Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
Royal Observatory, an attraction, stands in Edinburgh. There are 101 other places to visit inside 5 km. Running it is Science and Technology Facilities Council.
Attraction in Edinburgh
Inside Edinburgh
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh is inside Edinburgh’s locality, with 101 more places to visit within 5 km. Towns near it ↓
Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, NRS’s localities and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Weather through the year
In Edinburgh, June to August bring the warmest days: highs of 18–20°C.
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
Our list goes on with Edinburgh Castle, 3 km away.
- Type
- Attraction
- Run by
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- Town
- in Edinburgh
- Official site
- roe.ac.uk
Mapping Royal Observatory
On this map, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh is orange and its neighbours are numbered.
© OpenStreetMap contributors · The dashed line is Edinburgh’s locality. · NRS locality 2022
Towns near Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
Edinburgh, with 493,794 people, is the largest of the 3. Every one of these towns counts it as a place to visit.
Compare the 3 towns
| Town | Where Royal Observatory, Edinburgh is | People | Places to visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | It’s in town | 493,794 | 150 |
| Loanhead | 4.1 km south of it | 7,007 | 16 |
| Danderhall | 4.5 km east of it | 3,389 | 21 |
Worth adding to a visit
Also close at hand are 3 art galleries, a castle and a historic house, among 159 within 15 km.
Castle · Historic Environment ScotlandEdinburgh Castle3 km away2
Big drawArt galleryNational Gallery3.1 km away · 661K visitors a year (2021)3
Historic housePalace of Holyroodhouse3.5 km away4
MuseumNational Museum of Scotland2.7 km away5
CathedralSt Giles' Cathedral3 km away6
Art galleryScottish National Portrait Gallery3.6 km away · 313K visitors a year (2015)7
Abbey or prioryHolyrood Abbey3.5 km away8
Art galleryScottish National Gallery of Modern Art4 km away · 458K visitors a year (2015)Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.
Questions about Royal Observatory
Where is Royal Observatory, Edinburgh?
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh is in Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, inside the town’s locality.
What is Royal Observatory, Edinburgh?
Attraction.
Who runs Royal Observatory, Edinburgh?
Science and Technology Facilities Council.
When is the best time to visit Royal Observatory, Edinburgh?
June to August are the warmest months in Edinburgh, with afternoon highs of 18–20°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).
What else is there to see near Royal Observatory, Edinburgh?
Within 15 km: Edinburgh Castle (3 km), National Gallery (3.1 km), Palace of Holyroodhouse (3.5 km) and National Museum of Scotland (2.7 km).
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the NRS 2022 locality (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (8)
- Edinburgh Castle: Stephencdickson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Gallery: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Palace of Holyroodhouse: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Museum of Scotland: Maccoinnich~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Giles' Cathedral: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scottish National Portrait Gallery: Original uploader was Maccoinnich at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Holyrood Abbey: Enric, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art: Grousebeater2, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.