Edinburgh - Two days this weekend
 

I'll be traveling thru Edinburgh this weekend. I won't have too much time to sightsee. The Museum of Scotland and the Castle are on the list. What else? Any great resturants? I've heard good things about Whitchery By the Castle.

Thanks for any advice!

It really depends what you like. Can you give us a clue?

Good restaurants- I wouldn't put the Witchery there except for wine. Try Rogue and the Marque and, maybe, the Atrium

The Royal Mile is fascinating. Visit the closes. They are hidden worlds, steeped in history just yards from the hustle and bustle of the City.

Volunteers conduct walking tours which start from near the entrance to the Castle Car Park. They usually last a couple of hours and are a source of information not to be found in any guide book. The tour guides know their local history. There is no charge but they ask for donations.

A place to eat? If you like Mexican I can recommend Pancho Villas in Canongate. I ate there with my family and friends a couple of weeks ago. There are good and varied lunch and dinner menus. Main courses between £8 - £18 in the evening, less at lunch time. Good value, good atmosphere and good food.

Definately the Castle. I heard the Museum of Scotland is good (be careful, there are 2, side by side :) I think the "older" one is supposed to be good) but unfortunately was shut when I got there.

If you like art, the National Art Gallery was fantastic. It's free and just the perfect size to whiz through.

I enjoyed Holyroodhouse Palace and the new Queen's art Gallery beside it. It's at the other end of Royal Mile ( which you should really give a quick walk down).

If you are pressed for time, grab one of those hop off and on buses. They give a fantastic overview of the city.

Enjoy Edi, I absolutely loved it myself!

The Museum of Scotland is excellent--we spent the better part of two days inside. From the Castle, as you make your way down the Royal Mile, you can head over to Calton Hill where there are various monuments and great views of the city.

I live in Edinburgh & I'd also recommend one of the open top bus tours. I've taken vistors several times on the Guide Friday one & generally learned something new myself ! It gives you a good overview of the city and is much the easiest way of getting between the major sights. I'd spend one day doing that, getting off at the Castle and the Palace and anywhere else which takes your fancy : it also passes by the museums.

On Sunday morning I'd recommend getting the 22 bus down to Leith and strolling round the old port area, then having lunch there. The Shore pub & restaurant is quite atmospheric, right by the water & serves very good & quite reasonably priced food : either book to eat in the restaurant or just turn up & eat in the bar (although you may have to wait for a table unless you arrive before 1). Other good seafood restaurants in Leith are Fisher's, Skipper's & the Waterfront.

Other restaurants : I'm afraid I don't share Sheila's enthusiasm for Rogue (used to be good - since they changed to a cheaper menu I think the food is a bit boring, and it's very noisy and smoky); but the Atrium and the Marque (of which there are 2, both good; the one on Causewayside is better but less convenient if you are in the centre) are good recommendations. I think the food at the Witchery is not bad, though expensive, but the surroundings are very atmospheric. (There are actually 2 restaurants there, the Witchery and the Secret Garden, & I think the S.G. is nicer.) The Tower restaurant is good & is on top of the new museum building so has a great view over the city : I doubt you'd get a table for Sunday evening but you should be able to on Saturday.

The International Festival is still on - see www.eif.co.uk for details. If you don't want to commit to a full-length play, opera, etc, you may be particularly interested in the 'Royal Bank Lates' which are on at 10.30pm each evening until Saturday; they generally only last about an hour and are only £5. There is also the fireworks concert in Prince's Street Gardens on Sunday at 9pm - the tickets for the gardens have long gone but Prince's Street is closed to traffic for the evening & lots of people just turn up to stand in the street and enjoy the (spectacular) fireworks and the concert (which is relayed by loudspeakers).

If you are interested in the national galleries see www.nationalgalleries.org for what's on. There is a free bus which shuttles between all the galleries, two of which are outside the city centre. If you are interested in smaller galleries get 'The List', the local listings magazine, which covers those and much more. There is some fantastic stuff on at the moment due to the festival.

Hope you have a great time !

Thanks for everyone's resopnses.
I'm so excited. Here's so more info: Two couples traveling. Mid-Twenties...so we're young and like to have a good time. The boys aren't so into the history, etc. But the girls are! Maybe they'll change their mind when they get there.

How does the open bus tour thing work? What's the best line? Where can we pick up?

We get in at 11 am on Saturday. And will be fighting jet lag...but are determined to make a go at seeing everything mainly because our husbands are golfing at St. Andrews on Sunday.

I think we're definetly in for the Mercat ghost tours. Or is that a tourist trap?

And thanks for the resturant suggestions. Were staying at the Holiday Inn Waterfront...and they had mentioned Fishers...and Rogue too. We'd like to avoid the extremely overpriced (Which I guess what Witchery is, huh?), really fancy places. Just want good local atmosphere and food.

Oh and I've got the fireworks thing down for Sunday night! Should be fun!

Thanks again for your help!

One more thing...
Do I need to have advance purchase train tickets for the guys to travel to St. Andrews?

Mrs _jones
Thanks for the suggestions you posted for Rsund.
We will be in Edinburgh for 4 days arriving 30 September.
Your suggestions and Sheilas from earlier postings are most helpful .My must see list is becoming longer and longer. I didn't know about the national galleries.

What do the boys like, if not history? Shopping? Try the Grassmarket and Victoria Street or Stockbridge

The best place to get one of the open top buses is just outside Waverley station. As I understan it you buy a ticket and get a guided tour which you can get off an get on any time you like.

The Mercat ghost tours aremeant to be pretty OK

If you're in Leith, there are a number of other nice places to eat down there. that includes Britannia Spice for Indian, Mariachi, and Skippers, Daniel's, the Brasserie at Malmaison, the Waterfront, the Vintners' Rooms, the Shore, Fitzhenry (where the guy from Rogue came from) and lastly, Martin Wishart. overpriced (The Witchery is horrendously expensive; as is the Atrium. The others are bearable.

You don't need to reserve train seats. You Do know the train stops at Leuchars, don't you? (6 miles from St Andrew's)