Edinburgh · Month comparison

January vs May

May ranks #1 overall vs January at #9. Edinburgh's most pleasant surprise — genuinely mild, long days, and the city at its most liveable before the Fringe transforms it.

Edinburgh January — the historic city buildings in the quiet grey of a winter afternoon

January

#9 of 12 months

Strong option

The post-Hogmanay lull — Edinburgh at its cheapest, emptiest, and most authentically Scottish.

  • ↑Annual price floor: hotels in the Old Town at a fraction of their August rates, restaurants bookable on the day, and the entire city accessible without queuing for anything
  • ↑The National Museum of Scotland, the Scottish National Gallery, and Edinburgh Castle's interior are all at their most explorable without summer crowds; the permanent collections rarely get the attention they deserve
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
FactorJanuaryMay
Weather score
3
7
Value score
10
7
Crowd score
10
7
Events score
3
5
Atmosphere
4
7
Avg high temp7°C15°C
Monthly rain57mm52mm
Daily sunshine2hrs6.5hrs

January trade-offs

  • ↓Cold, grey, and dark: average highs of 7°C, only 2 sunshine hours daily, and frequent rain and wind that make outdoor sightseeing on Arthur's Seat and Calton Hill genuinely uncomfortable
  • ↓The event calendar is effectively empty after Hogmanay; January is the city at its quietest and for some travellers, its least exciting
  • ↓Short days — dark by 4pm — severely compress the window for outdoor photography and exploration of the castle esplanade and the Royal Mile

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