City guide · Scotland · Europe
An extinct volcano inside the city, a meadow where the whole town walks its dogs, and a rooftop brewery on the Grassmarket.
6 places5 categories6 neighbourhoods2 with an off-leash area
6 places, each checked against the venue's own information
Neighbourhoods covered: Holyrood, Marchmont, Stockbridge, Old Town, Grassmarket, New Town, Edinburgh.
Holyrood Park is a 260-hectare upland landscape wrapped around Arthur's Seat, the extinct volcano in the middle of Edinburgh. It takes in the lochs of St Margaret's and Duddingston, the ruins of St Anthony's Chapel and a network of grassy paths, crags and rough hill tracks above the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
The Meadows is a broad, flat expanse of grass, tree-lined paths and sports pitches on Edinburgh's south side, managed by the City of Edinburgh Council. It is the largest open park in central Edinburgh and has no gates, so it works as an easy, sociable walk from the Old Town or the university quarter.
No photo yetThe Pantry is a brunch café in the heart of Stockbridge, on North West Circus Place a few steps from the Water of Leith. It serves locally sourced breakfasts, brunch and lunch, including eggs benedict, Belgian waffles, a Scottish fry and a well-known chicken and chorizo sausage roll.
No photo yetVirgin Hotels Edinburgh is a five-star hotel in the Old Town, just off the Royal Mile on Victoria Street. Dogs stay free, whatever their size or breed, and are given a locally made tartan dog bed, food and water bowls, a blanket, a towel and treats on arrival in the chamber.
No photo yetCold Town House is a three-floor brewery, bar and rooftop at the western end of the Grassmarket, brewing Cold Town Beer on site and pouring it straight from the tanks. It serves stone-baked Neapolitan pizza, loaded fries and other bar food, and its roof terrace looks up to Edinburgh Castle.
No photo yetClassic American dining on George Street, minutes from Princes Street and Waverley Station. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the seasonal outdoor seating area, while guide and registered service dogs are permitted throughout.
Leash rules, off-leash hours and whether dogs are allowed inside are set locally and change without notice. Each listing here says what the venue or the responsible authority publishes, and the listing page links to the page we checked, so you can confirm the current rule before you set out. Outside a signed off-leash area, keep the dog on a lead.
No venue can pay to be listed or to rank higher, and no listing carries an invented rating or a stock photograph standing in for the real place. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will re-check it.
Heath and common land where off-lead walking is written into the rules, plus pubs with a dog wash in the garden.
A brasserie that says outright it welcomes dogs, dog cafes in the Marais, and one of the city's thirteen off-leash areas.
Beer gardens older than most countries, a forest where the lake is legally open to dogs, and the most dog-tolerant cafe culture in Europe.
Brown cafes with a dog under the table, a designated dog beach on the Gaasperplas, and a canal-house hotel that takes one small dog.
Terraces where a leashed dog is welcome by law, the city's one official dog beach, and a brewery hall with room to spare.
Third-wave coffee with a water bowl, the first dog park in the old city, and a rooftop with a view over the Tagus.
Send it in and we will check it against the venue's own information before it goes live. Venue owners can also send a photograph of their place — free, with the credit kept.
