Edinburgh

ash777

Hi everyone,

Hopefully traveling to Edinburgh for 4 days in a few week's time. Have never been before, but there's a good gig on, and a friend of mine moved there a while back. Don't need any hotel/accomodation recommendations, thankfully, as am staying with my friend . Am arriving late on the first day, and the 2nd day will be fairly dominated by the gig and such. Any recommendations for 2 days in Edinburgh? I've read online that they do an open top bus city sights tour, and I did that in London before and loved it, it was so handy seeing everything and not having to search for it, and just being able to hop on and off the bus if something really stood out for you So, any ideas/recommendations for me? Thanks very much

Lapin

If the weather is fine, climb Arthur's Seat.
It takes less than an hour and the views from the top are magnificent.

ash777

Thanks, Lapin. I'm sort of lazy, so I pobably won't be going for any hikes :eek:, lol. Any other suggestions, or anyone else care to give any advice? Is Edinbugh Castle/The Palace of HolyoodHouse? Thanking you!

FouxDaFaFa

I can also vouch for Arthur's Seat, if you happen to reconsider. It isn't that hard a hike and you walk past Holyrood and the Parliament to get to it so you can pack a lot in!

The ghost tours are a bit of fun. I did one that takes you to the underground vaults, that was good. Also did a walking tour one which I didn't enjoy as much.

I don't know what your budget is like but you could always use one of the days to take a day trip to the Highlands? Stirling castle and Loch Lomond, etc.

Elephant House Café is where JK Rowling wrote a lot of Harry Potter, worth a look.

Museums: Natural History is great. They've recently re-opened the Portrait Museum too and I've heard nothing but good things about it.

Otherwise, you could spend a nice relaxing day wandering around the Gardens on Prince's st.

ash777

Thanks, Foux. Haven't heard of any of the ghost tours, could you point me in their general spooky direction, or do you know who ran your's? How do you see the underground vaults, if it's not a walking tour, is is some sort of tram? Ooh, Elephant House Cafe, that'd be good, love Harry Potter, pure legend that woman! I actually don't know much about the museums, does the natural history one have any dinosaur stuff? Pure dino dork here, lol! I've heard Prince's Street gardens are meant to be lovely alright, will hopefully get to have a wander there, that (Prince's St.) is meant to be the main high street there, isn't it? Is the city easy enough to get around, it doesn't look huge, so is it easy enough to find stuff and find your way back to other stuff, don't know if that sentence is clear at all, caffeine is on my current itinerary :rolleyes: Does the plane really take 1 hr. 40 mins? Cork - Edinburgh?? I know they always say an hour from Ireland - London, but sure you'd be there in 40 mins, just wondering it the time a bit over estimated for Scotland too? Thanks a mill, and anyone with any more advice, please pop in!:)

FouxDaFaFa

There's really only one or two main ghost tour companies. Mercat own a lot of property, including some of the underground vaults. So that's how they have the monopoly on that. You can't get to the vaults yourself, it's just a different kind of tour they do than the overground one. Nat History has lots of dinosaur skeletons, don't worry!
Prince's St would be considered the main high st, yes. Think Primark, Topshop, etc. George St (behind it) is where the fancy shops are and where the high-end clubs are.
Everything is very close together in the centre, you shouldn't have much trouble finding your way around.
If you're flying with Ryanair they've probably overestimated the time slightly.

spurious

Book this: http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/

Hugely enjoyable, but make sure you book.

A2LUE42

If you are travelling with kids, Dynamic earth is worth a visit.
The Scott Monument is a must, as it's so central. If you want something different, go out to Leith and you can go on-board the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Lapin

ash777 wrote: »

Does the plane really take 1 hr. 40 mins? Cork - Edinburgh?? I know they always say an hour from Ireland - London, but sure you'd be there in 40 mins, just wondering it the time a bit over estimated for Scotland too? Thanks a mill, and anyone with any more advice, please pop in!:)

Nah. The airlines overestimate the amount of time it takes to get from A - B in their timetables.

Actual flying time from Cork to Edinburgh is just over an hour.

ash777

FouxDaFaFa wrote: »

There's really only one or two main ghost tour companies. Mercat own a lot of property, including some of the underground vaults. So that's how they have the monopoly on that. You can't get to the vaults yourself, it's just a different kind of tour they do than the overground one. Nat History has lots of dinosaur skeletons, don't worry!
Prince's St would be considered the main high st, yes. Think Primark, Topshop, etc. George St (behind it) is where the fancy shops are and where the high-end clubs are.
Everything is very close together in the centre, you shouldn't have much trouble finding your way around.
If you're flying with Ryanair they've probably overestimated the time slightly.

Thanks so much for all the info, great stuff!

spurious wrote: »

Book this: http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/

Hugely enjoyable, but make sure you book.

Thanks for the info!

A2LUE42 wrote: »

If you are travelling with kids, Dynamic earth is worth a visit.
The Scott Monument is a must, as it's so central. If you want something different, go out to Leith and you can go on-board the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Won't be travelling with kids, but thank you. That's cool, I didn't know you could go on board the yacht, coolness.

Lapin wrote: »

Nah. The airlines overestimate the amount of time it takes to get from A - B in their timetables.

Actual flying time from Cork to Edinburgh is just over an hour.

Thanks again, Lapin.

Lots of Edinburgh-goers here, great stuff! Anybody else an Edinburgh expert, or have any ideas?

ash777

Bump! Anyone have any other suggestions??

Miaireland

It really depends what you are into. Do the open bus tour.

The Castle is interesting but is (or was when I was there) quite expensive toi get in.

The Whiskey tour is good.

The Royal Palace is meant to be interesting.

I really enjoyed the tour of the Scottish Parliament but it may not be of interest to everyone.

Mary King close is also meant to be interesting.

The check in staff at Edinburgh are very strict when it comes to hand luggage.
Edinburgh is easy to get a room and is serviced by an excellent bus service. Buy the day tickets rather than an individual ticket for each journey if you are going to make more than two.

Bear in mind that you will be flying Aer-Lingus Commuter so the hand baggage allowance is only 7kg rather than the usual ten and the bag size is smaller than normal.

pawrick

When I was there the castle was free - seems a certain day each month is free so worth looking in to as others have said it is expensive...but still worth a half day visit, the war memorial in it is very interesting also - felt a bit odd see stained glass windows with images of modern soldiers. They were also doing hand to hand combat demos when i was there and other stuff like that.

The royal palace - it was just ok for me and would only recommend it if you need to get out of the rain. They don't allow you to take pictures in doors even without a flash (they will shout at you) - I've a lovely pic of a security guy coming towards me shouting.
There is a ruined church in the grounds which is nice and you can look at the grave markers etc. - it's near the parliament and Arthurs seat.

I also did the open top bus trip and it was worth it for getting around as the ticket lasts 24 hours and helps you get your bearings.

Lovely city imo would go back

HavingCrack

Dynamic Earth is good fun even if you're not a kid

ash777

Thanks very much, guys.

Miaireland wrote: »

It really depends what you are into..

I suppose I'd be interested in touristey stuff and normal stuff - like normal cool stuff the people living there would be into. Sorry if I didn't make it at all clear, oops :rolleyes:

Miaireland wrote: »

I really enjoyed the tour of the Scottish Parliament but it may not be of interest to everyone.

I actually didn't know you could do one, that's cool, thanks.

Miaireland wrote: »

Mary King close is also meant to be interesting..

What is that, a park?? Will Google when finished relpying, so this is probably redundant!!!

Miaireland wrote: »

The check in staff at Edinburgh are very strict when it comes to hand luggage.
Edinburgh is easy to get a room and is serviced by an excellent bus service. Buy the day tickets rather than an individual ticket for each journey if you are going to make more than two..Bear in mind that you will be flying Aer-Lingus Commuter so the hand baggage allowance is only 7kg rather than the usual ten and the bag size is smaller than normal

I'm paying for checked in luggage (went and splurged, lol), so I'm not that worried about the weight and stuff. I didn't actually know that the hand luggage amounts were smaller - I'm flying on Aer Lingus, but it's going to be on an Aer Arann flight, bit weird like! Cool, didn't know there were day bus tickets. Will be staying with a friend, so thankfully I don't have to pay for accomodation :pac:

pawrick wrote: »

When I was there the castle was free - seems a certain day each month is free so worth looking in to as others have said it is expensive...but still worth a half day visit. The royal palace - it was just ok for me and would only recommend it if you need to get out of the rain. They don't allow you to take pictures in doors even without a flash (they will shout at you) - I've a lovely pic of a security guy coming towards me shouting. I also did the open top bus trip and it was worth it for getting around as the ticket lasts 24 hours and helps you get your bearings.

That's cool if it'd be free. I was reading up that there's a lot to Edinburgh Castle, didn't realise it was a half day's trip. Hmm...That pic of the security guy coming your way must take pride of place in your holiday snaps pile, lol Yeah, I was thinking the bus trip would help with the ol' bearing alright

HavingCrack wrote: »

Dynamic Earth is good fun even if you're not a kid

Must actyally look it up, never even heard of it!!

I suppose bacially I don't really know much about the city, never been and can't seem to find loads online!!! Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places?!! So any help is much appreciated. Cheers.

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

I'd recommend going to the Camera Obscura near the castle, Its a museum of all illusions so it's novelty really compared to normal museums! Really good fun!
http://www.camera-obscura.co.uk/

I wouldnt bother getting the castle tour unless its free that day! You can walk in to the front part of the castle for free and get few nice photos!

Again Arthurs Seat is definitely a must-see if the weather is good! It really isnt a trek at all and the view is well worth it!

Edinburgh Zoo has this really cool thing called the Penguin Parade that happens every day at 2.15pm
http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/attractions/penguinparade.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hocght2zfhA
Would definitely check that out!!

The National Museum just opened up a cool new section last summer where you can find a stuffed Dolly the Sheep!! I kid you not!! ! Great place to head on the rainy day and its free entry! Bypass the boring history sections if you like and head straight for the new section!
http://www.nms.ac.uk/

Oh and the Edinburgh Dungeons were good too!

Hope these suggestions help!!

boo-yaw-ka-shaa

boo-yaw-ka-shaa wrote: »

I'd recommend going to the Camera Obscura near the castle, Its a museum of all illusions so it's novelty really compared to normal museums! Really good fun!
http://www.camera-obscura.co.uk/

This. It's one of Scotland's most-visited tourist attractions and well worth visiting. I've lost count of the number of times I've watched the actual camera obscura live views of the city, but I still enjoy it.

I don't know if anyone mentioned the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo, but they are a major attraction at the moment. You have to pre-book.

http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/visiting/panda.html

Be advised that Princes Street is a mess at the moment because of the tramworks. You can get around OK, but crossing the street to the gardens can be a bit of a trek.

I'd also agree with the advice about the Castle. It's a bit expensive for what it is, to tell the truth.

Elvis_Presley

Do the dungeons and a ghost tour. Ghost tours are amazing, but don't waste your time with the ones that go into the vaults. There's one that leaves from the church on the Royal Mile (St Giles Cathedral) that goes to the graveyard on Candlemaker Row - I've been on all the tours and this one's the best. If you want to go into the vaults go to Caberet Voltaire (I believe that they may have sadly recently closed for renovation, why renovate a classic - greatest pulling club in the world!) or to the Caves and make a night of it. Nightlife in Edinburgh is amazing but you need to know where to go. This time of year the students are studying so it's quieter but fun can still be had. Cowgate/grassmarket are great for pubs. Biddy Mulligans is good fun, I normally avoid Irish bars like the plague but Biddy's is fun. I hear the Salsa bar has reopened - love that place -£1 drinks and epic banter. The library bar in Bristo Sq is fun and cheap and really nice building if you're friend has a student card. Forrest Cafe on Bristo Place is a great place to chill out on the afternoon/evening. Lots of great bands play there and lots of interesting people there - definitely worth a visit. Rush on the Cowgate is a great bar to start the night - very cheap and always great banter. Don't bother with the Castle - I got in for free and almost demanded my money back.

Glasgow's worth a visit too if you can make it. Ignore everything you have ever heard about Glasgow - it's one of the most cultural and cosmopolitan cities I've have been too and I've been may places. Shopping is also great here. Spend an afternoon wandering the West End and the University and eat in the Hillhead Bookclub. Have a few drinks in Ashton Lane. Don't bother with the Kelvingrove Museum or the Gallery of Modern Art - the best thing about both places is the buildings. 40mins on the train with trains leaving every 15mins during peek times. The National Museum in Edinburgh is amazing, spend a rainy afternoon there. If you are lucky and it's sunny, go to the Meadows with a few cans and lie on the grass. The Meadows are amazing on a sunny day. As you can probably tell, I love Edinburgh! I've been planning things to do with my girlfriend next week and I may have just filled a day! Any questions just ask. Enjoy! Oh and go to Lava on a Sunday night for cheesy music - the dance floor alone is worth it. And getting kicked out of Lava is a great experience that everyone should try once!

dreamer2009

Edinburgh Dungeon is good fun, as is the zoo. The Penguin Parade at 3pm is hilarious.

I would recommend Camera Obscura if you are into illusions.

The Caddies and Witchery Tour is really well done and I would go on the Edinburgh Literary Pub Crawl if you want a totally different way to learn about the history of Edinburgh.

All of the above you can do on the Edinburgh pass and if you want to see a few things in one day it is definitely worth the money to buy the pass.

Its a great city. Enjoy

ash777

Bump! Thank you all the people I haven't thanked who have chimed in the last four times, much appreciated!

ash777

Bumpity bump!

Lapin

When are you going Ash?

If you're into soccer there will be a good buzz around the city in the coming weeks as both Edinburgh teams, (Hibs & Hearts) are in the Scottish Cup Final next month. The first time this has happened in over a century!

ash777

Lapin wrote: »

When are you going Ash?

If you're into soccer there will be a good buzz around the city in the coming weeks as both Edinburgh teams, (Hibs & Hearts) are in the Scottish Cup Final next month. The first time this has happened in over a century!

Thanks Lapin! Have been and am back now, it was really lovely. Thanks very much for all the suggestions. Would definitely recommend it, it's a gorgeous city!