Overview
The mile is four streets under one name, laid along the ridge left by a glacier, with narrow closes dropping away on both sides because a walled town could only build upward and inward. Those closes are the interesting part: Mary King’s Close was built over and survives underground, and half the others end in a courtyard nobody photographs. The street itself is now heavily given to tartan and fudge, which is worth knowing before you decide how long to spend on it.
Highlights
Walk downhill from the castle, not up — the gradient is serious. Turn into the closes at random; that is where the Old Town actually is. During the August festival the street becomes impassable and the rest of the city is better.