Edinburgh

We applied for our first UK tourist VISA in 2022 so we can visit family back home. We decided to spend a few days in Edinburgh as well. We took the train from London’s Kings Cross/St. Pancras and reached Edinburgh in about 6hours. August in Edinburgh sees mild rains, beautiful weather and because we visited towards the last week, it was not over crowded at all.

As usual, we booked an Airbnb at a walking distance from the historic old town. You can see some options on where to stay in Edinburgh:

Old Town - I would say if you are visiting for the first time, the medieval heart of the city is perfect if you want to be within walking distance of all the major attraction. Cobblestone streets, gothic architecture, and bustling pubs are fantastic way to spend your days.
New Town - Built in the 18th century, is lined with stunning Georgian architecture, high-end shops, and restaurants.
Leith - If you want to stay away from the old or new town, your next best option can be Leith. This was once an industrial port, Leith now has transformed into Edinburgh’s coolest neighborhood, filled with independent art galleries, trendy cafes and cool restaurants. Its about 30mins drive from Old town.

As first timer, we enjoyed our location of Old town and having easy access to all the cafes. For our time here, we covered the following in about 3 days.

Edinburgh Castle

Perched on the volcanic Castle Rock, Edinburgh Castle is Britain’s most besieged place and has been occupied since the Iron Age. It transitioned from a medieval royal residence—where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI—into a heavily fortified military stronghold and prison.

We booked our tickets online and also took the audio tour. Don’t skip the audio tour. It is voiced by Scottish stars like Saoirse Ronan and Bill Paterson, offering brilliant historical context that really brings the ancient walls to life.

The Famous One O’Clock Gun: If you want to witness a piece of history, plan your afternoon around the firing of the One O’Clock Gun at Mill’s Mount Battery. This tradition dates back to 1861 and acts as a fantastic photo opportunity from the castle wall. We did not know about this and just happen to book our tour by 1pm, we saw many people lining up at various spots, that’s when we found out. We were glad to have witnessed such an old tradition.

After the Castle and about 2mins walking distance, we found “The Scotch Whisky Experience” and ended up booking the tour with them. They have multiple packages, we took the Gold Tour which was about 40 pounds per person.

It was a guided tour with fun whiskey barrel ride, visit to the room of 3300 Scotch bottles and with 4 whisky tastings at the end. You also have options to buy the whiskey of your choice. I would highly recommend this purely for the fun.

The Royal Mile

This famously historic street stretches exactly one Scots mile, connecting the castle to the palace, and is lined with ancient alleyways (“closes”), shops, and traditional pubs. Stop by at small cafes, enjoy coffee with Scone or some whisky and unwind.

National Museum of Scotland

The origins of the institution date back to 1854 with the founding of the Industrial Museum of Scotland. To house its rapidly growing collections, the building on Chambers Street was designed by Captain Francis Fowke and opened in 1866 as the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art. It was renamed the Royal Scottish Museum in 1904.

Today, the museum houses over 12 million items, offering free entry to explore everything from ancient Pictish stones and the Lewis Chessmen to Dolly the sheep and a massive T. rex skeleton.

The entry to the museum is free however some exhibitions are charged. You can find more information on their website.

New Town

New Town is a short 15mins walk from the old town. One of the evenings, we decided to walk and cross the bridge into new town. It feels very trendy and totally different from the gothic architecture you see in Old town.

The new town was designed by 26-year-old architect James Craig, the grid-iron district features neoclassical architecture, leafy garden squares, and iconic streets like Princes, George, and Queen. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

We ended up going to the Chavel Hotel to drink some delicious whisky and light bites and walked back home. There are many quirky restaurants and bars, you can walk into and enjoy the evening here.

We really enjoyed our food experience in Edinburgh, here are a few we will recommend:

Pigg’s Wine Bar - Owned by 2 brothers, a small Spanish Tapas place. Delicious food and wine, highly recommend the Cod croquettes.
Sichuan House - a beautiful and small asian restaurant. A must try - Fish in hot oil, it came bubbling at our table.
Deacon’s House - For some delicious coffee and scones.

What we missed doing and will definitely come back to Edinburgh to do:

Spooky Walk Tours - I really really want to do this. If I have to, I will book a trip to Edinburgh just to do this. The tour is done at night with a costumed Guide who will take you to places likes - The South Bridge Vaults or Mary King’s Close — underground chambers associated with plague victims and reputedly haunted. They also will share tales of the witch trials and executions that took place around the Royal Mile and Castlehill. I can’t wait to do this.
Arthur’s Seat - A rewarding 45-minute to 1-hour hike from the bottom of the Royal Mile up an ancient volcano offers panoramic views of the entire city, the Firth of Forth, and the North Sea.
Loch Ness and Highlands Tour - A day trip is recommended to cover this. The guided tours can take you to experience the beauty of Scotlands dramatic Highland scenery. You can also take the boat tour at Loch Ness.
For Harry Potter fans - You can take the Harry Potter walking tour. You can discover the origins of Harry Potter and see the Edinburgh sights that inspired JK Rowling’s stories.