We are staying about 6 miles from the city, I understand that parking is difficult. Should we take public transportion into the city or is there a car park in the city where we could park our rental for the day and take public transportation. Thanks

There's a parking lot in New Street behind the Waverly train station and another at the West End, off Lothian Road. Street parking is very difficult and for only an hour or two. I would strongly recommend taking the bus.

You don't mention where you'll be staying exactly, but I'd recommend taking public transport if you can.

There are also various park and ride sites on the outskirts of town.

Car parks in the city centre tend to fill up fast and can be expensive - but if you do decide to drive in, there's a map of car parks here: http://www.visitscotland.com/library/edinburghcarparks

Use public transport if at all possible. It's not just the parking that is bad - you have to drive there too, and like most big cities it's a nightmare if you're not familiar with one-way systems etc (can be a nightmare even if you are).
Use the journey planner on
travelinescotland.com
to check bus and train frequencies.

Public transport. Blood pressure won't stand anything else.

Well we drove into and parked in Edinburgh 5 years ago and lived to tell the tale, but a little worse for the wear. There is a car park very near Edinburgh Castle (where we parked), but getting in and out of it was an adventure as I recall. Add to that the excitement of driving on the left [WRONG ] side of the street and the prevalence of one-way streets, and you have the makings of a veritable saga.

But it can be done, and years later you can laugh about it - if you survive.

Have fun!

KC

It isn't impossble but just a side note to knoxvillecouple's post: In the 5 years since their trip there are more one-way streets, more blocked streets, more development and just more "stuff". It really is getting harder and harder to get around and park - but that is no problem really since the public transport works so well.