Edinburgh beaten by Glasgow in Time Out's ‘Best Places to Visit in the UK’ list

The English coastal town of Eastbourne was named as the No.1 place to visit in 2023

Less than six months after being hailed as the ‘Best City in the World’, Edinburgh has been ranked below Glasgow by the same publication.

Time Out’s just-published ‘Best Places to Visit in the UK’ list puts our neigbours from the west at number six – three places above our fair city.

It’s quite a turnaround considering Scotland’s picture-postcard capital beat off competiton from the likes of New York, Paris and Barcelona to be named as the number one city destination on the planet only in July.

Less than six months after being hailed as the ‘Best City in the World’, Edinburgh has been ranked below Glasgow by the same publication.

The English coastal town of Eastbourne was named as the top place to visit.

Explaining the thinking behind the list, Huw Oliver, Time Out’s UK Editor, said: “Rather than the usual hotspots, we want to highlight places, which are often ridiculously underrated or even unknown to people as travel destinations.

“In all of the places on the list, you will find interesting things to see and do and eat and drink during the day and night, a friendly welcome and a community spirit which enables you to connect with locals and really get to know a place.

“We recommend that you definitely put one or more of these destinations on your travel list for next year.”

Time Out staff selected and ranked the destinations based the food, drink and arts scenes of the locations.

Describing why Edinburgh, in 9th place, is one of the best places to visit in the UK, Time Out says: “Well, with its ancient castle slap-bang in the city centre and loads of green space, it’s bloody beautiful, for a start.

“Edinburgh is one of those places that’s small and interesting enough to walk around and see where the day takes you – from exploring the nooks of the Old Town to browsing the trendy independent shops of Stockbridge.

“The Scottish capital also has a ton of nice-looking new hotel openings for you to rest your head: check out W Edinburgh in the spanking-new St James centre and Gleneagles Townhouse for luxury Georgian chic.”

The full list of Time Out’s Best Places to Visit in the UK in 2023 is:

1 – Eastbourne

2 – Birmingham

3 – Cardigan

4 – Manchester

5 – Scarborough

6 – Glasgow

7 – Dorset

8 – London

9 – Edinburgh

10 – Liverpool

11 – Padstow

12 – Orkney

13 – Margate

14 – Sheffield

15 – Cheshire