EdinburghLondon
City Stories Index · United Kingdom · 2026 edition

Edinburgh vs London

Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, London leads 4–2. Character is a different question: Edinburgh is the old town and the new; London is the city of kings and crowds.

Change the matchup

VS
  • Places with a story

    spots where a route tells you what happened there

    Edinburgh

    55

    London

    594

    London leads

  • How often you pass a story

    metres from one story to the next; fewer is better

    Edinburgh

    254

    London

    273

    Edinburgh leads

  • Historical figures

    real people you meet in its stories

    Edinburgh

    13

    London

    184

    London leads

  • Instagrammability

    score /100, on the index’s fixed scale

    Edinburgh

    20

    London

    31

    London leads

  • Group outings

    of every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+

    Edinburgh

    16

    London

    14

    Edinburgh leads

  • International visitors

    % of player reviews written in a foreign language

    Edinburgh

    4

    London

    8

    London leads

Differences under 5% count as ties. Sample sizes and definitions on the methodology page.

What their stories are about

How many places with a story each city has per theme: Edinburgh in orange, London in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.

EdinburghLondon
16 places
arts & culture
141 places
9 places
faith & churches
111 places
13 places
royalty & nobility
104 places
21 places
crime & dark history
95 places
4 places
parks & leisure
74 places
13 places
legends & myths
70 places
8 places
guilds & trade
68 places
6 places
industry & modern era
57 places

Edinburgh scorecard →

The old town and the new

London scorecard →

The city of kings and crowds