UK [Attractions in and around Edinburgh, Wales and London]
 

Does anyone have any good places to see or go in Edinburgh Scotland? I want to go to Craigmillar Castle, Arthur's Seat, and the National Museum of Scotland and Old Town so far. Edinburgh Castle is pricey and doesn't seem that great. We have 3-5 days there. I have never been there before. Also tips on how to save money would be great. We are going in May.

Hello pomegranate13, welcome to Flyertalk and the Europe forum.

We do have a dedicated forum for the UK and Ireland, so I'll move this thread over there to get more input. I've also slightly changed the title, to the same end.

Please continue to follow this topic in the UK & Ireland forum.

stut
Moderator
Europe Forum

I can highly recommend buying a ticket to Edinburgh Bus Tours.
I bought a 48 hour ticket ( the grand 48+ ticket - 26£) to all bus tours, including a bus and boat tour to see the bridge and seals. I enjoyed it very much.
The guides on the different bus tours are really knowledgeable and hugely entertaining.
http://edinburghtour.com
http://edinburghtour.com/ticket-offe...-grand-tickets

Check out lunch deals in restaurants - one way to save money.

For saving money, get all day tickets (buy on board) for the local buses. Lets you hop on and hop off as you like.

The National Gallery - also free - on the Mound has a nice collection. The National Portrait Gallery on Queen St has recently been refurbished, and is also pretty cool now.

I like St Giles Cathedral, if only for the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle - it's a very small fee to get it, but its gorgeous.

Go out on the Maid of the Forth - a boat trip out in the Firth of Forth. http://www.maidoftheforth.co.uk

Or if you are coming in Spring, get the train to North Berwick, and go out to see the gannet colony on the Bass Rock.

Edinburgh Zoo has pandas and a great penguin colony.

in short, Edinburgh has a shed load of different kinds of tourist attractions... I guess if you really don't know what to see/do, it might be better investing in a guide for the city and starting from there? Anything we say/suggest will be just our random suggestions out of a plethora. What is it you like to see/do? And when are you coming?

Walking down the Royal Mile is a must!!

Getting a bit out of the city, I'd recommend the royal yacht Britannia. If you're a Da Vinci Code fan, check out Rosslyn Chapel. (Stone carvings there clearly show corn and cactus, plants that grew only in North America when it was built - decades before Columbus.) Both are easy to reach by public bus.

Having taken my kids, aged 8 + 11, last year in October, I can tell you what worked for us. YMMV.

• We walked up to the castle, but thought the price was too much for what was on offer for the Children. (and I'm not sure we would have bothered as adults only)
• The Camera Obscura was fun and the whole exhibition enjoyed by the children
• 8 year old pretty scared at the Dungeon - not a bad way to spend some time. Maybe too corny for some.
• Real Mary Kings Close was worth paying for. Interesting tour.
• National Museum is a *must*. They have free tours of some of the collection by Volunteer Guides. We joined a Viking one and it was excellent - brough the exhibits to life
• Walking through the streets - Royal Mile et al. Free and fun.
• Toy museum. OK if it's raining or if you have 20 minutes to spend in nostalgia.

Mary Kings close and the Dungeon both allow online booking, which gets you a cheaper rate and the chance to dodge the queues. The close does book up, so book before you arrive if it's something you fancy doing.

Also very surprised that all the low-end restaurants were booked and we couldn't walk in off the street on a wet night in October - it was English, not Scottish, half term and the place did not seem overrun. Moral - make some reservations if you want to be sure of eating somewhere you fancy.

Glasgow? ;-)

The OP wants *good* places to see. ;)

As well as the museum, there are several art galleries if that takes your fancy. We like the National Portrait Gallery on Queen Street.

As Jenbel said, day tickets on the bus are a good way to save if you're going to be doing more than two single trips. And as well as the pandas (you have to book a slot to see them) and penguins, the zoo has the first koala Joey born in the UK.

You can walk up the royal mile to the castle esplanade without having to buy a ticket, so you can still see the view from the castle.

Forgot to mention that - a really high concentration of big name artists in a compact space.

Botanic Gardens if you are into gardens. Their restaurant also does a very nice afternoon tea.

The National Trust for Scotland Georgian house on Charlotte Square, which shows you how the well to do lived when the New Town was built.

Dynamic Earth is done very well - http://www.dynamicearth.co.uk

I don't think anyone has mentioned Holyrood yet either - it can easily be combined with Dynamic Earth and the Parliament buildings (although the Parliament might be of more interest to Scots, given we fought so hard to get it).

And just be aware of the whole Independence debate Scotland is having at the moment - culminating in a referendum in September. You too can join in the national game of spotting bias in the media ;)

If it's a nice day, I always enjoy a train trip over the Forth Bridge - either to North Queensferry to go down to the water and see the bridges themselves, or up to somewhere like Aberdour for a walk along the coast (you can follow the train tracks to Burntisland).

I love North Berwick too - always reminds me of childhood holidays (especially trying to swim in the North Sea - and my wife wonders why I don't feel the cold...)

Why not? ^

Five days in Edinburgh is more than enough so venturing over to Glasgow for the day is well worth the effort.

If only to let you see how superior Edinburgh is :p

And to get a break from its big heided inhabitants. :p