Edinburgh Fringe Festival

lc180

I love Edinburgh, have been 3 times before but but never been to the Fringe Festival, I'm thinking this year will be the year.

I don't need any help with flights or accommodation recommendations but just any tips regarding the festival as a whole. I see it lasts about a month so just wondering is it the same entertainment all month, is there a peak weekend or is it crazy busy all month?

Any tips or feedback on previous trips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

zemphis

I lived in Edinburgh for a number of years and so got to go to the Fringe a lot. The city is pretty crazy for the length of the Fringe though probably slightly busier in the second half. The weekends are definitely busier than the the week days. There is a great buzz around the whole city during the whole run. Along the Royal Mile is great (or hell if you don't like crowds and are actually trying to get somewhere) They usually have wee stages set up and shows get a ten minutes or so to play to the crowds.

Yes, the same shows are on repeatedly. Shows may perform for the whole stretch (usually with one or two nights off a week) or they come for a stretch eg 10 days of the Fringe.

If there are any 'big names' that you really want to see, book them early. Shows do sell out, and the ones at the weekends will sell out sooner.

A couple of years while I was there, the first Monday and Tuesday had a number of 2 for 1 tickets, I think as a way of getting people in as it was early on in the whole thing. Looking at the Fringe website, it looks like the same again this year.

Depending on how you want to play things, you can sit down and plan what you want to sheet (a spreadsheet really helps to keep track of what you're seeing, when and where) or you can just take each day and go see random stuff. There is usually a Half Price Hut on the Mound, where you can get half price tickets on the day, but it's random as to what will be available. I can't remember when it opens, I know it's not open the first weekend but It's a good way to see something random, cheaply.

The other cheap option, is the Free Fringe, where, as the name suggests, the shows are free. These are usually in various pubs around the city.

It you are trying to get tickets, I would suggest booking them on-line and then collecting them at one of the ticket collection places around, instead of going to the main Fringe Booking office. If you get the brochure, they are listed in that. There is a booking fee attached to online booking but the queue for the actual ticket office is a nightmare. You can also get tickets a the various venues, though again depending on the time and venue the queues can be long and very slow moving (again always worse at the weekend). There is an app available, though I didn't have a smart phone when I was over there so never looked in to what it does/doesn't let you do.

Another good tip, is that the individual venues often do on the day 2 for 1s on various shows.

If you're looking for a show with a bit of everything, I would recommend Mervyn Stutter. He does a Pick of the Fringe show nearly every day, which is different every day. They have 6-8 different acts on of various shows and you'll see things you won't normally see and also find shows you'd like to see but wouldn't otherwise have known about. I've gone to see quite a few shows after seeing them at Mervyn, stuff I'd never have spotted in the brochure or thought to have gone to.

For food, the main restaurants can get very busy but there are lots of food stalls around, especially around the Gilded Balloon and the George's square and of course, lots of pubs!

That's all I can think of at the moment, but if you have any specific questions or need any other info, let me know and I'll do my best to answer.

lc180

Wow great advice! Thank you so much