Travel Guide 24 hours in

By Sharon Livingston

Edinburgh is famous for the annual Festival Fringe and the seat of Scottish Parliament, but what does it offer the visitor?

Edinburgh Castle © Kim Traynor/wikimedia

t might be the capital of as if they were standing on the £40, or you can get a room with shared , the home of vibrant battlements. bathroom for £29 per night. festivals and the seat of Scottish power, but there’s something Locals are fiercely protective of their Alternatively, for a taste of heritage about the cold cobbles, the city, as if they were guarding hidden and luxury, try The Scotsman Hotel. Iwind-battered stones and the treasure. But look hard enough, This 5* hotel is located at Edinburgh’s towering castle that make Edinburgh and you can find the city’s secrets, historic North Bridge and was built in still feel like a haunted fortress atop its boutique shops, it’s achingly hip 1905 as baronial office of the Scotsman an enchanted mountain. restaurants, its enchanting walks and Newspaper. They have a spa and cosiest whiskey joints. health club and free WiFi with room Tourists duck and dive under rates starting from £126 per night. towering bridges, they tumble down MUST STAY treacherously steep steps and feel the To experience the authentic MUST VISIT wind whip their noses and cheeks Edinburgh welcome, stay with a Perched on an extinct volcano, local family. Edinburgh Castle dominates the city’s Homestay. skyline and the 16th century building com has over is Scotland’s most popular tourist 40 hosts in site. You’ll have to book months in Edinburgh advance to see the famous Scottish offering Scottish Military Tattoo, and extravaganza of hospitality fireworks, pipes and dancing at the and local castle. But for a peek at the ordinary knowledge. lives of citizens of Edinburgh, Real Prices range Mary King’s Close is a hidden treat, depending just off the . Venture on the acco- underground to a secret warren of mmodation, hidden 17th century streets, led by a but a night character from the period. See how in an ensuite residents suffered from the plague, room in a large wicked deals and murderous plots listed Georgian that took place in the shadowy close. building 5 The museum is a treat for children, minute walk fascinating for adults, and a warm from Napier and welcome respite if the Scottish University costs heavens have opened.

The Travel Magazine March 2015 MUST BE SEEN AT Edinburgh’s hippest restaurants and bars are mostly in the New Town, close to Princes Street. But one exception is the swanky Ondine, an award-winning fish restaurant just a short skip from the Castle. The glass- fronted upstairs restaurant is perfect for people watching, while supping an Edinburgh Gin Daisy cocktail.

Fresh, local and zingy fish dishes change regularly, but might include Ondine smoked salmon with homemade cucumber pickle, silky fish soup with gruyere croutons, or a moist and smoky grilled sea-bass. Begin or end the evening next door at the fashionista-dominated G&V Royal Edinburgh Fringe Festival © Festival Fringe Society/wikimedia Mile Hotel (formerly Hotel Missoni) for their signature draught Prosecco. Wind your way down the Castle Seat will put hairs on your chest. Wynd or Upper Bow steps and The mini-mountain stands in the MUST DRINK spend an hour browsing the delis middle of Holyrood Park and is said Every bartender is an expert in Scotch and boutiques. Highlights include to have been the mythical location whisky. If you fancy being one Demijohn’s handmade spirits and of King Arthur’s palace, Camelot. It’s yourself, take the tour at The Scotch liquors, Armstrong’s Vintage clothes a sweaty 40-minute hike to the top, Whisky Experience, beginning with emporium for ‘50’s ra-ra skirts, 60’s and you’ll find yourself shedding the a virtual tour inside a whisky barrel, minis and 70’s prints, and the Old scarves and cagoules you wore while showing you have to amber liquid is Town bookshop, for antique books, strolling round the city, but the views distilled and matured. Later, you’re maps and prints. of the city and the sea from the top of given a sniff of the different flavours the mound are breathtaking. of the Scottish whisky producing MUST EAT regions, to help you decide whether to The Witchery by the Castle, is a hotel MUST WATCH sample Lowland, Highland, Speyside with a fine restaurant on the Royal Edinburgh has a well-deserved or Islay dram. The museum also Mile right by the castle offers. Dine reputation as one of the UK’s hottest includes a fascinating display of the in pretty surroundings for a romantic spots for culture, and does art, theatre, world’s largest collection of whiskey. dinner and if you decide to stay, music and comedy well all year round, you’ll sleep in lush rooms with lots of as well as during the Edinburgh MUST SHOP velvet, tapestry walls and four poster Festival, which takes over the city In the of the Old Town, beds. throughout August. For highly- Edinburgh’s Grassmarket district charged new writing and boundary- has the city’s best independent Or try The Dome located in New pushing theatre, at the Festival and all merchants, designers and artisans. Town. It’s both a bar and a restaurant, year round, the has and it’s an established social hub for played host to UK’s finest new writers cocktails or coffee – so expect a buzz. and directors, including Enda Walsh, Foodwise, there’s a grill with its lovely David Eldridge, Simon Stephens and domed ceiling, the club room – plush Rona Munro. with wood-pannelled walls, mirrors and crystal chandeliers, and you can For a more raucous afternoon or even have afternoon tea here. evening, the Stand Comedy Club on Place has seen the biggest MUST CHILL OUT egos in comedy squeeze onto its One of the city’s most up-and-coming tiny stage, where audiences sit on districts, and home of the Royal rickety bar stools, or stand round the Yacht Britannia is Leith, Edinburgh’s edges in order to see their idols or the port. On a sunny evening, young next big thing, with prices ranging professionals and artists fill the from £2 to £15 and usually four or quayside bars. more performers on a bill, and a free lunchtime show on Sundays. MUST SEE THE VIEW It’s not for the faint-hearted, but a brisk www.thetravelmagazine.net/travel- guide-24-hours-edinburgh.html Bagpiper © postdlf/wikimedia stroll up dormant volcano Arthur’s

The Travel Magazine March 2015