Visit to Edinburgh and Glasgow or Dublin?

I am biased and I love Edinburgh. You could definitely fill the time in Edinburgh, but you can also see a lot of the main sights and then do a day trip to Glasgow. It's only an hour on the train. You can probably visit the Cathedral and one of the museums--The Tenement House, or the Riverside Museum, or take the subway out to Kelvingrove.

Stick to the Edinburgh area.

Day
01. Fly from Porto to Edinburgh (2)
02. Edinburgh
03. Pick up hire car. Drive to St Andrews. (1)
04. Drive to Stirling (1)
05. Depart

Edinburgh and Glasgow are about an hour apart by train, with trains leaving frequently throughout the day. They couldn't be easier to get between. If you go that route, I'd recommend basing yourself in one city (whichever is more interesting to you - Edinburgh might be the more obvious choice for a first-time visitor, but there's plenty to keep you busy in Glasgow too) and visiting the other as a day trip. That will save you the trouble of having to move hotels.

Glasgow and Edinburgh are an hour apart by frequent buses and trains. So, it's easy to stay in one of these for all four days, and take a day trip or two to the other.

In September 2016 I spent four nights in Glasgow and saw many, but not all, of the "main attractions." I certainly didn't run out of things to do in that time, and I didn't even get to Edinburgh on that trip. Edinburgh also has plenty to see for the time you will be there (I was last there in 1993 for 3 nights, so I can't comment further). I haven't been to Dublin so I can't compare it. I would think that which of these options is "more exciting" would depend on how you react to them, which can't be predicted in advance.

If you want all the details of my Glasgow visit, here's my trip report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/uk-trip-report-glasgow-manchester-liverpool-in-september-2016

As much as I love Ireland (and it is a lot!), given that you appear to prefer to stick with major cities I too would recommend going with Edinburgh over Dublin. We enjoyed Dublin but were able to see and do everything we wanted to (Trinity walking tour, Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, Guinness Storehouse, St. Stephen's Green, Grafton Street, Museum of Archaeology and a musical pub crawl) in two days, three nights. We had the same amount of time in Edinburgh and didn't feel that it was enough. With four days you can either explore Edinburgh thoroughly or use three days to hit the things you most want to see and still have a day to visit Glasgow.

Edinburgh is my favorite city in Europe. Go there! I was not crazy about Dublin. I've only spent a half day in Glasgow, not enough to provide an informed opinion. But as others have pointed out, it's an easy day trip from Edinburgh.

It looks like its unanimous, Edinburgh it is! Thank you all for your help.

I like Edinburgh better than Dublin but Ireland better than Scotland (not saying I don't like Scotland). For three days, I'd go to Edinburgh but probably St Andrews or something close rather than Glasgow.

You'll have a great trip. BTW there are some great day trips out of Edinburgh aside from Glasgow should you decide that you want to explore outside the city for one day. You can take the train to Stirling. You can do a half day at Linlithgow--or a late start day. :) As already mentioned you can go to St. Andrew's. Also, you can check with the TI and see if there are any day trips tours that interest you--the borders are an area that 's easier seen by car or on a tour.

Pam