You can spend a lot of money at the Edinburgh Festival, especially once you add up accommodation, food and the cost of tickets for shows and events. But the festival city runs on more than ticketed shows - there's a huge amount to see and do for free, if you know where to look. Which, living a short way outside Edinburgh, I do.
Here are a few of my go-to free Edinburgh festival things to do, that go a bit further than 'wander around and let's see what happens.'
The Free Fringe is a whole strand, not just odd shows
If you only know one thing about free festival shows, know this: there's an entire strand of the Fringe built around it. The PBH Free Fringe, founded by comedian Peter Buckley Hill back in 1996, runs dozens of shows across the city that you don't book in advance - you just turn up. There's usually a bucket for donations on the way out if you enjoyed it, but nothing's obligatory. It's an easy way to see good comedy and theatre without spending a penny.
Free BBC recordings
The BBC records a handful of programmes live at the festival every year, with free audience tickets going out first-come-first-served. I've heard that this year it includes Front Row, Loose Ends, Breaking the News, Scotcast and Travelling Folk, recorded at the Spiegeltent as part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, 17–21 August. It's worth checking the BBC's website directly for more info but there's no booking fee, and seats go fast.
The International Festival's free events
The Edinburgh International Festival isn't only the ticketed, big-production side of things. This year it opens with a free event, Together We Rise, in Princes Street Gardens on Sunday 9 August from 2pm - a series of pop-up performances, from a brass band to a gospel choir, building to a finale across the gardens. The festival closes with a free outdoor fireworks concert (weather permitting) over the Castle too, so it's worth keeping an eye on the festival's own listings for both ends of August.
Church concerts
This is one of the most overlooked free things to do in Edinburgh during the festival. Edinburgh's churches host free lunchtime concerts all the way through August, and they're a real break from all the mayhem of the festival.
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St Giles' Cathedral, on the Royal Mile, hosts free lunchtime recitals from touring choirs and musicians throughout the month - donations are welcome but not essential to attend. I love these as outside, it's crowds and mayhem, but step inside and it's an oasis of calm
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Greyfriars Kirk runs a free Summer Organ Series over the festival period, it's another lovely quiet space to step away from the crowds into - and very cool, if the weather is warm which this year it has been, for once.
In a nutshell these are a relaxing 45 minutes of good, live music for nothing.
Free galleries and museums
Edinburgh's major galleries are free year-round, which makes them an easy fallback on a wet festival afternoon - or when you simply want a break from the shows.
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National Museum of Scotland
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Scottish National Gallery
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Scottish National Portrait Gallery
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Modern One and Modern Two
None of these need booking, all of them are proper, serious collections rather than tourist filler, and most are a short walk from the centre of the action.
The Mound and the Royal Mile
We all know about the street performers on the Royal Mile, and they're worth your time - jugglers, fire-eaters, magicians, unicyclists. Less well known: the Mound runs free open-air performance stages on most days through the festival.
Free things for kids
The Edinburgh International Book Festival runs a children's programme with daily free events, 15–30 August this year - some drop-in, some need booking in advance, so it's worth checking their site before you turn up expecting a queue-free walk-in. I loved these when my lot were all little.
Take your own architecture tour
They call it 'The Athens of the North' and you can see why. Everywhere you look are stunning buildings, from Old Town tenements to the beautiful leafiness of the New Town. So just walk, look around you, look up and marvel at the beauty of a truly skyscraper-free cityscape, I forget how unique this is until I go to other cities where the skyline is dominated by towers in the sky.
And when you've had enough of queuing
Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill, Dean Village and Princes Street Gardens all do exactly what you'd expect of them and cost nothing at all. A sandwich in the Gardens, a bracing walk up Archur's Seat to see the views over Edinburgh or a walk up Calton Hill at the end of a long festival day is a good refresher after a few days of shows - and you'll also find some fantastic performers at the top. And you needn't spend a penny.
Alexandra Borthwick is a journalist, editor, and founder of Made Scotland (madescotland.com), an online store helping individuals and businesses find beautiful Scottish-made gifts - including bespoke corporate gifting.
