Edinburgh is one of the best cities in Europe to visit on your own. That has little to do with safe streets and good transit, though it has both. It’s a good city for anyone and an easy one to be in on your own.

The city itself

Edinburgh is really two cities. The Old Town is dark stone, with a steep climb to the castle on its rock. Below it is the New Town, Georgian and orderly, with wide gray streets. They sit a few minutes apart.

It’s a capital, but it stays small and walkable, and you can get the lay of it in a day. It’s also a serious place: the seat of the Scottish government, the home of the Scottish Enlightenment, full of bookshops and writers, and host to the world’s largest arts festival every August.

There’s open country inside the city, too. Arthur’s Seat is a real hill, an old volcano, and you can climb it for a view over the rooftops to the water beyond. You can do that in the morning and still have the afternoon in town.

The food and the pubs

The pub is the center of life here, and it’s the easiest evening you can have: a drink and something to eat in a warm room out of the rain. Edinburgh takes its whisky seriously, with bars that pour hundreds of bottles and bartenders happy to help you choose.

Scottish food had a bad reputation for a long time. That’s no longer true. There’s fresh seafood from the cold coast and good haggis if you want to try it.

The pub is also where you notice how friendly the city is. People talk to you in the shop, on the next stool, in line, and they’re dry and funny about it.

Getting out of town

Edinburgh also works as a base. From Waverley station, the trains run to Glasgow in under an hour, to Stirling and its castle, across the Forth into Fife and its fishing villages, and north to the Highlands when you want bigger scenery. The seaside towns of East Lothian are half an hour out.

Give it a week, and you can see a good part of the country from here. Spring and autumn are the best times to come, quieter and a little gold. August is the Fringe, the world’s biggest arts festival, when the city is packed, expensive, and a lot of fun. Go then, if you want that, pick another month.

Going it alone

All of this is why it’s an easy place to be alone. A city full of people who will start a conversation takes care of a lot when you turn up by yourself. Sitting at a bar on your own is normal here.

There’s always something close by, so a day fills up without much planning. Find a pub with music, and your evening is set. The gray, bookish mood of the place suits walking around on your own.

Edinburgh is good for everyone who visits. It’s an easy one to enjoy on your own.