Edinburgh

Introduction

Edinburgh Castle

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Edinburgh may be dubbed the Athens of the North, but in truth it is an exceptional and unique city. While it's surpassed in size by Glasgow, Edinburgh is Scotland's most popular attraction as well as its capital. It is home to the Scottish Parliament and features a historic combination of Georgian and Medieval architectural styles. Not surprisingly, its Old Town and New Town have both been named as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Edinburgh's major drawcard each year is the world-famous Edinburgh Festival, which is held in August. This 4-week collection of festivals generally attracts as many visitors as there are permanent residents in the city.

Neighbourhoods

Old Town

The Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, and Holyrood Palace all reside in Old Town. The area is filled with budget hostels, pubs, restaurants, and tourist attractions. Other places of interest in Old Town include Greyfriar's Kirkyard, St Gile's Cathedral, Mary King's Close, and the Royal Museum of Scotland. The Edinburgh Vaults are also located in Old Town.

Old Town, along with neighbouring New Town (see below), was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

New Town

The New Town, located just north of Princes Street Gardens, is home to many shops, banks, restaurants, and internet cafes. Along with vast amounts of commercialism, New Town has a great view of Edinburgh Castle. The Scott Monument is also located in this district, which gives incredible views of the city.

Stockbridge and Canonmills

These neighbourhoods lie just north of New Town and contains the Royal Botanic Garden.

South Queensferry

South Queensferry rests at the foot of the Forth Rail Bridge on the banks of the Firth of Forth. There are many quaint restaurants along the shore as well as ferry docks that lead to numerous places around the Firth.

Sights and Activities

Edinburgh Castle Guns

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Edinburgh Castle is a must for anyone visiting Edinburgh City, sitting atop a massive rock overlooking all of Edinburgh and offering the best views of the city, particularly on a clear day. See the Scottish Crown Jewels when you are here. Save money on the already reasonable entrance fee by booking online.

Events and Festivals

• St Andrew's Day (30 Nov 2013 - 30 Nov 2013) - The Scottish bank holiday is to commemorate Scotland's patron saint. The weekend usually hosts a range of free events, for example, free entry is granted at several attractions in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Castle Esplanade hold exciting winter celebrations too on this weekend. Ceilidhs (traditional Gaelic social gathering) often takes place on this day too which allows you to try out some traditional Scottish country dancing to lively bands.
• Edinburgh Sparkles - Winter in Edinburgh is packed full of events and festivities - too many to list! In 6 weeks of festive celebrations, there's ice skating rinks, treasure hunts, hogmanay, dancing, snowsport fefstivals, food and drinks. Check out the listings and suggested itineraries!
• The Royal Highland Show (June) - This four day event provides fun for the family! Entertainment, outdoor living and countryside, shopping/fashion, food and drink and some of the farmyard's finest animals make this event one of the best days out in the country. Falconry, gun dog displays, terrier racing, inspiration for your larder, competing. You name it, it features everything to do with the countryside. Over 183,000 visitors come every year.
• The Edinburgh Military Tattoo (August) - Dazzling and spectacular events are held on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castleto over three weeks. Annually, a series of military tattoos (army displays) performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International Military Bands and display teams perform to a huge audience, and is also broadcasted on international television. The Tattoo includes massed pipe and drum bands, lively dancing, routines, light shows and fireworks. It is performed every weekday evening and twice on Saturdays, but has consistantly sold out so buy buying in advance is a must!
• Beltane Fire Festival (30 Apr 2014) - Up on Calton Hill, the Beltane Fire festival attratcs crowds up to 12,000 who turn up to watch the fire, drumming and revelry of the Celtic fertility festival. Beltane, meaning "bright/sacred fire", is held to mark the blossoming of Spring and the ancient pastoral tradition of moving livestock to summer grazing grounds.
• 6 Nations Rugby - Held at Murrayfield Stadium, this huge rugby event gets the city buzzing with energy and excitement. The whole country gets behind the matches attracting thousands of visitng fans, making it a busy yet fun time to visit the city.
• Edinburgh Mela Festival (End August - Beginning September) - This is one of Europe's largest multi-cultural events where diversity is celebrated through music and style. "Mela" meaning "gathering" in Sanskrit showcases worldwide cultures to celebrate their communities. A load of events are put on, such as visual exhibbitions, dancing, theatre, film, food stalls, crafts, and performances from international and local talent. Address: Leith (minutes from downtown Edinburgh)
• Edinburgh Fringe Festival (03 Aug 2013 - 27 Aug 2013) - The Edinburgh Fringe Festival takes place in August every year, and is the largest arts festival in the world.There are a number of varied performances from classic works, alternative arts and more mainstream fare. The festival takes place in a number of venues (over 250 in 2006) throughout Edinburgh, including a number of street performers on the "Royal Mile" in Edinburgh's old town.

Hogmanay Festival is the Scottish celebration of the last day of the year and is part of the festive events. On December 31st, Edinburgh holds one of the largest in the world as it spans for a three day spectacular. It begins with a massive torch light procession from Parliament Square to the Son et Lumiére on Calton Hill, ending in fireworks to signal the beginning of the festivities. The city hosts an all night street party and features many popular bands/DJs/live entertainment by the impressive Castle. Loony Dook takes place on New Years Day where the brave (or crazy) wade into the freezing waters of th River Forth.

Weather

Edinburgh has a typical maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. June to September is summer season with temperatures between 16 °C and 18 °C and nights around 11 °C. Winters are still above zero, even at night. The highest and lowest temperatures possible are 28 °C and -9 °C. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with autumn and winter being the wettest time and spring being the driest time. May is the driest and most sunny month of the year.

Getting There

By Plane

Edinburgh Airport (IATA: EDI, ICAO: EGPH) is about 10 kilometres from the city centre. Flights to Europe and Canada reach dozens of locations. Low-cost airline Ryanair has many flights, including to Alicante, Berlin, Bologna, Bordeaux, Bournemouth, Bratislava, Bremen, Brussels, Cagliari, Dublin, Gdansk, Girona, Frankfurt-Hahn, Haugesund, Krakow, Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Limoges, Málaga, Malta, Marseille, Palma de Mallorca, [[Pisa, Poznan, Oslo, Rome, Shannon, Stockholm, Tenerife-South, Weeze (near Düsseldorf), Wroclaw and Zadar.

To/from the airport

• Car: The airport lies on the A8 Glasgow-Edinburgh road, and can be easily reached by the M8 (from Glasgow) and the M9 (from Stirling). The airport is also within easy access from the M90 motorway (from Perth) via the Forth Road Bridge. Taxis and rental cars are both widely available at the airport.
• Bus: Lothian Buses provides public transportation to the airport with the Airlink 100 express bus from Edinburgh city centre, as well as local bus services. Stagecoach operates the AirDirect 747 express bus service between the airport and Inverkeithing railway station and Ferrytoll Park and Ride in Fife, and the Gyle Shopping Centre and Heriot-Watt University.

By Train

National Express Trains from London (King's Cross) take five hours. There are links to Aberdeen, Inverness, Manchester, Newcastle and York.

By Bus

National Express and Mega Bus link cities in Scotland and England.

By Boat

From Belgium:
Norfolkline Ferries depart from Zeebrugge for Rosyth, which is about 30 minutes drive to Edinburgh. Ferry sailing time is approximately 18 hours and the fares start at around €170 for a return ticket in high season. A car costs about €240.

Getting Around

By Car

Taxis are fairly expensive. The minimum charge is £1.50 (£2.50 at night) for the first 300 metres or so.

By Public Transport

Many local trains depart from Waverley Station and run to the outer edges of the city, such as South Queensferry. There is also a two bus companies that provide service to the area, Lothian and First. Buses typically require exact change. Check with the bus company for the current rate.

By Foot

Edinburgh is a very walkable city. Most of the major tourist attractions are within walking distance of the Royal Mile. The charm and beauty of the city make your feet the perfect mode of transportation.

Eat

Maxies Bistro & Wine Bar is a fantastic place to eat when up the Castle end of the Royal Mile, with a great menu and fabulous atmosphere, especially on a sunny day where you can sit out on the terrace. Address: 5b Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2PW

A nice Italian on george street is Centotre, 103 George Street, Edinburgh, Lothian EH2 3ES, United Kingdom, tel: +44 131 225 1550, fax: +44 131 225 2578, Transit: Edinburgh Rail Station (900 metres). Close to some nice shops if you are in for a lunch, also a great location for heading to some nice cocktail bars afterwards.

Drink

Drinking in Edinburgh is a good night wether you are out for the pubs or out to enjoy the nightclubs, there is something for everyone. For a social gathering around the pubs The Royal mile is a good place to start as well as some great places in the grass market places such as The Beehive (18-20 Grassmarket, Old Town, Edinburgh EH1 2JU, United Kingdom, tel: +44 131 225 7171, Transit: Edinburgh Rail Station (800 metres).

If you are looking for a more modern and somewhere you can also enjoy a great atmosphere with a more young feel to it then try george street:

• Candy Bar - This is an unverified listing. 113 George Square Ln, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh EH2 4JN, United Kingdom, tel: +44 131 225 9179.

There are many places to enjoy the nightlife in edinburgh whatever your taste is you will find it here. Although try to stick to the one area as a lot of pubs and clubs are spaced out decide where you are heading first to avoid spending your night travelling from place to place! Enjoy.

Sleep

Budget

Learn

• The University of Edinburgh

Keep Connected

Internet

The easyInternetcafe at 58 Rose Street in New Town is easy to find with its' bright orange logo. It has good rates, a helpful staff, and an extremely convenient location.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Post

The Royal Mail provides postal services in the United Kingdom. The Royal Mail's store fronts are called Post Office and offer services ranging from sending letters and packages to foreign currency exchange. Use the branch locator to find the nearest Post Office branch. An alternative includes TNT Post.
It's common for a post office to be incorporated into a grocery store, where there will be a small counter located at the back of the store for dealing with post related matters. All post offices are marked with signs that say 'post office' in red lettering. Post boxes can be found at any post office and standalone large red post boxes on the streets or red boxes in the sides of public buildings.

External Links

• Edinburgh Official Governmental Website
• Official Tourism Board of Edinburgh