Edinburgh · Scotland
November
Edinburgh retreats into itself — cold, quiet, and almost entirely local, with Hogmanay ticket sales building December anticipation.
Strong option
#11 of 12 months
There are better months for Edinburgh — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
9°C
Low
4°C
Rain
60mm
Sun
2.3hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How November scores in Edinburgh
Weather
Below average
Value
Outstanding
Crowds
Outstanding
Events
Average
Atmosphere
Above average
What you gain in November
- ↑Budget prices return fully — November is the second-cheapest month after January; the entire accommodation and dining market is available at low-season rates with no competition from tourists
- ↑The whisky bars, the Royal Mile pubs, and the Grassmarket's firelit interiors are at their most atmospheric in November; Edinburgh's indoor culture — its literary cafés, its bookshops, its pub sessions — is genuinely excellent when the city turns inward
- ↑Hogmanay ticket sales open in November and the city begins to gear up for December; there is a low-key festive anticipation building through the month
What you sacrifice
- ↓Cold (9°C), grey, and dark: the shortest days of the year approach and Edinburgh in November requires mental commitment to the indoor culture the city does best
- ↓Only 2.3 sunshine hours daily and a high chance of wind-driven rain make outdoor sightseeing genuinely uncomfortable; Arthur's Seat and the open hillsides are for the hardy
- ↓The event calendar is the quietest of the year — some excellent one-off theatre and music programming, but nothing approaching the festival scale that defines the city
How November compares to May (best month)
| Factor | November | May ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 3 | 7 |
| Value | 9 | 7 |
| Crowds | 9 | 7 |
November in other destinations
Lisbon (16.8°C)Barcelona (16.5°C)Tokyo (16.6°C)Bali (30.8°C)Santorini (17.5°C)Paris (10.5°C)New York (11°C)Marrakech (21.3°C)Amsterdam (9.2°C)Maldives (30°C)Rome (15.5°C)Bangkok (30.2°C)Istanbul (13.8°C)Vienna (7.8°C)Seoul (10.4°C)Dubrovnik (15.4°C)Rio de Janeiro (28.8°C)Kyoto (16.9°C)Phuket (31.7°C)Cape Town (23.7°C)Prague (7°C)Amalfi Coast (16°C)Mexico City (22°C)Medellín (27°C)Fiji (29°C)London (11°C)Sydney (24°C)Iceland (4°C)Tulum (29°C)Dubai (29°C)Singapore (31°C)Hoi An (27°C)Chiang Mai (29°C)Miami (27.2°C)Florence (13.6°C)Queenstown (18.5°C)Madrid (13°C)Porto (17°C)Copenhagen (8°C)Budapest (9°C)Kraków (6°C)Tbilisi (11°C)Palawan (30°C)Hanoi (25°C)Osaka (16°C)Goa (32°C)Cusco (21°C)Buenos Aires (26°C)Mykonos (17°C)Zanzibar (30°C)Sri Lanka (30°C)Costa Rica (25°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Edinburgh, not across destinations. Methodology →