and has so much potential for an Instagram. If you like cocktails, they do a green Frankenstein one – perfect for that Frankeinstein themed picture. This place was recommended by a friend and I’m so glad, although I didn’t get a photograph, was too busy watching Franekeinstein 3 times over.
How to find it:
-The Pantry is a great place to go for breakfast. The interior is very Instagrammable too. The counter is adorned with pastries with clean white tiles behind – I know how those bloggers love their whites! Just wish I had a photo of it to share with you, sadly was too concerned with eating breakfast to take photos – oops!
-The Brew Lab is another good one if you wana get a shot of that coffee. It’s pretty hipster looking inside and is vegan friendly OoOoOoh!
– Edinburgh Larder is another good one for breakfast, but get there early cuz it fills up fast! We happily ate our breakfast while watching so many people get turned away because it was full. Don’t miss out!
Speaking of Instagrammable spots to eat in Edinburgh, Afternoon tea seems very fitting. Check out The Best Afternoon Tea in Edinburgh!
Top lift of Instagrammable Places in Edinburgh
- Dean Village
- Scott Monument
- Victoria Street
- Edinburgh Castle
- Forth Road Bridge
- The Instagrammable Cafes and Pubs in Edinburgh
Conclusion
I hoped you enjoyed this Edinburgh Instagram tour. Edinburgh is such a great place and perfect for a city break and there really are some incredibly scenic places to discover there. I found it so inspiring and couldn’t help but have visions of the most Insta worthy pictures to glow up my feed. Unlucky for Eoghan, he was the only one with me and had to be forced (quite literally), into taking some of them! I didn’t get the time to get all the pictures I’d planned beforehand, but happy with these. Instagram gets such a bad rap these days. Being called fake. This really annoys me, why can’t we enjoy it for what it is, a place to share photos we enjoy taking. I really enjoyed getting these pictures.
Would love to go back again and see even more of the city. If anyone knows of any hidden gems or other places I didn’t see, please comment below and tell me, would love your suggestions! Also, if you visit any of these places because of this post i’d love to see any pictures you come up with. Don’t be shy, tag me in your Insta pics (@tinyboots_travels) to show me your creative masterpieces! Thanks for reading my “instagrammable places in Edinburgh” post.
To see my other Edinburgh and Scotland photos, you can click here to see my Scotland photodiaries.
Have fun Instagramming!
Tinyboots.
If you enjoyed this “Instagrammable Places in Edinburgh”, Pin this Post:
If you liked this post why not check out my other Scotland posts:
Harry Potter Locations in Edinburgh | Must see Harry Potter Locations
5 Instagrammable places in Scotland – Number 5 was such a good find!
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4 Comments
Such a great post Sarah!! I love Victoria street and Dean Village too!
Yesss dean village was my absolute favourite. Would love to visit Edinburgh at Christmas!
Edinburgh is such a good city!!! Dean Village is great and that pic of the Scott monument is so good
Yeah, I literally cannot wait to visit Edinburgh again, absolutely loved it!