When you think of Scotland, you probably think of the two main cities Glasgow in Edinburgh. I think if you ask locals from each location, they will both say that their city is the better one, but we picked to visit Edinburgh because it is known to be the more historical city. I would say Edinburgh could be done in a minimum of two days, but you could, of course stay longer like we did for four days. I really felt with four days. We were able to move at a slower pace and even see things that someone who is there for only two days might not experience.
I will point out the highlights of our visit to this beautiful city.
Take a walking tour with Alice from the Tour company withlocals. This was an absolute highlight for both Kevin and I we joked around that we would spend the entire day with her if we could because she was so engaging. We insert a bunch of questions through the Tour company and then they paired us with Alice, who is known as a storyteller. We spent three hours with her, and she was hands-down, the best tour guide we have ever had, highly recommend booking with Alice!
Visit Edinburgh castle, which we learned is the fourth most visited attraction in all of Scotland. We personally decided to do a guided tour through the company little fish tours, and we had a great time due to a great guide. The tour will take you inside the castle walls and give you the history and information but they are not allowed to go into the individual buildings with you. They will point out what is, a must see and what you may or may not have interest in and at the end of the tour the ticket allows you to stay in the castle walls and continue to visit inside the buildings. If visiting Edinburgh, this is a must.
Walk the royal mile. Fun fact, the royal mile is actually a little longer than a mile in so that you’re not confused. It is comprised of multiple streets. We learned it is called the Royal Mile because it has a castle at one end, and a palace at the other end. We enjoyed walking the royal mile to see both historical buildings and pop into the cute shops. One of the streets on the royal mile may look familiar as it is the inspiration for Diagon alley in the Harry Potter movies.
Along the Royal mile you will see St Giles Cathedral as it is stunning and can’t be missed! I’ve been to many churches and this was up there for me for the architecture. The most fascinating piece of the cathedral was the Thistle Chapel (back right corner) which is home to the order of the thistle (knights and ladies, the royal family and monarchs). We were glad Alice told us not to miss this on our walking tour because it was a highlight!
If you plan to walk the entire royal mile, you should plan to end with a visit the Holyrood palace. The ticket will provide you with an audio guide, which in Scotland I learned their audio guides tend to be better than other places in Europe. It made me enjoy the audio guide Tours much better. I really enjoyed the visit to the palace as you get to see the interior as well as the exterior and gardens.
Climb to Calton hill, which is located across the river from old town in… new town. It’s not too bad of a walk and gives you great views overlooking Edinburgh. An alternative is to hike Arthur’s Seat which is larger, because we did the highlands we had plenty of hikes that we felt Calton Hill have a good lookout.
Visit Greyfriars Bobby statue. Bobby stayed true for his owner for 14 years after his passing by guarding his grave. The community was enthralled and the city decided to adopt Bobby as the city dog (giving him a collar) so that he could not be captured. There is a statue to honor Bobby who is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Now for my Harry Potter fans…if you’re at Greyfriars Kirkyard, it’s be say J.K. Rowling got inspiration from certain graves. On our walking tour we were shown the specific graves:
-Potter: Anne and Robert Potter could be said to have inspired the very name
-Moodie: perhaps the headstone for Elizabeth Moodie gave way to mad eye moody
-Thomas Riddell: yes Voldemort himself with a slight spelling change can be see here as well
-McGonagall: William McGonagall was the most famously known bad poet in Scotland. J.K. Rowling didn’t care so much about who he but couldn’t help to feel the name was irresistible that it would have to be used in her books.
Since we stayed in Edinburgh for 4 days we were able to venture out into other attractions outside of the must see and do’s.
Scottish Whiskey Experience – a tour and tasting all in one! We booked both the Silver and Gold experience (kev wanted to taste more than I did). The tour teaches you about the process of making whiskey as well as the differences between whiskey in Scotland and the regions. You’ll taste some along the tour as well as at the end and get to see the largest collection of Scottish whiskey.
Edinburgh Gin Distillery – more of a tasting and learning experience than a tour, there is only one room to tour so you do in fact see the machines but it is a small facility. I actually enjoyed this more than the Scottish whiskey. Our guide was super friendly and knowledgeable, learned about the process, tasting three Gins in the first area before moving to a second tunnel area for two additional tastings. It was fun and informative and we came home with 2 bottles!
Edinburgh was so charming and beautiful at times I felt like the architecture had me in a Disney movie. I’d definitely add this beautiful city to a Scotland itinerary.