Calton Hill is the hill for people who do not climb hills. From Waterloo Place, at the east end of Princes Street, a flight of steps brings you in five minutes to a broad grassy top just over 100 metres above the sea — and to a view Robert Louis Stevenson thought the best in Edinburgh, because from here you can see both the castle and Arthur’s Seat.
The summit is an open-air museum of the city’s Enlightenment ambitions. The twelve columns of the National Monument, begun in the 1820s as a copy of the Parthenon to honour the dead of the Napoleonic Wars, were never finished because the money ran out. Beside it stand the telescope-shaped Nelson Monument, the little round Dugald Stewart Monument that appears in every postcard, and the old City Observatory, now a contemporary art gallery.
On the night of 30 April the hill hosts the Beltane Fire Festival, a spectacular modern revival of the Celtic start of summer.
Top things to do at Calton Hill
Photograph Arthur’s Seat
The south side of the hill gives the definitive view of Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat rising behind Holyrood Palace. It is at its best in the last hour of daylight.
Climb the Nelson Monument
For a small fee you can climb the 143 steps of the tower. A time ball on its mast still drops at one o’clock, in step with the castle’s gun.
Sit on the National Monument
Scrambling up onto the huge plinth of “Edinburgh’s Disgrace” is a local rite of passage. It is high — help may be needed.
Link it with Arthur’s Seat
It is a 20-minute walk from Calton Hill down to Holyrood and the start of the main climb. A guided hike combines both hills in three hours.
How to get to Calton Hill
- On foot: steps lead up from Waterloo Place / Regent Road, five minutes from the east end of Princes Street and Waverley station.
- By tram: St Andrew Square or Picardy Place stops are both under ten minutes’ walk away.
- To Holyrood Park: go down past the Burns Monument on Regent Road and through the New Calton Burial Ground to the foot of the Canongate.
Insider tips
- Sunset is the busiest time and the best.
- The hill is open at all hours, but it is unlit and best visited in company after dark.
- Beltane is a ticketed evening event and sells out; book ahead if you will be in Edinburgh on 30 April.
Best tours & tickets for Calton Hill
These top-rated experiences pair well with a visit to Calton Hill:
Guided hike from €31 Edinburgh: Hike Arthur’s Seat & Calton Hill
A three-hour walk that links the city’s two classic viewpoints: first the monuments of Calton Hill, then down past Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament and up through Holyrood Park to the top of Arthur’s Seat. A lot of Edinburgh for the price, and highly rated.
- Two of Edinburgh’s seven hills in one morning
- Calton Hill’s monuments, then Holyrood Park
- Small group with a local guide
Bus tour from €21 Edinburgh: City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
The open-top loop from Waverley Bridge passes the castle, the Grassmarket and the New Town and stops at Holyrood by the palace and Dynamic Earth — a short walk from the start of the paths up Arthur’s Seat. Useful if you want to save your legs for the hill itself.
- Stops at Holyrood, beside the park entrance
- Castle, Royal Mile, New Town and Grassmarket
- Audio commentary in several languages
