gavinp

Hi

I am travelling to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

I will be staying for 4 hours in Edinburgh and i am planning to take the city bus tour.

1) Could you tell me please which are the stops that i should get down and visit to make best use of my 4 hour time period in Edinburgh?

2) Another half day (9am - 2 pm) will be spent in Glasgow. Which are places worth visiting or unmissable spots in Glasgow and can be done during this time frame?

I would appreciate any help.

Cheers
Gavin

janisj

w/ only 4 hours you really don't have time to stop much of anywhere. The Castle makes the most sense - but just a brief overview of the Castle takes a couple of hours by itself. So assuming you get right on a H-o-h-o bus, get off early in the route at the castle, then after visiting the castle, time it perfectly to board another bus - you won't have enough time to complete the full bus tour back to the starting point.

Same for Glasgow - unlike Edinburgh, it is a VERY large city and the major sites are spread over a wide area. W/ just 4 hours in the city you will be very limited.

Would it not be better to spend the whole day in either Edinburgh OR Glasgow?

(Unless you mean you are on a cruise ship and only have 4 hours on shore -- then you would do better to just take the excursions offered by the ship)

amelie

If I had only four hours in Edinburgh, I would visit the castle and walk down the Royal Mile.

jewela

You could just ride the bus (and not get off, I think it takes a little more than 1 hour for the one that does not leave Old Town/New Town) to get an overview of Edinburgh....but janjsj is right...you really won't have much time to get off & look around. I would forget about the bus, and walk the Royal Mile. You can pop in and out of a few things, and step into some of the wynds & closes....something you wouldn't be able to do from the bus. Just to get a feel for the charm of the city.
Glasgow is another matter....whew! Much larger city, and in 4 hours you wouldn't see much. Again....take the HoHo bus & just don't get off to see the most that you can in 4 hours.

unclegus

Where is your starting point in Edinburgh?
$ hours is just not a lot of time for a city like Edinburgh.As others have suggested the castle and the RoyalMile would be your best bet.
http://www.edinburgh-royalmile.com/onroyalmile.html
this site will give you lots of info.
If you are staring at Waverley reain station (city center) then you can walk to the castle in 10-15 minutes (all up hill) the tour buses will only get you close to the castle and not all they way.
http://www.edinburghtour.com/index.p...amp;Itemid=156

sheila

I have to say, I WOULD do the full bus tour without getting off. Edinburgh is much more than the old town. After that, I'd work out what I most wanted to see (what interests, you, after all, might not be what interests me) and go and see that.

Highlghts would be the Castle and the Mile, for sure, but also the New Town, the National Gallery, the Scottish Museum, Victoria Street and the Grassmarket, the Scott Monument, Calton Hill, Arthur's Seat, Holyrood Palace, Lady Stair's Close, the Botanics, the Tron and Princes Street Gardens.

In Glasgow, I think it's slightly different. Glasgow's not the "historical" place Edinburgh is. It's much more about the people, and commerce, but think about the Cathedral, the Necropolis, a walk along the Clyde, the School of Art, the Burrell, Kelvingrove Museum, the Tall Ship and the Botanics

caroline_edinburgh

My view is a combination of the others. Take the open top bus tour (Guide Friday is the best) from Waverley Bridge opposite the station, get off at the stop nearest the Castle, walk up to the Castle & look at the outside, the inside as far as the ticket office and the views from the Esplanade; then walk down the length of the Royal Mile to look at the outsides of the new Parliament & the Palace (& inside the courtyard as far as you can get without paying); then get back on the bus and do the rest of the circuit. As Sheila says Edinburgh is more than just the Old Town - the Old Town and the New Town (Georgian) together comprise the World Heritage Site and are the minimum you should see, and the bus tour gives you an overview of both.