Dublin vs Edinburgh

Ireland · Europe

Dublin

is The Liberties
UK · Europe

Edinburgh

is Leith

Both neighborhoods used to be the part of town you didn't go to. Now they're the reason you came. The difference is what they're built on. The Liberties runs on history you can taste - whiskey, weekend markets at Newmarket, antique shops that pre-date your grandparents. Leith runs on water and what comes off the boats - three Michelin stars in a postcode locals still apologize for. Pick The Liberties if you want old stones and live music spilling out of pubs. Pick Leith if you want a long lunch by the harbour and nowhere to be after.

The Brooklyn of

Dublin is The Liberties.

The Liberties is Dublin's oldest neighborhood and it feels like it. Cobblestones, whiskey distilleries, and antique shops on Francis Street that haven't changed in decades. But the coffee is third-wave, the restaurants punch well above their weight, and on Saturday mornings the Newmarket square hums with life. Old Dublin and new Dublin, arguing productively.

Four working whiskey distilleries now operate within a few blocks of each other in The Liberties, a neighbourhood that had zero between 1976 and 2015.
The Brooklyn of

Edinburgh is Leith.

Leith is Edinburgh's port town that swallowed its pride and became the best place to eat and drink in the city. The Shore still smells like salt water. Constitution Street has more interesting restaurants per block than the Royal Mile has tartan shops. People nurse pints at waterside tables for hours, watching the boats do nothing, and that's the point.

Leith packs 3 Michelin-starred restaurants into a neighbourhood most of Edinburgh still thinks of as the rough end of town.
The numbers

At a glance.

Dublin Edinburgh
Region Europe Europe
Country Ireland UK
Neighborhood The Liberties Leith
Currency EUR GBP
Language English English
Cost level $$$ Moderate to expensive $$$ Moderate to expensive
Best months May, June and September May and June, plus September
Local time UTC+1 UTC+1
Plug UK plug UK plug
Emergency 112, 999 999
Vibe overlap

What they share, and what they don't.

Both

Dublin only

Edinburgh only

The verdict

It depends on the weekend.

Dublin Drinking history straight from the source, with four distilleries, Saturday markets, and centuries of street life packed into walking distance.

Edinburgh Eating seriously well by the water, with more ambitious kitchens per block than anywhere else in Edinburgh.

Read Dublin in full → Read Edinburgh in full →
Common questions

Dublin or Edinburgh, answered.

Is Dublin or Edinburgh better for fine dining?
Edinburgh wins. Leith runs on what comes off the boats, with Michelin stars and more ambitious kitchens per block than anywhere else in the city. Constitution Street stacks serious restaurants tight. The Liberties in Dublin punches above its weight and the food is good, but it is built on whiskey and markets, not the long harbour lunch. Go to Leith to eat seriously.
Is Dublin or Edinburgh better for whiskey and markets?
Dublin. The Liberties packs four distilleries, Saturday markets at Newmarket, and antique shops on Francis Street into walking distance. It is Dublin's oldest neighborhood and runs on history you can taste. Leith in Edinburgh is about waterfront eating and slow pints by the boats, not distilleries or weekend market squares. For whiskey straight from the source, choose The Liberties.
Which is cooler, The Liberties or Leith?
Depends what you want. The Liberties gives you cobblestones, live music spilling out of pubs, and old Dublin arguing with third-wave coffee. Leith gives you salt air, waterside tables, and the best eating and drinking in Edinburgh with nowhere to be after. Both cost the same. Pick The Liberties for old stones and noise, Leith for a long lunch by the harbour.
If you like this

Try one of these.

Budapest vs Dublin

Europe

Dublin vs Glasgow

Europe

Bristol vs Edinburgh

Europe
The dispatch

Stay in the loop.

New cities, updated guides, and travel tips for the neighborhoods worth visiting. Join the list.