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4 nights in edinburgh


nobbyathome
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me and mrs h  are having 4 nights in edinburgh mon-friday  in a couple of weeks time i have  never spent any time there before so am asking the pw massive for  any suggestions what to do   not shooting related

  obviously the castle   any recommendations for  day trips /half day trips etc 

i am flying from heathrow so will not have  my own car  so will rely on  public transport to get around 

 

thank you 

rob

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Restaurant wise, Cafe Andaluz is great for Spanish tapas, Miller & Carter for steaks and burgers or Hard Rock Cafe for a jumbo combo starter 😬

Haven’t been myself but I hear the Camera Obscura is a fun experience.

Princes St gardens is nice for a stroll or a little picnic.

Botannical Gardens.

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2 hours ago, humperdingle said:

Restaurant wise, Cafe Andaluz is great for Spanish tapas, Miller & Carter for steaks and burgers or Hard Rock Cafe for a jumbo combo starter 😬

Haven’t been myself but I hear the Camera Obscura is a fun experience.

Princes St gardens is nice for a stroll or a little picnic.

Botannical Gardens.

Agree with Andaluz, Princes Street and botanical gardens.

The tram is a nice way to get to and from the airport

Edited by henry d
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2 hours ago, Gordon R said:

bruno22rf - you surprise me. Always enjoyed trips to Edinburgh - parking aside.

I'm the same, been a couple of times with the missus and the lads and really enjoyed it,  would happily go back again,  but I think you need the weather,  plan for indoor and outdoor activities. 

I've only been on the train but just walked around. 

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2 hours ago, bruno22rf said:

Did exactly the same a few years ago, even flew from Heathrow. Would never go back again, the swear filter would have a field day if I told you what I thought of the place.

Although its not quite as bad as that 🤭I do think 4 days is a stretch for Edinburgh, most of the highlights can be done in a day , two at the most.
Hire a car , go up into the highlands for the day, or South to Bamburgh.

Its a pity the Fringe isnt on this year , as that can be quite interesting...

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4 hours ago, bruno22rf said:

Did exactly the same a few years ago, even flew from Heathrow. Would never go back again, the swear filter would have a field day if I told you what I thought of the place.

Got to be honest I loved Edinburgh on the occasions I've been. If you don't mind, what didn't you like about it? 

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Where to start....we stayed in a 4 star Hotel looking straight at the castle, the drinks were stupid prices, the staff didn't give a Monkeys and none of the amenities were working, rain was coming through our window and the heating didn't work. Edinburgh itself was wall to wall drunk foul mouthed Jocks and addicts sleeping on the park benches. Every other shop sells "genuine" or "original" kilts to gullible tourists or Shortbread made in china but with a grenadier on the lid. The buildings are filthy from traffic pollution and the streets were littered with beer cans and spit. You honestly could not pay me to go back, and the year we visited was the year the Edinburgh was voted "European city of culture" 😧.

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1 hour ago, bruno22rf said:

Where to start....we stayed in a 4 star Hotel looking straight at the castle, the drinks were stupid prices, the staff didn't give a Monkeys and none of the amenities were working, rain was coming through our window and the heating didn't work. Edinburgh itself was wall to wall drunk foul mouthed Jocks and addicts sleeping on the park benches. Every other shop sells "genuine" or "original" kilts to gullible tourists or Shortbread made in china but with a grenadier on the lid. The buildings are filthy from traffic pollution and the streets were littered with beer cans and spit. You honestly could not pay me to go back, and the year we visited was the year the Edinburgh was voted "European city of culture" 😧.

I've never been to Edinburgh, but I thought that you were describing Glasgow there.

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Am going up at the month end. I’ve visited many a time with the kids, usually during the Fringe when we would stay at Prestonpans, and I’ve worked a lot throughout E Lothian, usually based in either Musselburgh or Gifford. 
OH studied art there so she knows the city much better than me. 
I like Edinburgh. 

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If you want to impress the Mrs - go to Tigerlillys restaurant on George street it’s quirky and good food.

Try the Edinburgh dungeons- and as mentioned camera obscura is good fun.

Try Rose street for bars, and of course the royal Mile.

Edinburgh is beautiful and everything is in walking distance.

Hitman 

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Aside from leisure visits, I have been to Edinburgh a few times and Glasgow more times than you can point a stick at, on business. Really like both. In Glasgow, our nights out were dictated by colleagues who knew their way around. Great pubs, great restaurants and never seen any bother. Great people.

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2 hours ago, bruno22rf said:

Where to start....we stayed in a 4 star Hotel looking straight at the castle, the drinks were stupid prices, the staff didn't give a Monkeys and none of the amenities were working, rain was coming through our window and the heating didn't work. Edinburgh itself was wall to wall drunk foul mouthed Jocks and addicts sleeping on the park benches. Every other shop sells "genuine" or "original" kilts to gullible tourists or Shortbread made in china but with a grenadier on the lid. The buildings are filthy from traffic pollution and the streets were littered with beer cans and spit. You honestly could not pay me to go back, and the year we visited was the year the Edinburgh was voted "European city of culture" 😧.

Thanks for the reply. I know what you mean about junkies, I went first in about 2005 and it was bad enough then. Went back in 2018 and it was 10x worse. But other than that I loved the place and the people. Different strokes and all that 👍

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I live here but am from Belfast so have done a lot more of the touristy bits than the locals. This is the email I sent to a friend in California whose boss was visiting a couple of years ago. This was for a guy with a couple of mates here to see Scotland playing Pakistan cricket (they lost) so it's more bloke focused.

I'll add more posts if anything comes to me.

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Restaurants

 

Michelin Stars

There are a few restaurants with michelin stars but I doubt you'd get in at such short notice.

 

Really Quite Nice

The Withcery - On the Royal Mile, an old Edinburgh favourite. Worth it for the experience.

The Honours - North Castle St, we've eaten here a few times, always excellent

Chaophraya - 4th Floor 33 Castle St, Thai. Rooftop thai with brilliant views of the castle, very good

The Tower - Top floor National Museum, Chamber St. V Good, good views of town & castle.

Old Favourites

Fishers - 58 Thistle St. Seafood. A real favourite of ours, where Karen told me she was pregnant with Niamh, after ordering lobster. Good chowder for lunch.

Café St Honour - 34 North West Thistle St, French style, local produce, always good

The Dome - George St. The best thing anyone's ever done with a bank, beautiful inside, good food. Definitely go in for a drink at some point.

Fazenda - George St. MEAT! Different. Waiters wander about with long skewers of all sorts of  different grilled meat.

Hawksmoor - W Register St (St Andrew Sq). Again meat features heavily.

Cafe Marlayne - French, more laid back than Cafe St Honour but v good the couple of times we've been in and not too expensive.

Newish, we haven't been in but gets good reports.

Ondine - George IV Bridge - Seafood and oyster bar - Good

Angels With bagpipes - High St - V good.

Timberyard - 10 Lady lawson St. Haven't been but heard good reports

 

If you get a taxi down to Leith there are more good fish places down there.

 

Lunch/Quick/Pub food

There are loads of small café's about, they are all generally pretty good for lunch/ coffee

 

Pubs

Some old favourites, no apologies that these are 'old man pubs'. 🙂 There's been an explosion of 'craft' breweries in the last 10 years, most pubs will have some local/ Scottish craft beer on, most are pretty good. In no particular order...

The Devil's Advocate - Advocate's Close

The Bow Bar - W Bow. Cosy, pies & pints, good range of beer Guilford Arms -  1 W Register St. Good pub, the start of many nights out Café Royal - 19 W Register St, just round the corner fromGuilford Arms, Tiled Victorian bar. (Oyster restaurant here is good but £££ I think).

The Dome - Trendier than the rest but worth a look (as above, used to be a bank). (One for the wife).

Mather's Bar - Queensferry St - Very tradiotional pub. Probably don't do cocktails. 😊

Blue Blazer - Spittal St, old favourite

The Royal Oak -  1 Infirmary St . Good pub with live traditional music

Sandy Bell's - 25 Forrest Rd. Haven't been in but another pub with live music, more 'touristy' than the Royal Oak

 

Touristy Things

Real Mary King's Close - _Uniqe_ Edinburgh tour to see old streets that have been built over.  DO THIS, book it before you come if you have to.

Scott Monument - E Princes St Gardens. Climb to the top, great views, cheap, and few locals have done this.

Gladstone's Land - 447 (Top of) Lawnmarket. National Trust. Recreation of how people would have lived in 17th century.

Castle Tour. Not cheap from memory, some very interesting bits. Try to catch the One O'Clock Gun. Goes off every day (except Sunday).

                [Also synchronised with the 1 O'Clock gun, a large white ball is dropped down a mast at the top of Calton

                Hill. This allowed the sailors in Leith to synchronise their clocks accurately. I'm told this is what triggers

                the gun and supposedly happens every day. In 20 years I've never remembered to look for it]

House in 14 S Charlotte St, Birthplace of Alexander Graham Bell. Carved into the stone beside the door. Not very spectacular but if you're walking past.....

 

The Oxford Bar - 8 Young St. Small rough and ready bar that features heavily in Ian Rankin's Rebus novels (about an old rough and ready cop 'Rebus', based in Edinburgh). (Sam, if you're looking for books the Rebus novels are an easy read).

 

Guided tours. There are quite a few guided tours, it might be worth taking one to get a properly guided history of the city. (Tripadvisor for recommendations here).

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