We are going on a highlands hiking trip and have some time prior 2 days. Which city if you had a choice would you stay in? We love history great old buildings great food clean and friendly people. Hotels recommended under $400 also appreciated

We just returned from a trip to Scotland.
We are also history/culture lovers - and we thougth Edinburgh was great. It is small city, perfect for walking. And in two days you really feel like you've seen a lot of it. The Museum of Scotland especially gave us a wonderful overview of Scottish history.
In Edinburgh we stayed at a centrally located B&B called "2 Cambridge St.". I really cant say enough nice things about it. Our hosts were welcoming, helpful and interesting. They cooked us gourmet (and sometimes exotic breakfasts). The bed was comfy and the décor was lovely. The price was about $190.00 per night.

Both cities will more than fulfill your expectations.

The couple writing www.ayearineurope.com have an interesting podcast about their experience of both cities and the differences they perceive between them. Edinburgh for concentrated history and dramatic impact (so maybe better for two days); but it's very much about government and tourism and feels rather small, for all its history. Glasgow for an expansive 19th-century feel, and perhaps more obvious connection to the rest of Scotland, and particularly the Highlands.

Steviegene: And just <i>where</i> is that trip report? :-&quot;

Josigirl77: both cities are wondeful, but for a first visit and w/ only 2 days to play w/ - Edinburgh hands down.

W/ a $400 budget you can stay almost anywhere. What sort of property do you want?

I would prefer small boutique hotels not large chain skyscrapers

PatrickLondon, thanks for that link. What you describe is how I feel about the two cities.

Edinburgh has the castle and the Royal Mile that go back to medieval times, as well as a lot of Edwardian architecture and a Georgian &quot;New&quot; Town.

Glasgow is more 19th and 20th century in its architecture (although it does have a very nice medieval Cathedral). It is THE place to see the architecture of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which could easily keep you busy for a day or more. It has more of a gritty, &quot;real&quot; feel to me than Edinburgh.

Both have really nice museums.

Although I really, really, love Glasgow, I'd probably also give the edge to Edinburgh for the OP's purposes.

Also, I had to chuckle at the question posed. I first read it as &quot;clean and friendly people,&quot; and thought, now, there's an interesting criterion.

I think Edinburgh is the answer to the OP's question, and I would suggest the Crowne plaza for a hotel.

Now, for the technologically challenged, PatrickLondon, how the blazes do i open the text of that blog? I can get to teh headings but not into the text. For teh avoidance of doubt, I don't own an MP3

Weird, must be something to do with your browser's settings and maybe the speed of your connection. You shouldn't need an MP3 player - your browser should prompt you to find a program to play the podcast (Windows Media Player or Quicktime should do the trick) if it doesn't load automatically. Try this link and see if it works:
http://digbig.com/4nhmc

I did wonder, like you noe, about the clean and friendly people. Of course, for most sorts of friendliness, cleanliness helps. But commas would have helped more, perhaps.

PatrickLondon: I could use your second link - but how does one get to the podcasts from the first link? I'd like to check out some in the archive

I really enjoyed their take on both cities -

janis, I can't understand why clicking on the link in their blog doesn't do it (apart from the fact that the link is on the word &quot;download&quot; rather than &quot;click here&quot;, which is a bit counter-productive).

OH - duh!
I thought the &quot;download&quot; was just to download Quicktime. I'll give it a try. Thanks . . . .

Oh - more &quot;duh&quot; - I just looked at the site again and the download MP3 is what threw me. All straight now . . . .

thanks again.

Nope. It's just not playing. I did have the same mindset issue as janis, but I clicked on &quot;download&quot; about 5 minutes agao and it's still not completed the action. I have very fast broadband

It downloaded eventually. It was spooky. I was in the living room and the computer started speaking!!

Interesting....