Dublin, Edinburgh, or Salisbury?
 

I have been offered home exchanges in these 3 cities for next summer. Which would you choose, and why?<BR><BR>Last summer, we spent 3 weeks in England, including a too-brief trip thru Salisbury, Bath, Cotswolds, and would love to return there. OTOH, we've never seen Ireland or Scotland at all. I'll be traveling with two teens, whose dad was of Irish descent.

Joanne<BR><BR>That's a real tough one - any choice would be great. After your trip to England there is something to be said for trying Scotland and Ireland which are sooo different in their own special ways. I know that your teens father has Irish descent but my vote would be for Edinburgh - a buzzing cosmopolitan city which you can also use as a base for discovering the fantastic Scottish countryside. One things for sure I bet you won't get any general agreement on this thread!<BR><BR>All the best with planning your holiday<BR>Andrew

You're going to get votes for both Dublin and Edinburgh. I'd go for Dublin, depending on where exactly the house is located (many people say they live in Dublin, but they're actually in an outer suburb), but I don't think you can really go wrong choosing either Dublin or Edinburgh.

Ann, the Dublin location is described as being in the village of Rathgar, 2 miles from Stephen's Green, and the "next village up" is called Terenure.<BR><BR>The Scottish family writes that they are in "a community called Balerno on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Balerno has a population of around 6000 people and is in the Pentland Hills above the city. There is good public transport, buses every 10 minutes, taking you into the centre of the city in approx. 30 mins."

I have never been to Dublin, but everytime I go to Britain I always include some time in Edinburgh. So obviously I would be biased towards Edinburgh. Every time I go there, I enjoy it so much I say that the next time will be for Scotland only. IMHO I would love the chance to be based in Edinburgh & see some more of Scotland from there. In one of my trips to Edinburgh I stayed with a local I had met on the train. I was there for 3 nights, 4 days, but it took that much time to discover much of Edinburgh. I would love to see other parts of Scotland. The people I have met in Edinburgh have been some of the most friendly & open I have come across.

Been to all three; my vote is for Edinburgh. After you tire of bussing into the city center, rent a car and see other areas of Scotland. If you are old enough to remember the Walt Disney version of Peter Pan, you'll recognize the nighttime Edinburgh skyline. If you want a tear jerker, watch Greyfriars Bobbie.

Edinburgh is one of Europe's really great places - nothing against the others but it is the best. Try to see Culross, a magic place largely owned by the National trust for Scotland just north of the Forth.

All three are wonderful - of course you would be using the home as a base to day-trip from. If the Irish link isn't overly important to the kids, I would choose Edinburgh. More to see and an excellent base to tour anywhere in Scotland and even into northern England for things such as Hadrian's wall and Bamburgh Castle.<BR><BR>But if they are really interested in their Irish heritage, I'd choose Dublin.<BR><BR>Salisbury is a great base for all the ancient sites - Sarum, Avebury, Kennington Long Barrow, plus the new forest, Isle of Wight and the south coast (Hampsire and Dorset in particular.)

Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Edinburgh... for all the reasons mentioned above! <BR><BR>Ireland is wonderful, but Dublin didn't win me over and if you're on the outskirts, that's where you'll go for dinners, pubs, etc. <BR><BR>Lucky you--let us know what you pick!

I keep reading negative reports about Dublin, usually something to the effect that the city is not as friendly or charming (you get my drift) as it was five or six years ago due to the Celtic Tiger and the effect that the sudden influx of wealth has had on the attitudes of the younger generation. People are supposedly ruder and more in a hurry and the city is becoming just another franchised-out place.<BR><BR>Is there anybody out there who can confirm the reality of Dublin today? I am pondering a trip to Ireland and it was always on my list as a place to visit, at least it was in the nineties. Now, I'm not so sure.

Go somewhere in UK/Ireland every year. Last year was Northumberland/Yorkshire--wonderful things for kids (unfortunately, husband was the only kid along!-- great history. YOu could easily stay in Edinburgh and do many day trips via train--York, Durham etc, even down to London if you could overnight or have a long day. I am of Irish decent as well, however, I wouldn't give you a dime for Dublin, a city we've been to several times. It's gotten a bit better in the past few years, but if you're looking to base somewhere in Ireland, I would choose Limerick or Galway and stay in the west. The Salisbury area is just not quite as interesting as the other two unless you would plan to get into Wales and down to Devon/Cornwall.