It’s a matter of days before the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe returns for the first time in two years with over 3000 shows across the city, hundreds of venues and bars to visit over four weeks. It’s natural to feel a bit lost so here is our locals guide to the fringe to make sure you have the best experience possible.
Many locals have a love hate relationship with the Fringe, the city’s population triples, nearly every free space in the city becomes a pop up venue or bar and it becomes nearly impossible to walk around the city centre without being handed a million leaflets.
But of all the negatives that we tut at and have a moan about, summer in Edinburgh is spectacular and the atmosphere and experience of the Fringe is like nothing else.
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Firstly the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is split between a number of organisers including, Assembly, Underbelly, Just the Tonic, C Venues and the Pleasance, which each host several venues across the city. You will know which venue you are in by the staff t-shirts usually with Assembly staff wearing red, Underbelly sporting purple and the Pleasance staff usually in yellow. To get the full experience it's worth visiting at least one venue from each.
Where to start
This year is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's 75th anniversary and takes place from 05 – 29 August 2022. You can now browse and book shows at edfringe.com. But the best thing to do if you are in the city is grab a copy of the Fringe brochure and flick through circling shows you want to see to get a real idea.
A must experience of the Edinburgh Fringe is to take a long walk up the Royal Mile from Hunter Square to George IV Bridge, this is where you will find street performers taking to the stage up and down the iconic street all day every day. Many shows will perform previews up and down the street - bursting into song or a dramatic performance before handing you a leaflet so its a good place to find some shows you really want to see.
How to enjoy the fringe on a budget
It's a myth that you have to spend a lot of money to enjoy the Fringe, with a little bit of knowing and organisation you have a full experience while only spending £10 / £20 a day.
There are a number of supermarkets on Nicolson Street and the Bridges including a Lidl where you can get cheaper food and drink options. If you still want to experience the bougie aesthetic of George Square Gardens but are on a budget you can alternate between having one or two there and heading somewhere cheaper later on outside of the venue.
There are hundreds of free Fringe shows running across the city every day throughout August. Most of the venues are central and close to each other to it is easy to get around. Some of the UK's most famous comedians were first discovered at the Free Fringe so it is definitely worth a look.
Although it is free performers will ask for donations at the end of the show if you enjoyed it. Coming to the Fringe and going down the Free Fringe route is a massive gamble for performers and they still have all the costs that ticketed entertainers do, so if you enjoy the show please do give them what you can. The price difference is still huge and there are some really fantastic acts on.
How to get around hassle-free
This year to make getting around easier the Lothian Buses App will show you exactly how to get to your venue and which bus services to take all you have to do is download the app and type in the venue number.
Luckily Edinburgh is a small city and despite the hills and uneven terrain it makes having hundreds of venues across the city pretty easy to get to - especially if you have packed in back to back shows all in one afternoon. The city is a lot busier in August so it’s important to leave enough time to get to your venue - there is nothing worse than walking into a show that has already started and getting a telling off from the comedian.
I'm local and from the Old Town / City Centre and it takes me at least double the amount of time it normally does during the rest of the year to get from one location to another so my top tip is make sure you leave enough time.
This is a boring one but we are having an abnormally warm summer in the capital and with all the walking around and drinking you will be doing it is important to stay hydrated. Again this doesn’t need to cost a fortune, don't be fooled into paying £3.50 for a plastic bottle of water.
You can ask for tap water at pretty much any venue across the city and this includes bars and restaurants. Our tap water is magnificent so you'd be daft to pay for a worse alternative. There are also a number of water fountains in the city located in Grassmarket and on the High Street you can fill up at.
All the venues have the best of the Fringe showcases on so if you really aren’t sure what to go for this is a good shout. They also change the acts included as the festival goes on so even if you go twice you will get to see some top new shows.
Must-visit food spots
This brings us onto food and drink. Edinburgh has a brilliant varied and really good value food and drink scene especially in festival territory. Located just across the road from Underbelly's Bristo Square and up the road from George Square is Forrest Road. This holds the golden trinity of restaurants in the area made up of Civerinos Slice, El Cartel and Ting Thai. Each offer a different cuisine, really reasonable prices and the most delicious food.
From Civerinos Slice you can grab a slice to go or sit in and share a whole pie with friends - or to yourself we aren’t judging. They also do Parmesan fries, frozen cocktails and Nutella doughnuts. Just across the road is Ting Thai which serve a range of soups, Pad Thai, small boxes and sides perfect for a really tasty and healthy lunch or dinner. Finally a couple doors up from Ting Thai is El Cartel, offering tacos and small plates with the freshest ingredients and most unique flavour combinations.
They also do the BEST frozen margaritas in the city.
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There are dozens of top restaurants and pubs worth a visit during the Fringe, you can find many reviews and features from across the year in our Food and Drink section but it's worth having a look on Trip Advisor too. Hospitality staff work incredibly hard doing long hours and often taking on extra shifts to cover the influx of customers from the festival so please be kind and considerate.
If you are buying drinks from the shops to take back to your hotel room or to enjoy in the park you will have to purchase them before 10pm due to Scottish Licensing laws. Always good to be prepared. You can drink outside pretty much anywhere in the city but be aware for the areas with signs up where you can't such as Hunters Square and Nicolson Square.
We will have much more Fringe coverage to come including must see shows, top food and drink spots and places to take a break from the madness which you can find in our Fringe section of the site.
Keep safe, look after your friends and get ready to have the best Edinburgh Fringe experience possible!
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