Dog Friendly City Guide: Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is a city built for walking, and that makes it a city built for dogs. The medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town sit side by side, close enough to cover on foot in a morning, and a short walk from the centre Arthur's Seat rises out of Holyrood Park, a hill you can climb before breakfast. Add a pub culture that takes dogs as a matter of course and three beaches inside the city, and you have one of the easiest weekends in Britain to take a dog on. This guide is built from our own venue and walk data and the hotels we have assessed and ranked in the city, with every rule checked against the government page that sets it.

Getting There With a Dog

Edinburgh sits in Great Britain, so the rules that matter are the British ones, set out on the government's Bring your pet to Great Britain pages. Your dog must be microchipped before its rabies vaccination, and the wait after that first vaccination is at least 21 full days. Coming from an EU country, a pet passport issued in the EU is accepted; coming from the United States, you need a Great Britain pet health certificate. Dogs coming from Northern Ireland need neither document.

The rule that catches visitors out is tapeworm. Unless you are coming directly from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway, a vet must treat your dog for tapeworm no less than 24 hours and no more than five days before you enter Great Britain, and record it in the passport or certificate, every single trip. Book that appointment before you book the ferry. Our plain guide to taking your dog abroad puts every step in the order it has to be done.

Where to Stay

The two hotels to know are both ranked A, and they could hardly be more different. Prestonfield House is a country house that happens to be in the city, set in 20 acres of gardens and parkland in the shadow of Arthur's Seat, with 23 bedrooms and suites. Its history runs back to Sir James Dick, who bought the estate in 1677 and had the king's architect, Sir William Bruce, design a lavish replacement after a fire; later guests at its table included Benjamin Franklin, David Hume and Samuel Johnson, and in more recent times Winston Churchill. Dogs stay free, and the hotel's own dog friendly page says every bedroom and suite takes them. Our assessment found no weight limit at all, room for up to three dogs, a dog bed, real bowls and free treats waiting in the room, and a dog walking service for the days your plans run long. Your dog can join you in the bar, the drawing rooms, out on the terrace and in the gardens, and may be left settled in the room while you go out.

The Edinburgh Grand is the New Town answer: 50 apartments in the neoclassical building on St Andrew Square that once served as the Royal Bank of Scotland's headquarters, now Scotland's first hotel in Marriott's Luxury Collection, as The Luxury Editor reported. Every apartment has its own kitchen, which is a quiet gift to anyone travelling with a dog on a feeding schedule. In the building are The Register Club lounge, Hawksmoor for steak and seafood, and Lady Libertine, a café by day and a bar by night. Dogs are welcome in the bar, the restaurant, the terrace and the lounge, which is rarer than it should be, and our assessment found a dog bed, bowls and free treats laid on, dog food sold in the hotel and a dog walker who can be arranged. Arrivals get a welcome pack with treats and a dog tag of their own, and the fee is £50 a night.

Two hotels ranked B round out the choice. The Bruntsfield Hotel takes dogs of any size, lets them into the bar, restaurant, terrace and lounge, has a garden of its own and charges £25 for the whole stay. Gleneagles Townhouse has no weight limit, a dedicated dog space on site and guidance on local walking routes.

Eat and Drink

Edinburgh's great pubs are its great dog friendly rooms, and the best of them are in the centre. The Guildford Arms on West Register Street is a Victorian bar under a rococo plaster ceiling, family owned since 1896 and run as a real ale emporium; dogs are welcome at your feet. A few streets west on Rose Street, the Abbotsford calls itself the city's most outstandingly preserved Edwardian pub, and its island bar carved from Spanish mahogany is worth the visit on its own; dogs are welcome in the bar, and there is a restaurant upstairs.

In the Old Town, the Royal Oak on Infirmary Street and Bannermans on the Cowgate both take dogs, and over in the New Town the Barony Bar on Broughton Street does the same. Down towards Holyrood, Holyrood 9A is a warm bar that opens at 10am every day with food and drink, which makes it a useful stop on the way back from Arthur's Seat.

For food, the choice is wider than visitors expect. The Magnum on Albany Street in the New Town is part bistro, part pub, part wine bar, and happy to seat a dog. The City Café on Blair Street has been an American style diner and a local fixture since the 1980s, with breakfast all day. Maison Bleue on Victoria Street and Mowgli on Hanover Street both appear in our data as taking dogs, and Maki and Ramen in the St James Quarter goes a step further with a menu for the dog. For coffee, Gordon Street Coffee, a small batch roastery, welcomes dogs at its Market Street shop.

Walks and Beaches

Holyrood Park is the reason to bring a dog to Edinburgh. Arthur's Seat rises out of it, and Prestonfield puts the park five to ten minutes away, with gentle paths around the base and the climb for anyone who wants the whole city laid out below. The Innocent Railway Path, a former railway line turned into a walking path, runs out from the same side of town, and the hotel points to the Meadows and the Links for a flatter route suited to slower walks and shorter outings. Prestonfield's own gardens and estate are there for the first and last walk of the day.

The city also has the sea. Our data lists three dog friendly beaches inside the City of Edinburgh: Portobello, which our records split into its King's Road and James Street stretches as well as the main beach, Cramond and Silverknowes. Across the Forth in Fife, Burntisland and the Silver Sands and Black Sands at Aberdour are in our data too, for anyone with a car and a free afternoon. A beach morning and a pub lunch is as good a day as the city offers a dog.

A Day Out

If you want the city explained rather than just walked, Edinburgh Expert Walking Tours runs private tours with a local guide through the medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town, and says plainly that dogs are welcome at no additional cost. Build a day around it: an early climb in Holyrood Park, the tour through the closes, a late lunch at Holyrood 9A, and a pint at the Guildford Arms before dinner.

Good to Know

Scotland has its own rules on XL Bully dogs. Under the Scottish Government's rules, it is a criminal offence to keep one without a Certificate of Exemption and an offence to have one in public without a lead and muzzle, and Great Britain does not let in a banned breed without a valid certificate either. At Prestonfield House, Rhubarb, the restaurant, is kept for people, so dinner with the dog means the bar or the drawing rooms. The Edinburgh Grand takes up to two dogs of up to 50 lb. At The Bruntsfield only some rooms take dogs, so ask for one when you book, and Gleneagles Townhouse takes one dog per room at £100 a night, with the bar, restaurant and terrace kept for people.