Allo!
I'll be in London the beginning of April and am doing Edinburgh for about 3 days...and I'm wondering...
What should I see?! :)
I've got the castle and royal mile on my list. Definitely want to see the Underground but wonder which company to go with.
Thanks a million!
Cheers from the Emerald City!
-Sandra
The Royal Yacht Britannia is neat, and the evening ghost tours are fun!
Sandra - Try one of the Ghouls and Gobblins tours. They were quite enjoyable.
Why use a company? You can take the train from London. There are lots of good places to stay- we like the Royal British right across Princes St. from the station. See the castle, walk the Royal Mile and check out all the shops. Tour Hollyrood House. Check out the various garden, tour the yatch, do the Mary Kings Close tour (streets that got "buried" as the city built up- includes some ghost stuff, do a ghost walk, etc. Be sure to do the hop on/off bus too- they pick up right across from the station too. With 3 days you could even do a 1 day coach tour of the the highlands from Edinburgh.
Sandra, Hello from the Eastside. You can spend a very lot of time at the Castle. Don't miss the dogs cemetery. As you walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood you can stop for tea at Clarindas. Princes Street is or is in the process of being torn up for the new trolly line. I also vote for a ghostly tour and The Former Royal Yacht Brittania. There are lots of museums encluding The Georgian House in Charlotte Sq (?) Also try to get to the Falkirk Wheel and if you're energetic climb Arthurs Seat for the best views in town. Don't forget Carlton Hill. The city tour is a great way to get your bearings. Laurel
If you can get your hands on Rick Steves Great Britain, he has some handy little sections that may help you. For each major city, he has a section where he rates all the major sites. He also has a section where he gives sample itineraries for people who have limited amounts of time. I believe the Edinburgh section specifically talks about 3 days in the city. (I don't have the book with me so I can't say for sure...)
The Underground? Not sure what you are refering to. This term is often used for the tube, the metro the subway, but Edinburgh does not have an underground light rail transit system. Perhaps you mean something else by this word?
Thanks, Michael. My sister lives 10 miles west of Edinburgh and I have been in Edinburgh many times and never come across this. Looks interesting!
If you like murder mysteries, you might want to pick up some of Ian Rankin's books before you go. They are wonderful mysteries based in modern Edinburgh. There are Rebus Tours that take you to bits of Edinburgh that are off the tourist pathways. The books are terrific and give you a view of Edinburgh today in addition to all the lovely history.
Pam
Edinburgh is my home town and I think one of the most unique places to visit is Queensferry where you can see the Forth Road and Rail bridges side by side. You can catch a public bus from the West End of Princess street to Queensferry in about half an hour or, better yet, take a train from the Waverly Station one way over one bridge and catch a bus back over the road bridge.It would probably only take a couole of hours.
WOW!!! Thanks so much everyone for the great suggestions! I'm sure my trip will be even better with everyone's input.
Cheers from the Emerald City!
For short day tours or excursions we've got 2 sites here in Europe - isango.com and city-discovery.com where you can compare tours from different providers.
The city is torn up on Princes Street because of the new tram system but it should not affect you in any real way as a tourist unless you are driving but you would just have to learn a new route anyway as a visitor.....
I was wanting to travel to Edinburgh this summer while I will be in Great Britain, but some friends of ours who live there say that the center of town is all torn up because of construction and will be for years, and that it doesn't look very good. It made me consider not going there on this trip.
I'd suggest also a trip to Rosslyn Chapel You can catch the local #15 bus in town and get off in Roslin Village. It is wonderful to visit.
Don
The Edinburgh Zoo parades their penguins from one end of the zoo to the other...through the visiting crowd!...every afternoon. It may seem silly to some, but it's something you won't get to do anywhere else.
