Edinburgh · Month comparison

February vs May

May ranks #1 overall vs February at #7. Edinburgh's most pleasant surprise — genuinely mild, long days, and the city at its most liveable before the Fringe transforms it.

Edinburgh February — a cobblestone street lined with stone houses in the quiet winter city

February

#7 of 12 months

Strong option

Six Nations season opens — Murrayfield fills, Leith's pubs roar, and Edinburgh is entirely itself.

  • ↑Six Nations rugby (February–March): Scotland's home matches at Murrayfield fill the city with a specific kind of festive energy that has nothing to do with tourism — Leith's pubs and the Grassmarket the morning of a match are an Edinburgh experience worth planning a trip around
  • ↑Rainfall actually decreases from January — at 44mm, February is one of Edinburgh's drier months, and occasional clear days deliver extraordinary low winter light over the castle and the Firth of Forth
Edinburgh May — the city viewed from an elevated position with Edinburgh Castle visible in spring light

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
FactorFebruaryMay
Weather score
3
7
Value score
10
7
Crowd score
10
7
Events score
4
5
Atmosphere
4
7
Avg high temp7°C15°C
Monthly rain44mm52mm
Daily sunshine2.8hrs6.5hrs

February trade-offs

  • ↓Still firmly winter: 7°C, 2.8 sunshine hours, and a cold that feels more penetrating than the numbers suggest due to Edinburgh's wind; layering is non-optional
  • ↓Scotland home match weekends push hotel prices upward for those specific nights; the city is also more crowded and lively, which is either a gain or a sacrifice depending on your preference
  • ↓The garden areas — Princes Street Gardens, the Royal Botanic Garden — are bare and uninviting; Edinburgh's green spaces are at their worst

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
See all 12 months for Edinburgh →February in detail →May in detail →
Scores compare months within Edinburgh. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →