Edinburgh Travel Guide | My Life Trips

Edinburgh

Information

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland since 1437 and its second largest city. The city was a big center, and today it is a popular tourist destination in Europe and it is the second most visited city in the United Kingdom after London. In 2010 Edinburgh had a total population of 486,120 inhabitants, so it is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom.

Edinburgh is often called “Athens Of The North” for many reasons. A first comparison between the two cities reveals that they had the same topography, as the Old Town of Edinburgh is very similar to Athens. Both cities ending in a harbor: Piraeus in Athens and Leith in Edinburgh.

The old city has preserved its medieval architecture, large squares between the streets, popular markets and nice public buildings, such as the courts. The New City was created in the 18th century as a solution to the overpopulation of the Old City. The new city, which was created with a strict design and the main shopping street is Princes Street. Edinburgh is definitely one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as its architecture combined with the beauty of the landscape, the strong traditions, its people, and the incredible atmosphere, make Edinburgh a unique city which everyone has to visit for at least once in their life!

Sterling, also known as British Pound, is the official Scottish currency (GBP) and 10 British Pounds equals to 11,30 Euros. For the latest updated exchange rates visit the XE Currency Converter page.

What To See...

Calton Hill

This hill is located in the city center and offers a great view of the city of Edinburgh. At the top there is the Scottish version of Acropolis.

The Royal Mile

The most beautiful street in Edinburgh! Here you will admire the beauty of this city and you will find plenty of shops with traditional products, local costumes, coffee and more. The road starts from the Hollyrood Palace and ends up in front of the Castle gate through a beautiful path that you will surely love!

Edinburgh Castle

The majestic castle of the city, which is evident from every corner, is definitely one of the main attractions, although with a bit high ticket price, (17 pounds per person) and is open daily from 9:00-17: 00 to the public.

Princess Street

It is the most commercial street of the city and here you will find many shops. Princess street is also the entrance to the Royal Gardens where you can admire a magnificent view of the castle and relax in the most central part of the city. Many people come here to relax in their break from work, to read, picnic or just sunbathe when it is not raining.

Dean Village

At a walking distance from the city center you will find this incredible neighborhood which is perhaps the most beautiful spot in Edinburgh along with the Royal Mile! Pictures of rare beauty that will stay forever engraved in your mind! Suddenly from the city center you will find yourself in a quiet neighborhood that is taken from the most beautiful fairytale. You will surely envy the people who live here for the peace and the unsurpassed beauty they have in their everyday lives.

Arthur's Seat

If you want to walk a little more, the Arthur’s seat as it is called, is located on a high hill on the edge of the city and offers the best panoramic views of Edinburgh!

Nearby Excursions

Scotland is a beautiful country with incredible landscapes, lakes, castles, all of which are accompanied by history. All of you have surely heard Braveheart and the Highlands from the amazing homonymous movie. These landscapes exist and are even more beautiful! So our suggestion is to organize an excursion to the Highlands! In the city center there are several companies that organize one, two day, or even weekly excursions with big buses or small vans where you will be able to see a large part of this truly unique place! If you have a car, then you have the ultimate freedom and you can enjoy all the highlights of the Highlands without restrictions. Of course, there is a very big problem that you have to overcome and this is no other than driving on the opposite side of the road than you are accustomed to most European countries! If you are still confident that you can do it, do not even think about it because it is by far the best way to explore the country. It is true that a one day excursion is definitely not enough to see the Highlands, especially if you come across bad weather like us.

The famous Lochnes Lake, which not impressed us compared to the rest of the Highlands, is a very popular tourist destination mainly due to the almost foolish local legend with the monster of the lake, but still nowadays people continue to visit it every day.

One of the most beautiful places in the Highlands is the road through the village of Glencoe where the scenery will really leave you speechless! In general, any route in Highlands is a great experience and we can not distinguish a particular point because everything was magical!

What To Eat

In Edinburgh and in Scotland in general you can find some interesting things to try with Scotch whiskey first of all of course, which in Scotland is a real science. You can find the whiskey museum a few meters before the entrance of the castle, which is an amazing experience for whiskey lovers, as they can taste some very expensive whiskeys but also some very special ones.

It may not be 100% Scotch but we are sure they are the most delicious cookies you’ve ever tried! Ben’s Cookies is located in the city center and here you can taste a huge variety of delicious fluffy biscuits in incredible combinations such as chocolate peanut butter, coconut, cinnamon etc, whichever you try is a real experience!

The Baked Potato shop is a very smart idea but also very cheap for those who want a different approach to fast food. The Baked Potato is therefore nothing more than a huge baked potato in the oven that actually melts in the mouth and is filled with things like cheese, bacon, vegetables, various beans etc. An amazing idea for fast food in the most beautiful corner of the city!

The famous Scotch cookies (shortbreads) are very tasty and contain large amounts of butter and sugar. The Scotch Tablet is also very famous in Scotland and you can find it in various flavors everywhere. It is mainly made up of a lot of sugar and when we say a lot, we mean A LOT… They often use it instead of sugar in hot drinks, which is a very good idea indeed.

For the very courageous now, there is Scotland’s most famous dish, which is no other than Haggis! This dish is a type of salty pudding that combines meat with oatmeal, onions, salt and spices. The traditional way of cooking is in the stomach of a sheep, but most Haggis today are sold and cooked in the form of a sausage. We did not try it, but those who have tried it consider it a very gastronomic dish! So if you also belong to the courageous ones then we will be glad to tell us your oppinion about this very special dish.

How to move

Edinburgh is a great city but it has also a great advantage which make it even better, almost all of the main sights such as the Castle, The Royal Mile, Princess Street etc are very close to each other, making it extremely easy to walk and even in a couple of days you have seen almost everything in the city and then you have free time just to revisit your favorite places which will be too many we are sure about that… Edinburgh Airport is located 9 km away from the city center and itineraries are very often (every 10 minutes), which making it extremely easy to have access to the city 24 hours a day. The central station is the Waverley bridge and is located in the heart of the city.

Where to stay

Accommodation in Edinburgh is not very expensive compared to London e.g. and you can find some very nice rooms in the city center at a fairly good price. A relatively affordable double room costs around 70 pounds in the city center, but there are of course much better options around 100 pounds per night also in the center. You can make your reservations via Booking.com

Booking.com