Edinburgh vs Manchester
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, they tie 3–3. Character is a different question: Edinburgh is the old town and the new; Manchester is the city that rewrote pop.
Change the matchup
Places with a story
spots where a route tells you what happened there
Edinburgh
55
Manchester
65
Manchester leads
How often you pass a story
metres from one story to the next; fewer is better
Edinburgh
254
Manchester
293
Edinburgh leads
Historical figures
real people you meet in its stories
Edinburgh
13
Manchester
12
Edinburgh leads
Instagrammability
score /100, on the index’s fixed scale
Edinburgh
20
Manchester
23
Manchester leads
Group outings
of every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+
Edinburgh
16
Manchester
19
Manchester leads
International visitors
% of player reviews written in a foreign language
Edinburgh
4
Manchester
1
Edinburgh leads
| What we measure | Edinburgh | Manchester | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 55 | 65 | Manchester |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 254 | 293 | Edinburgh |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 13 | 12 | Edinburgh |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 20 | 23 | Manchester |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 16 | 19 | Manchester |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 4 | 1 | Edinburgh |
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, Manchester in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
Edinburgh scorecard
The old town and the new
Manchester scorecard
The city that rewrote pop
