Need some advice.
SWMBO finishes her Chemo in September and I am looking for a suitable weekend away to celebrate.
She won't be able to travel to anywhere too exotic (climate & distance wise), and has a hankering to visit Edinburgh. Embarrassed to say I
have never been to Scotland!
Question - what is good to do in Edinburgh - we will have 2 kids in tow (13 & 4 years old). Really after the "if you go to Edinburgh you
really must go to..." kind of things.
Cheers
Martin
It's a great place to visit. Take a trip on the open top tour bus to get your bearings, it will go past all the sites and you can get on/off when
you want, just get an all day ticket.
Main things to see:
Castle
One O'Clock gun
Royal Mile
Aurther Seat, if you want to hike up a small mountain with good veiws of the City
GrassMarket - lots of old pubs / cafes
Holyrood - Scottish Parliament Building (if you are interested
Royal Yacht Brittania
Castle of course - don't miss Mons Meg, a huge cannon, soldiers' pet cemetery Camera Obscura - good for kids - kind of periscope projecting
image onto white screen plus other optical curiosities.
Holyrood House connection with Mary Queen of Scots. Parliament building - don't forget to ask "was the overspend really that much "
Princes Street shops and gardens with Floral clock and Scott Monument.
Statue of Greyfriars Bobby Google the story if you don't know it
Loads of other things but get a tourist leaflet at your hotel
Hope you all have a great time
All the above really... Castle is a standout - lots to see in there!
Kids would like Mary Kings Close... see HERE
The National Museum is worth a bimble into - lots of interesting things to see. Will keep the kids occupied for at least an hour... and it's
FREE!
All the above are a 5 minute walk from Princes Street and are only a couple of minutes from each other.
the natural history museum needs a whole day to go round, it's huge
Dynamic Earth is also worth a visit, Deep Sea World, though it's over the bridge in Fife. Or how about a boat trip up the Forth under the bridges
The Zoo is good for kids
http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/
Would 2nd, 3rd and 4th Mary King's close - not just for kids though!
It's a really good show/visit - it's just a shame about the crappy lighting 
There's also a nice Tapas bar just round the corner off the lower end of the Royal Mile...
Steve
quote:
Originally posted by scootz
All the above really... Castle is a standout - lots to see in there!
Kids would like Mary Kings Close... see HERE
The National Museum is worth a bimble into - lots of interesting things to see. Will keep the kids occupied for at least an hour... and it's FREE!
All the above are a 5 minute walk from Princes Street and are only a couple of minutes from each other.
If you want something really scary, try a tour round the vaults
If the city gets too oppressive go out to South Queensferry and take the Maid of the Forth (a boat) across to Inchcolm Island. A great day out.
Camera Obscura at the top of the Royal Mile (beside the castle) is good fun as is the Whisky Heritage Centre across the road.
Walk down the Royal Mile to see the New Scottish Parliament. Looks like Uganda International Airport from the outside but the debating chamber is fab
and worth a look. Nip across the Road to The Palace of Holyrood (tales of mary Queen of Scots + various murders - blood stains still visible on the
floors always popular with the teenagers). After that you are beside Arthur's Seat - a very impressive hill in the middle of the city.
Have fun
Gary
i spent bloody hours staring at machines in the weaving place near the castle! Awesome clack clack clack... im going to make one one day!
apex international was quite nice.
[Edited on 8/8/08 by JoelP]
Hey glad you guys like Mary King's Close, I did the lighting design for it! No one mentioned Holyrood Palace but it may be a bit boring for kids!
Chambers Street Museum is being re-done at the moment so only the Museum of Scotland is open, however there are a couple of nice steam engines that
run a couple of times a day up on the first floor and lots of nice models as well. I also lit that building
Edinburgh is a fabulous city, lots of nice places to hang out.
Caber
Knockhill is about 45mins away...
If you want something free to look round, the Museum of Childhood is ok. Not great, but as I said - it's free!
We had a nice meal in The Mussel & Steak Inn in Cowgateshead...
Steve