Take the weight off your feet and grab a coffee. When you walk back up the street, other troupes will be promoting their wares, so there is always something new to keep you entertained.
You can easily spend a day doing this and even the on-off rain won't spoil the show.
It's a dream for a photographer. The great thing is that these people are performers and they want to be photographed.
Below the Royal Mile along Princes Street there are musicians performing for free.
A 15-minute set and then the next band are up - this one playing bluesy jazz, the next playing Spanish folk or Bluegrass.
These street shows are the hors d'oeuvres. The main course is in venues large and small dotted about the city - including the aforementioned giant purple Udderbelly.
The Botttom Line
My wife Tamara and I liked Edinburgh so much that we moved here to live. Perhaps it was the strong sense of identity and sense of fairness of the Scots people we met. Perhaps it was the willingness to talk and discuss things in a more than superficial way.
Perhaps it was the friendliness. Perhaps we noticed how very peaceful and good-humoured the Festival was - with hardly a policeman in sight to control the huge crowds. Instead it was all done with an easy sense of being civilised and having fun.
The Next Step
Want to find out more? Try The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide: How to Make Your Show A Success by Mark Fisher. The Kindle edition is available now and the paperback will be out in April.
Article comments
1 - Mark Fisher
Like you, I came to Edinburgh as a visitor and never left. That was about 25 years ago. Thanks for the plug for my book, The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide. It's already available in the UK and has been getting great feedback.
All the best,
2 - David Bennett
Hi Mark,
Thank you for the comment.
Glad the Fringe Survival Guide is doing well.
By a highly serendipitous coincidence, my wife picked your book off the shelf at The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh this lunchtime, just minutes before I checked my mail and saw your comment.
Perhaps we can try to hook up at some point - I am sure we can find lots to talk about!