Hi, we'll be in Edinburgh for two days. We've previously seen the castle and Stirling castle, so what else is a "must see"there? And what great restaurants impressed you (not expensive, just good!)? Nevermind the haggis. Not gonna try that.
Any hints would be greatly appreciated.
Mickey
We grossly underestimated the time we needed and missed many sites on our wishlist (including the Scott Monument and Real Mary King's Close -which was sold out!).
Among my favorites that I did see:
The People's Story at Canongate Tolbooth.
Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Queen's Gallery.
Scottish Literary Walking Pub Tour (terrific).
Scottish Parliament building.
Gladstone's Land.
The Museum of Childhood was ok if you are interested in toys and games. The Writers Museum was underwhelming, but at least it was free. I recommend avoiding the John Knox house. Five pounds to get in and not informative or
interesting at all.
We only ate at one great restaurant, The Witchery, and it is definitely NOT inexpensive.
We really enjoyed the Real Mary King's Close and Gladstone's Land on the Royal Mile, and the Georgian House [which I think is in New Town]. We were there in August so took advantage of the free walking tour along the Royal Mile, which was very good. I think there are paid tours during non-Festival times. We followed some of the suggestions in the RS guidebook for meals; enjoyed the pub where JK Rowling wrote much of the first Harry Potter book, though service was slow. I think it was the Elephant but check the guidebook. On the whole, we did not find great food in Edinburgh... but all the other things to see and do more than makes up for the cuisine!
Hi,
I will ditto the People's Story - loved my visit there. I enjoyed climbing all the way to the top to watch a video, though the area was closed on my second visit.
Almost right across from the People's Story is the Museum of Edinburgh (http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Leisure/Museums_and_galleries/Services/CEC_museum_of_edinburgh). If you know the story of Greyfriar's Bobby, visit the display. It has pictures and some of Bobby's personal items (dog dish, collar .. yes, ahhhh .. so sweet). It's toward the back of the upstairs area, easy to miss.
Cheers.
We've enjoyed the "Whisky Experience" at the top of the Royal Mile. It gives the history of whisky making in Scotland and explains the process also. At the end you get a "wee dram" of the featured whisky for that day. We also enjoy walking in Princes St. park. I love roses and thistles and they usually have lovely displays of both, along with lots of other flowers. There is also the Royal Yatch Britanian and the botanical gardens. I agree about the haggis. If you find a pub offering roast chicken with kilted soldier and skirlie- do try that. The Kilted soldier is a link sausage wrapped in bacon and fried. Skirlie is a mix of oats and onion, fried in butter. It looks a bit like "stuffing" at Thanksgiving and tastes wonderful.
We liked Fisher's Restaurant and the Witchery was affordable for lunch--very nice atmosphere. Museum of Childhood Toys was free and worth a 30 minute look. Many like to hike up Arthur's Head--my husband did this and regretted not having the proper shoes for it.We missed the botanical garden and Royal Britannia Yacht so those will be must sees next time.
I really liked Gladstone's Land and the Georgian House, which is indeed in New Town. I think that the Museum of Scotland is a great museum. There is restaurant at the top that is supposed to be very good. I have to say that I liked Holyrood the palace and the parliament. There is also a galley that is associated with the Palace that has changing shows. I finally toured the Royal Yacht Britannia a few years ago and that was lots of fun.
I too like Fishers. I've had a good bowl of Mussels at the Mussel Inn. I like Creelers as well. It's on the Royal Mile. Down in Leith, The Shore Inn is good.
Pam
I took my mother to see the Royal Yacht Brittania and it was very interesting, especially if you are a "royal" fan which she is. We did the hop on hop off bus tour, which included the yacht. I thought it gave a good overview of the city and you got to see a broad area. Good for a short visit and I think the whole loop was less than two hours so you could easily do other things.
I personally loved the Royal Botanic Gardens also. It's nice to have a change of pace from museums. It's free and it's beautiful.
We ate at Howie's on Victoria St. in the Grassmarket area and the food was very good. Not pub food. See www.howies.uk.com. Nice atmosphere and the Grassmarket is close to the Royal Mile, the Scottish Museum and Grayfriars Kirk/Bobby's Bar.
We were in Edinburgh for 2 days last week. We had a gorgeous day to walk around the Royal Botanic Gardens in the morning, then took the bus back into town (3 pounds for a day pass to ride all over town, including down to the docks to see the Britania) and walked down the Royal Mile to visit the new Parliament debate chambers (interesting modern design) and hike up Salisbury Crags (just looked at the Palace from outside, not wanting to spend 10 pounds to enter). We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at 300 Cowgate in Edinburgh: extensive breakfast and the location was ideal: 3 blocks from Waverley train station, and just one block off the Royal Mile, halfway between the Castle and the Parliament. Our favorite vegetarian restaurant was just a half block away: David Bann on St. Mary's. And Edinburgh's best Indian tapas restaurant, Mother India's Cafe on Infirmary, was only two blocks away.
