Explore Edinburgh

The Scotch Whisky Experience is a visitor attraction on Castlehill, at the top of the Royal Mile beside the Edinburgh Castle esplanade. It opened in 1988 in the former Castlehill School, a red sandstone building of 1888–89 by Robert Wilson. Guided tours explain how Scotch whisky is made and pass the Diageo Claive Vidiz collection of sealed bottles.

The Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood, at the foot of the Royal Mile, has housed the Scottish Parliament since 2004. It was designed by the Catalan architect Enric Miralles, who died before its completion, and mixes concrete, oak and granite in leaf-like forms. Visitors can see an exhibition, watch debates from the public gallery and join guided tours.

Holyrood Distillery opened in 2019 in the former goods shed of St Leonards railway station, as the first new distillery in Edinburgh in nearly a hundred years. Founded by Rob and Kelly Carpenter and David Robertson, it makes single malt Scotch whisky and Height of Arrows gin and runs guided tours with tastings.

The Lind & Lime Gin Distillery in Leith makes a maritime-style gin with seven botanicals, including lime. Founded by Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher, it released its first gin in 2018 and in 2022 moved into a former sportswear warehouse on Coburg Street, where tours include a tasting, bottle filling and cocktail making.

The Port of Leith Distillery is a whisky distillery on Whisky Quay in Leith, beside Ocean Terminal. Opened in 2023, it stacks its production vertically over nine storeys because of the small plot it stands on. Guided tours follow the process floor by floor and end with a tasting, and a bar occupies the top floor with views over the docks.