The short answer
For a balance of mild weather, long days and breathing room, aim for May, June or September. August brings the festivals and the biggest crowds. Late December brings Hogmanay. Winter is the cheapest on crowds and the hardest on daylight.
There is no official crowd calendar for the palace, so the guidance below combines weather data, festival dates and our own judgement. Your ticket choices matter too: see tickets and tours for how to book.
Weather by month
Edinburgh stays cool all year, with average daily highs between 7°C and 19°C. The Met Office figures below are 1991 to 2020 averages from its Royal Botanic Garden station in the city.
| Month | Average high | Average low | Rainfall | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | 2°C | 65 mm | 55 hours |
| April | 12°C | 5°C | 41 mm | 157 hours |
| May | 15°C | 7°C | 48 mm | 195 hours |
| June | 17°C | 10°C | 66 mm | 162 hours |
| July | 19°C | 12°C | 72 mm | 170 hours |
| August | 19°C | 12°C | 72 mm | 160 hours |
| September | 17°C | 10°C | 55 mm | 130 hours |
| October | 13°C | 7°C | 76 mm | 99 hours |
| December | 7°C | 2°C | 67 mm | 49 hours |
April is the driest month in the full table at 41 mm, and May is the sunniest at about 195 hours. October is the wettest at 76 mm. Air frost occurs on around 9 days in January and 10 in December. Over a year the station records about 728 mm of rain, on about 128 days with at least 1 mm.
Summer is not hot. Even July averages a high of 19°C. VisitScotland advises packing warm layers and waterproofs in winter, and a waterproof jacket is sensible in any season.
Season by season
Spring (March to May). Daily highs climb from 10°C in March to 15°C in May, and April is the driest month. The Edinburgh Science Festival runs from 3 to 18 April 2027, and the Children’s Festival follows from 29 May to 6 June 2027, according to the Edinburgh Festival City listing. Spring is a good choice if you want longer days and are happy with cool weather.
Summer (June to August). Highs sit between 17°C and 19°C, and the days are at their longest. This is also the busiest stretch, with the Jazz and Blues Festival from 16 to 25 July 2027, then the August festivals. Book the palace and your bed early.
Autumn (September to November). Highs fall from 17°C in September to 10°C in November. October is the wettest month, but crowds are likely to thin once the festivals end. The Scottish International Storytelling Festival runs from 21 to 31 October 2026.
Winter (December to February). Highs hover at 7°C or 8°C, and nights drop to about 2°C. The days are short, so plan outdoor sights for the middle of the day.
Daylight
Late June gives about 17 and a half hours of daylight in Edinburgh. Late December gives about 7. Much of a palace visit is indoors, so short days matter less there. They matter more for Arthur’s Seat and a walk along the Royal Mile, where you will want daylight.
August: the festivals
August is the peak. Edinburgh Festival City calls it a busy season and advises booking as far ahead as possible for the best rates and central locations. In the Old Town, the High Street and Hunter Square become gathering points for Fringe performers during the festivals.
The next dates, from the organisers themselves:
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe: 6 to 30 August 2027, according to the Fringe’s website.
- Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo: 6 to 28 August 2027, according to the Tattoo’s website.
- Other festivals: the Edinburgh Festival City site lists the Science Festival from 3 to 18 April 2027, the Children’s Festival from 29 May to 6 June 2027 and the Jazz and Blues Festival from 16 to 25 July 2027. The International Festival, Book Festival and Art Festival were still marked “dates tbc” when we checked.
On the Edinburgh Festival City page, the Fringe and Tattoo entries carry 2026 in their titles but 2027 dates. We have used the organisers’ own sites.
If you want the palace without the August crowds, aim for the weeks either side of the festival period.
Holyrood Week and palace closures
The palace is the King’s official residence in Scotland, and royal.uk describes it as still a working palace. Holyrood Week is when the King carries out engagements there, including an investiture in the Great Gallery and a garden party for around 8,000 guests. royal.uk says the week normally takes place from the end of June to the beginning of July.
We do not list closure dates, because the palace sets them and they can change. Check the Royal Collection Trust’s official page before you book flights or hotels, and see our visiting guide for opening times.
Outside the summer months the palace is usually closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Our visiting guide has the current opening pattern from the Royal Collection Trust.
Hogmanay and winter
Hogmanay is Scotland’s New Year celebration, and Edinburgh’s programme for 2026/27 runs from 29 December 2026 to 1 January 2027. The Torchlight Procession is on 29 December and the Street Party and Hogmanay in the Gardens are on 31 December, with ticket information on the official Hogmanay page. Edinburgh Festival City advises booking early for Hogmanay as well as August.
Outside Hogmanay, December has the least sunshine of any month in the Met Office table, about 49 hours. Dress in layers and plan outdoor sights for the middle of the day.
Quieter months
Edinburgh Festival City points to August and Hogmanay as the busy periods. We would therefore expect January and February, March, and the weeks after the festivals in September and October to be quieter, though no source confirms visitor numbers for those months.
Each has a trade-off:
- January to March: short days, and January sunshine averages only about 55 hours.
- April and May: drier and brighter. May is the sunniest month in the table.
- September and October: milder than winter, but October is the wettest month.
Pair the palace with indoor sights near Holyrood on days when the weather turns. Our nearby sights page lists them, and where to stay covers booking a base.
