Edinburgh is one of the best cities in the UK to experience the growing hotel-hopping trend, with new research from Hotels.com revealing that more than half of travellers now book multiple hotels in a single destination. Forever Edinburgh’s latest winter campaign shows why the capital is made for this style of stay.

The Stay Different campaign from Forever Edinburgh highlights how visitors can blend two types of holiday in one trip. Whether it’s outdoor adventure, a trip to nature, bustling city life or cultural immersion, Edinburgh makes it easy to switch from one to the other without ever leaving the city.

In winter, the contrast is at its best: bracing hikes and forest walks followed by warm and welcoming galleries, earlier sunsets during “golden hour” and fireside dining.

Edinburgh offers unique winter experiences for visitors looking to Stay Wild. The brave of heart can take a dip in the icy waters of Wardie Bay or Portobello Beach, before warming up at nearby Soul Water Sauna. Thrill-seekers can race through frosty slopes on Hillend’s Alpine Coaster, while Jupiter Artland, a contemporary art park and gallery, has opened its grounds for its first-ever winter season, offering visitors the chance to experience its striking sculptures and landscapes transformed in winter colours and savour the season’s unique flavour through festive afternoon tea or a truly special wild dining experience.

This is the season when the outdoors truly shine, as the hills and waterways take on a distinct winter character. The famous seven hills of Edinburgh offer frost-dusted landscapes and panoramic views under the low winter sun, creating dramatic shadows and visual contrasts unique to the season. Along the Water of Leith, winter’s touch reveals hidden corners of Stockbridge and Dean Village, while quieter trails offer a reflective, peaceful atmosphere. Up the coast, kayaking trips on the Firth of Forth with Driftwood Adventure are particularly special at this time of year, when seal pups born in November gather around Inchkeith Island and dolphins are more frequently spotted. These activities give visitors a taste of Edinburgh’s adventurous side in a way that no other season can.

Those who prefer to Stay Enlightened can immerse themselves in the city’s cultural glow as the city showcases a host of unique and illuminating events to light up the darker days. The Scottish Storytelling Centre opens the season with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, the world’s largest celebration of storytelling. The city is also the perfect escape for literary lovers, as the shorter days create a cosy atmosphere for exploring Edinburgh’s literary heritage on the National Library of Scotland’s trails or browsing one of the city’s many remarkable bookshops before curling up with a new read in a café overlooking the misty skyline.

Creative spirits can join workshops at Edinburgh Printmakers or photography sessions at Stills, or take a rosy-cheeked tour with Pic Tours, which showcases Edinburgh’s most photogenic spots transformed by winter light and highlights the city’s stunning Gothic architecture. Those seeking warmth can unwind at the historic Dominion Cinema in Morningside or take in Leith’s historic waterfront with a warming dram at the Port of Leith Distillery then chase away the chill with soul-stirring blues at the Leith Winter Blues Weekend, a new annual event beginning January 2026.

Hotel hoppers can unwind at Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, which combines country estate comfort with roaring fires and panoramic views of the frost-tipped Pentlands, while The Lane Hotel in Morningside and Dakota Edinburgh in South Queensferry provide cosy bases for winter walks and coastal trails. In the city centre, The Scotsman Hotel combines historic character with crackling fires, elegant dining and seasonal events, like its Winter Garden with mulled wine and jazz, all just steps from the festive lights, illuminated closes and Edinburgh’s winter cultural highlights. For a more intimate stay, 21212 pairs fine dining with luxury rooms overlooking Calton Hill, offering a front-row seat to winter’s golden hour.

Winter also brings the best of Scotland’s seasonal flavours. Visitors can Stay Wild with the finest of the Scottish seasonal basket, from fresh seafood to warming game dishes, at Michelin-starred restaurants such as The Kitchin, Martin Wishart and The Heron, as the city’s dining scene pushes boundaries and cements Edinburgh as a leading foodie destination, with 34 venues featured in the 2025 Michelin Guide.

For a change of perspective, guests can Stay Enlightened at Café Calton atop Calton Hill, where early sunsets paint the city in a soft, golden light, pairing masterfully with their thoughtful selection of tipples and treats, before evenings end with live music and storytelling in tucked-away bars, where Edinburgh’s warmth, creativity and charm glows brightest during the darker months.

Cllr Jane Meagher, leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Edinburgh in winter is a city of contrasts, where wild landscapes meet a vibrant cultural heart. Visitors can wake to frost-tipped hills, explore quiet waterways and return to warm, welcoming hotels or immerse themselves in galleries, storytelling and seasonal dining across the city.

“The Stay Different campaign shows that winter here is not a season to avoid, but one to embrace: you can be adventurous, curious, inspired or wild all in the same trip. With so many ways to mix outdoor exploration, urban discovery and cultural experiences and the chance to try multiple hotels in one stay, Edinburgh offers a winter visit like no other.”

Stay Different celebrates the freedom to design a holiday that feels personal – to mix nature and culture, exploration and relaxation or even neighbourhoods and hotel styles. Compact, walkable and connected by award-winning sustainable transport, the city makes it easy to move between hillside, shore and historic centre in a single day.

Forever Edinburgh’s Stay Different campaign celebrates the freedom to design a stay that feels unique – to split time between adventure and relaxation, nature and culture or even one neighbourhood and the next. With so many distinct areas and styles of accommodation, Edinburgh is the ideal place to plan a hotel-hopping winter escape.

Find out what makes you stay this winter at: www.Edinburgh.org/staydifferent

View the Stay Different winter here video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Ct3w1elc4

Stay Different YouTube Video embed link:

Stay Different is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.