Exploring Edinburgh

By James Stone -

The Scottish city of Edinburgh provides the ideal location for a weekend break, with cosy pubs, lively performance venues, good museums, pretty streets and impressive architecture.

We chose to travel up by train, as it is easily accessible from most parts of the UK and found a small hotel near the city centre to stay for a couple of nights.

Edinburgh is a cosmopolitan city and a popular venue for tourists from around the world and is geared up for visitors, with a great deal to see and do. Home to around half a million people, it is very walkable and a lovely place to stroll around for a few days.

Busiest during the famous Edinburgh International Festival in August, when some of the best comedy, performance art, theatre and cabaret is on show, the numerous theatres and venues present a good programme year round, we chose to see a show at the excellent Traverse Theatre, which particularly champions new Scottish writing.

On our first day we headed straight for the famous Royal Mile, starting from Edinburgh Castle, which looms over the city, and ending at the Palace of Holyrood House, where we took a tour of the opulent royal apartments.

The Royal Mile takes in an array of places of note, including the new Scottish Parliament Building, which runs a good 45 minute tour. The glass, wood and stone confection has been controversial but is undeniably impressive, combining modern shapes with organic curves.

With only a short amount of time, we chose to visit the National Gallery of Scotland, with its large collection of paintings from some of the best European artists spanning hundreds of years, and the stunning Victorian Royal Museum, home to a collection charting the country's history that includes the Lewis Chessmen.

Edinburgh's streets feature some fabulous Georgian and Victorian architecture, impressive churches and cobbled streets, providing a charming backdrop whilst wandering around, though it is advisable to wrap up warmly against the bracing Scottish weather.

Weather permitting, the vast Royal Botanical Gardens on the edge of the city are well worth a visit for the myriad plant life on show and the delicate Chinese Garden, while the Scottish Whisky Heritage Centre is quirky and innovative, with plenty of opportunity to sample and purchase Scotch whiskies.

We managed to find time to shop in the Old Town and returned to the hotel carrying bags full of goodies, including the ubiquitous Scottish tweeds, tartans and knitwear.

Edinburgh has some great restaurants, serving dishes from all over the world, as well as hearty traditional Scottish dishes. We spent a great deal of time in the numerous old, comfortable pubs, such as the 18th century Cafe Royal, many of which have a lively atmosphere combined with interesting décor.

We found that prices around the city were quite high, so it is wise to give yourself a generous budget before visiting. A weekend is enough to see the key sights, but there were many things we missed, such as the National Portrait Gallery and the weather was not good enough to go up Arthur's Seat for spectacular views across the city.

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