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.
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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