edinburgh, scotland

[bag13msu]

We  are going to be  in  edinburgh for 4  days as a base of operations.  Does anyone have suggestions on where to  stay and what  to  see  in this time? What  day  tours are good, etc as we  are trying not  to  rent a car.

[bag13msu]

May 27, 2014 18:14:34 GMT -5 jamaicam said:

What are you into? History? Outdoors stuff? Drinking?

all of the above. but drinking and  history. outdoors is dh

[pittpurple]

Hi! I live in Edinburgh so hopefully can help. Where are you staying and when are you coming? In 4 days you could easily just stay in the city or do a day/half day tour into the countryside on a bus and have no need for a car (I lived without a car for 8 years here). Both of my parents did a tour on Rabbies (http://www.rabbies.com/) and raved about it and did tours on other bus companies and had less great experiences.

If you/your DH want to do hiking, there are options that you can get to on the train - let me know if you want any information, it's something my DH did a lot of in years past.

I would suggest one day on the Royal Mile - morning at the Castle, wander down the mile and ending at Holyrood Palace (you don't necessarily have to go into the palace but there's several cute museums and churches along the route. The Queen's Gallery always has something interesting as well). At the end of the Mile is Arthur's Seat which is maybe a half hour hike to the top - totally worth it if you have nice weather, the views are amazing.

The Museum of Scotland is fantastic (and free). There's 2 halves - for history, you want to go in on the right and there's several floors of historical Scotland exhibits. The left side is a Natural History and ethnographic museum.

There's a ton of fabulous restaurants, once I know where you're staying I can give some suggestions but if you want a really amazing night out, I very much recommend Rhubarb (http://www.prestonfield.com/Dining-RhubarbRestaurant.html) They do a 3 course menu for £33 which is lovely but it's the location that is just spectacular - it's was an old stately home so they have their own grounds (you'll need a taxi) and the whole site is just amazing.

[travelingturtle]

What's your hotel budget? We stayed at the Balmoral the first time and loved it. Great location, nice hotel. Any hotel chain in that area will be a good spot. The last time we were there we stayed in the Hilton (there used to be two Hiltons, last I read one got upgraded to a Waldorf Astoria - if it hasn't been upgraded yet then it's likely the Hilton that's the cheaper of the two is where we stayed.) I didn't like that hotel and wouldn't recommend it (or the area, really) to anyone.

For a day trip I think Glasgow is easy with the trains. I think it's an hour from center to center. We also did a day trip to St. Andrews which required train and bus. We were with our 1 year old and thought that was also an easy day trip.

[meggers5]

Do this tour. It's fantastic and a great intro to the city.

www.newedinburghtours.com/daily-tours/new-edinburgh-free-tour.html

[bag13msu]

May 28, 2014 13:55:31 GMT -5 frlcb said:

We stayed here and it was a great location, simple room but that was fine - www.radissonblu.co.uk/hotel-edinburgh

We also considered the Missoni Hotel.

 Radison blu  look good but they had no rooms

[bag13msu]

May 28, 2014 8:24:23 GMT -5 travelingturtle said:

What's your hotel budget? We stayed at the Balmoral the first time and loved it. Great location, nice hotel. Any hotel chain in that area will be a good spot. The last time we were there we stayed in the Hilton (there used to be two Hiltons, last I read one got upgraded to a Waldorf Astoria - if it hasn't been upgraded yet then it's likely the Hilton that's the cheaper of the two is where we stayed.) I didn't like that hotel and wouldn't recommend it (or the area, really) to anyone.

For a day trip I think Glasgow is easy with the trains. I think it's an hour from center to center. We also did a day trip to St. Andrews which required train and bus. We were with our 1 year old and thought that was also an easy day trip.

 our budget is 120-200 pounds

[Deleted]

We just went for a long weekend in February and I compiled a list of places to eat. I didn't get to try all of them, but they were all recommended by this board, coworkers or other travel blogs:

www.oinkhogroast.co.uk/
www.thecambridgebar.co.uk/‎
www.texmex2.com/‎
www.eccovinoedinburgh.com/‎
www.tigerlilyedinburgh.co.uk/edinburgh-restaurant/‎
www.barkohl.co.uk/‎
www.brewdog.com/bars/edinburgh
www.eteaket.co.uk/‎
www.wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk/
www.bibisbakery.co.uk/
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186525-d4748689-Reviews-The_Black_Cat-Edinburgh_Scotland.html
www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thelastdropgrassmarketedinburgh/
www.mussel-inn.com/
www.thedomeedinburgh.com/
www.thewitchery.com/

As for hotels we stayed here: www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186525-d4089712-Reviews-Angels_Share_Hotel-Edinburgh_Scotland.html

Neither H nor I are huge whiskey drinkers, but the Scotch Whiskey Experience was interesting. If you aren't big whiskey drinkers then get 1 gold admission to share (and 1 regular admission) because they're really generous with the pours.

[meggers5]

May 29, 2014 3:16:18 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

We just went for a long weekend in February and I compiled a list of places to eat. I didn't get to try all of them, but they were all recommended by this board, coworkers or other travel blogs:

www.oinkhogroast.co.uk/- Delicious pork sandwiches. I've had way too many. You can get applesauce, stuffing and haggis on it.
www.thecambridgebar.co.uk/‎-  They have great burgers with huge varieties of toppings, and a great beer selection
www.texmex2.com/‎  -  Also really delicious. It's small, so you should make reservations. The decor is adorable and the margaritas are great.
www.eccovinoedinburgh.com/‎ - Nice wine bar. Lot's of selection.
www.tigerlilyedinburgh.co.uk/edinburgh-restaurant/‎ - Trendy bar, nice cocktails
www.barkohl.co.uk/‎ - Great cocktail selection
www.brewdog.com/bars/edinburgh - Fantastic beer selection. Email to see if they're doing a tasting and you'll get the history of the place as well.
www.eteaket.co.uk/‎- Absolutely adorable. In town. Huge tea selection and lots of delicious cakes and sandwiches. I love this place.
www.wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk/
www.bibisbakery.co.uk/
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186525-d4748689-Reviews-The_Black_Cat-Edinburgh_Scotland.html
www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thelastdropgrassmarketedinburgh/
www.mussel-inn.com/
www.thedomeedinburgh.com/ - Beautiful space, nice cocktails. If you're there on a Sunday it would be a nice place for a roast dinner.
www.thewitchery.com/

As for hotels we stayed here: www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186525-d4089712-Reviews-Angels_Share_Hotel-Edinburgh_Scotland.html

Neither H nor I are huge whiskey drinkers, but the Scotch Whiskey Experience was interesting. If you aren't big whiskey drinkers then get 1 gold admission to share (and 1 regular admission) because they're really generous with the pours.

[jennybee1018]

May 29, 2014 7:49:50 GMT -5 meggers5 said:

May 29, 2014 3:16:18 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

We just went for a long weekend in February and I compiled a list of places to eat. I didn't get to try all of them, but they were all recommended by this board, coworkers or other travel blogs:

www.oinkhogroast.co.uk/- Delicious pork sandwiches. I've had way too many. You can get applesauce, stuffing and haggis on it.
www.thecambridgebar.co.uk/‎-  They have great burgers with huge varieties of toppings, and a great beer selection
www.texmex2.com/‎  -  Also really delicious. It's small, so you should make reservations. The decor is adorable and the margaritas are great.
www.eccovinoedinburgh.com/‎ - Nice wine bar. Lot's of selection.
www.tigerlilyedinburgh.co.uk/edinburgh-restaurant/‎ - Trendy bar, nice cocktails
www.barkohl.co.uk/‎ - Great cocktail selection
www.brewdog.com/bars/edinburgh - Fantastic beer selection. Email to see if they're doing a tasting and you'll get the history of the place as well.
www.eteaket.co.uk/‎- Absolutely adorable. In town. Huge tea selection and lots of delicious cakes and sandwiches. I love this place.
www.wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk/
www.bibisbakery.co.uk/
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186525-d4748689-Reviews-The_Black_Cat-Edinburgh_Scotland.html
www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thelastdropgrassmarketedinburgh/
www.mussel-inn.com/
www.thedomeedinburgh.com/ - Beautiful space, nice cocktails. If you're there on a Sunday it would be a nice place for a roast dinner.
www.thewitchery.com/

As for hotels we stayed here: www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186525-d4089712-Reviews-Angels_Share_Hotel-Edinburgh_Scotland.html

Neither H nor I are huge whiskey drinkers, but the Scotch Whiskey Experience was interesting. If you aren't big whiskey drinkers then get 1 gold admission to share (and 1 regular admission) because they're really generous with the pours.

We're going in August (we'll be there during the Fringe festival!). Thanks for these recs uwhuskygirl and Meggers - I'm saving them :-)

[pittpurple]

jennybee1018 - some of them were from me so don't blame Uwhusky and Meg if you don't like them :-)

[lolo]

I'll second pittpurple's recommendation of Rabbies for tour guides. We did a one day tour of the highlands with them--were supposed to do loch ness but there was an accident that blocked the route, so the driver switched gears and we saw loch Lomond and several gorgeous small villages (Inverary was one of my favorite stops). This company is also recommended by Rick Steves. They do small coach tours.

I also agree with the recommendations to walk the royal mile, see the castle and hike Arthur's seat. Toward the Holyrod end is a tea shop called Clarinda's, which was a tea guild choice and which I highly recommend.

For day trips, I'd suggest doing the rabbies tour of the highlands or another that interests you. Stirling is another day trip option that hasn't been mentioned yet. Their castle is pretty famous.

Eta: the museum of Scotland was also wonderful and I highly recommend it

[jennybee1018]

May 29, 2014 9:06:22 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

jennybee1018 - some of them were from me so don't blame Uwhusky and Meg if you don't like them :-)

Ha ha, no worries! What's not to like? Don't forget I'm coming from the land of halal meat, no pork & expensive alcohol!

I'm pretty sure no matter where we go, it'll be good!!!

[osumelissa]

This is such a timely post since I will be in Edinburgh in 11 days! I had written most of this down from a previous post a month or two ago, but got a few new ideas as well.

I am planning on doing a day trip to St Andrews...now just to decide whether to do a day trip with Rabbies (would probably do the Loch Lomond one) or do my own thing by taking the train to Stirling. Thoughts?

[Deleted]

There's this old Scotland and Edinburgh thread that may be helpful:

pandce.proboards.com/thread/284442/scotland-tell-me

[pittpurple]

osumelissa...it depends on what you are into. Stirling is an amazing, huge castle in a small city / large town. The train ride will be pretty and the castle will take a couple hours to see properly. Loch Lomond is one of the prettiest parts of Scotland (much nicer than Loch Ness) so you'll see some of the countryside and some of the quiet parts of the country. In my house, my DH would always pick Loch Lomond but I'm really into medieval history so I'd go with Stirling Castle.

Oh wait - just looked at the itinerary and saw that the Loch Lomond tour includes Stirling castle so you'd see both. Well, then it's just a question of if you want to see some of the countryside and what kind of travel you prefer. It can be really nice to not have to worry about transport and just have someone get you from place to place.

[wise_rita]

I'm just going to link to this thread, because my comments still stand: pandce.proboards.com/thread/37754/tell-me-glasgow-edinburgh-march

The cafe with my favorite caramel slice is no more, meggers tells me.

I definitely recommend the free walking tour she linked to. Do it on your first day to orient yourself.

[HamishHealys]

Within the area of Edinburgh are several nice spots to go to, Glasgow, St. Andrews, The Pentlands, The waters of Leith, etc and they’re accessible via bus or train , which are a lot more convenient than having to rent a car.

[bag13msu]

thanks

[anna7602]

Unless it's plentiful where you are, go out for some Indian food in Edinburgh. (I traveled there from the Indian-food-wasteland of Paris.) We ate at the Indian Cavalry Club (http://www.indiancavalryclub.co.uk/)and it was excellent, but locals like pittpurple might have other reco's.

And, FWIW, I tasted many Scotch whiskies in Scotland and my favorite is Tallisker. It's made in the Isle of Skye, but should be available anywhere in Edinburgh.

Sticky toffee pudding is also pretty amazing.

[Deleted]

May 28, 2014 13:55:31 GMT -5 frlcb said:

We stayed here and it was a great location, simple room but that was fine - www.radissonblu.co.uk/hotel-edinburgh

We also considered the Missoni Hotel.

What a shame, Missoni is great - loved that hotel.

[kelley182]

You should look into staying at Andy Murray's new hotel. It's definitely on my list and it looks so charming.

[wise_rita]

Jun 5, 2014 13:40:44 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Unless it's plentiful where you are, go out for some Indian food in Edinburgh. (I traveled there from the Indian-food-wasteland of Paris.) We ate at the Indian Cavalry Club (http://www.indiancavalryclub.co.uk/)and it was excellent, but locals like pittpurple might have other reco's.

Kismot is the best Indian in Edinburgh!  Amazing food and the best service.  If you bring a candy bar they'll batter and deep fry it for you for dessert.  I mean, come on!  You can't beat that.

Mother India is also very good.  It's Indian tapas, so a nifty concept.  I lived above it so I'm very nostalgic about that place.

[ktzmoh]

I'll be there in October. thanks so much for all the recs in this thread, this is very helpful.

Seems like I can fill up an itinerary pretty well based on this advice.

I have two other questions:

1) any recommendations for vegan friendly restaurants pittpurple?
2) I have an 11 mile training run scheduled in the middle of my trip and would love a recommendation for a spectacular trail or something memorable that is relatively close to Edinburg. We'll have a car so we can drive outside the city, but I don't want it to consume the entire day, so I'd like to stay within an hour of the city.

[pittpurple]

ktzmoh
Where are you staying? Can make recommendations from there - a lot of my family is vegetarian so I've been to several veggie friendly options and many of them have some vegan as well. I'm trying to remember if Indian food is vegan, there are a million delicious Indian restaurants in the city but I'm not entirely sure what they actually use to cook.

Well, if you want memorable, there's always this course - www.seven-hills.org.uk/course.asp! Otherwise, are you thinking hills or flat? Something pretty to look at? A city route?

[ktzmoh]

Aug 1, 2014 16:03:57 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

ktzmoh
Where are you staying? Can make recommendations from there - a lot of my family is vegetarian so I've been to several veggie friendly options and many of them have some vegan as well. I'm trying to remember if Indian food is vegan, there are a million delicious Indian restaurants in the city but I'm not entirely sure what they actually use to cook.

Well, if you want memorable, there's always this course - www.seven-hills.org.uk/course.asp! Otherwise, are you thinking hills or flat? Something pretty to look at? A city route?

we are staying near parliament square

that course looks phenomenal! I'll definitely keep it in mind - I might just have to do part of it or map out a little shortcut to come in at 11 miles. I'd love a trail run though with some hills, but not a killer run - and out of the city. I can do my shorter runs through the city, for the long one I'd love some country scenery. 

Thanks for the help! 

[ktzmoh]

Hey pittpurple! Just doing the final planning for this trip and wanted to touch base with you again in case you had thought of any suggestions for good vegetarian food in the Parliament Square area. Thanks so much in advance!

[pittpurple]

Hiya!
One place that comes immediately to mind is Henderson's in town - www.hendersonsofedinburgh.co.uk/. There's actually two parts to it, on Hanover street if you go down a few stairs there's a canteen style cafe but if you go onto the side street, there's a tiny little sit-down place. It's fantastic, I go there a lot. Oh - and I just remembered they have another cafe right on the corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road. It's right underneath the church, I always forget it's there but if you're in that part of town it's a great lunch option.

This is really close to you - www.kalpnarestaurant.com/index.htm
I've never actually been, but tons of my friends rave about it. My husband is very much a meat-eater and all Indian restaurants have a huge veggie list anyway, so we usually just go to our usual place. Indian is a great option for you as there will always be veggie section of the menu.

This cafe is really close to you. I don't think it's vegetarian but I can't remember ever seeing meat there. They have a lot of fish if you eat that but it's a great place to go for lunch or a snack - petersyard.com/whoweare/

This again, isn't technically vegetarian but they have lots of veggie options, I've taken both my parents here - www.urban-angel.co.uk/locations-and-opening-hours/ It's absolutely delicious and well worth it for any meal, the breakfasts are great if you don't get breakfast at your hotel.

This is a little walk, but really close to the Castle (right on the royal mile) so you'll likely be in this area anyway. Again, not veggie but tons of veggie options. It's a huge favourite of my family www.cafetruva.com/royal.php

Another one on Hanover Street but you will probably find yourself here more than once!
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186525-d698115-Reviews-Bar_Napoli-Edinburgh_Scotland.html It's not super special or anything but it's super budget friendly and always delicious. Huge, huge menu.

Generally speaking, if you eat dairy you'll find stuff almost anywhere. My parents and brother are dairy-eating vegetarian (they keep kosher) and they've never had a problem. There's lots of Indian and Italian restaurants with lots of options. Any pub menu will have really yummy macaroni cheese and baked potatoes with a variety of toppings are really common.

I did a couple google searches and this place keeps coming up - www.davidbann.com/index.php. I've actually never heard of it or been there but it seems like it's somewhere to try next time my family is in town!

And there's this list on Trip Advisor but I can't speak for any of the options here - www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g186525-c40-Edinburgh_Scotland.html

Have fun! Let me know if there's anything else you need :-)

[ktzmoh]

Thank you pittpurple! You are fantastic and your help is much appreciated!!

[pittpurple]

ktzmoh

Just checked back on this and you definitely said vegan, not dairy friendly options, sorry! Was thinking of another post apparently.

I 'think' most of what I said is still useful but you will have a bit of a harder time as a strict vegan. My mom was vegan when she visited once and it was a bit difficult as so much stuff here is apparently cooked in butter. I'll do a bit of asking around as I'm not actually sure if Indian food is vegan friendly, no idea what they use to cook!