First night in Edinburgh

What time of year will you be traveling? If it is late spring or summer and the weather is good, you might want to hike to the top of Arthur's Seat. The fresh air and exercise would be a great help against jet lag. If you will be arriving in winter when the days are short, however, this won't be an option.

I knew there was something I was leaving out! We'll be there May 22 - 25. The hike sounds like a good idea. Thank you!

Give the kids a fistful of money and send them off to be adventurous. The Royal Mile would work. Then you two do the same thing. I don't know what part of town you are staying in but its possible to find a nice cozy place. To better prepare yourself read some of Alexander McCall-Smith's Scotland Street stories and/or Ian Rankin' Jihn Rebus novels. These are about as good as any guide book.

I agree that a climb up Arthur's Seat is a good idea. I often get in a little earlier and so head up to the Castle. I do it partly because of the views. But also, I've been before so am checking out old favorites. Still, if you decide you want some history, then walk up to the Castle. If you have wet day when you arrive, and the views are not good, you could go check out the Royal Botanic Gardens. They have glass houses you can duck into if the rain gets too strong, and the gardens would be easier walking in the wet. If it clears up a bit, Leith Water is nice walk as well. Try to stay up until 9 PM to fight the jet lag. You might want to check out some of the restaurants and pubs on Rose Lane in New Town. Pam

We took the 3 hop on hop off trips Steves suggests in his book. 3 cost only slightly more than 1. All were to different areas starting and ending near the mile. We enjoyed them all. We bought our ticket at 1PM and it was also good the next morning.

Do hike Arthur's Seat at some point, it was the highlight of our trip, but I wouldn't do that on your first day, especially if it's raining out. Where will you be staying? That may drive what you do on the first day. I would choose between either walking around the Royal Mile or in New Town shopping area (do stop for a afternoon tea break at some point) or visiting Edinburgh Castle. Also, for your first night meal, choose somewhere close to your hotel (again, where are you staying?). One night, we ate atop the National Museum and had fantastic views or the Castle at night. We also ate at The Witchery and Blue restaurants and enjoyed both. Have fun!
Agreed to read McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series. It will give you an excellent feel for Edinburgh.

We're staying at 23 Mayfield. I hadn't considered that weather might be an issue in hiking Arthur's Seat. We'll definitely need to be flexible if we do decide to do that our first night. I was planning on taking the HOHO busses on our 2nd and 3rd days there. Actually the plan is to purchase the Royal Edinburgh ticket. This gives us unlimited travel on the HOHO busses for 2 days and includes admission to Edinburgh Castle, Britannia, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Does anyone know if the "2 days" is 24 hours from first use or 2 literal calendar days?? Thanks for the suggestions and the book ideas.

Eating in Scotland - find a pub that looks busy and has lots of patrons eating, then that is the place to go. You could also ask at the hotel and they might give you some ideas. With teenagers and always being hungry, there is a good Chinese Buffet in downtown Edinburgh. They have touts roaming the streets around 11:00 with coupons for a reduced price. Food is actually not bad, but of course not Scottish.

There's a lot of Scottish home cooked meals in the pubs and your kids should be welcomed in most of them until a certain hour. If you feel like pizza or pasta, we had great food at reasonable prices at "Bella Italia" on the royal mile. This is a chain restaurant and we enjoyed the same nice friendly service and great food in Inverness.

Thanks for the restaurant info! The whole family likes Chinese and Italian food. I'll keep those places in mind.

It looks like your accommodation is in the Dalkeith road area? If so, look for an Italian restaurant named Positano. We really enjoyed it (June, 2010) and it appeared to be filled with locals, not tourists. Prices were reasonable, food good, and they also had pizza.

Thanks, Cynthia! Although we are tourists and will certainly do touristy things we do enjoy living like a local - if only for a few hours. Appreciate it!