Edinburgh · Month comparison
December vs May
May ranks #1 overall vs December at #12. Edinburgh's most pleasant surprise — genuinely mild, long days, and the city at its most liveable before the Fringe transforms it.
December
#12 of 12 months
Strong option
Hogmanay makes Edinburgh's New Year one of the great celebrations on earth — and the Christmas market on Princes Street is the finest in the UK.
- ↑Hogmanay (December 31 into January 1) is world-famous and entirely justified: the street party down the Royal Mile and into Princes Street holds 80,000 people, the torchlight procession on the 30th winds through the Old Town, and the midnight fireworks from Edinburgh Castle are among the most spectacular New Year celebrations anywhere — an event worth building a trip entirely around
- ↑Edinburgh Christmas market (November through December) on Princes Street and in the Mound below the castle is the finest Christmas market in Britain: wooden chalets, proper Scottish produce, mulled wine, and the castle floodlit above it all in the winter dark
May
#1 of 12 months
Best match
Edinburgh's most pleasant surprise — genuinely mild, long days, and the city at its most liveable before the Fringe transforms it.
- ↑The best weather-to-crowd ratio in Edinburgh's year: 15°C, 6.5 sunshine hours daily, and the city still at low season crowd levels — Arthur's Seat, the Royal Mile, and the Water of Leith walkway all enjoyed in relative peace
- ↑The Royal Botanic Garden in May is at its peak — rhododendrons, flowering trees, and immaculate lawns that the cold winter months make impossible to appreciate; free to enter
| Factor | December | May |
|---|---|---|
| Weather score | 3 | 7 |
| Value score | 4 | 7 |
| Crowd score | 4 | 7 |
| Events score | 9 | 5 |
| Atmosphere | 9 | 7 |
| Avg high temp | 7°C | 15°C |
| Monthly rain | 57mm | 52mm |
| Daily sunshine | 1.8hrs | 6.5hrs |
December trade-offs
- ↓Hogmanay requires planning 3–6 months in advance: tickets for the street party, accommodation for December 30–31, and restaurant bookings for New Year's Eve are all in fierce competition across the world market
- ↓Peak-adjacent prices throughout December: hotels reflect the Hogmanay demand well before New Year itself, and Christmas week is the most expensive December period outside of the New Year nights
- ↓Cold and dark throughout: 7°C, under 2 sunshine hours daily, and Edinburgh's Atlantic wind make outdoor exploration genuinely testing; Hogmanay night itself is reliably cold and requires serious layering
May trade-offs
- ↓Prices begin climbing from the spring floor; May is affordable but noticeably more expensive than January–March
- ↓The weather, while improved, remains distinctly Scottish — cold snaps and grey weeks can arrive at any point through May; pack for variable conditions
- ↓No headline events: May is the city between its main festival peaks; excellent for the city itself but not an event-driven visit
Scores compare months within Edinburgh. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →