EDINBURGH FESTIVALS ON THE GROUND MINI GUIDE 2016 PROGRAMMES & TICKETS All the festivals’ programmes are widely available in print form and online. The printed versions are free and can be found across the city in venues and box offices. ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE Edinburgh Edinburgh International International Film Festival Art Festival Get Programmes/tickets Get Programmes/tickets Edinburgh Jazz & Royal Edinburgh Blues Festival Military Tattoo Get Programmes/tickets Get Programmes/tickets Edinburgh Edinburgh International International Festival Book Festival Get Programmes/tickets Get Programmes/tickets Edinburgh Festival Fringe Get Programmes/tickets GEARING UP (WHAT TO BRING) PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Do street names like Cockburn, Broughton or Buccleuch have your tongue in a twist? Sound just like a local with our handy Edinburgh pronunciation guide: Decent-sized bag Camera Raincoat Cockburn Street Raeburn (Co-burn Street) Place (Ray-burn Place) Buccleuch Street/Place (Buck-loo Street/Place) Waverley (Way-ver-lee) Crichton Street Holyrood Map Good book Comfy shoes (Cry-ton Street) (Holly-rood) Costorphine Princes Street (Cor-stor-fin) (often mispronounced as ‘Princess Street’, this busy Broughton Street thoroughfare was actually (Bro-ton Street) named after the reigning King George’s sons, aka the Princes) Edinburgh Smartphone Umbrella Bottle of water (Ed-n-buh-ruh) HINTS & TIPS TOP 10 MOST VISITED * To avoid some of the trial and error of visiting the festivals we’ve ATTRACTIONS IN EDINBURGH rounded up some handy tips to help you make the most of your time. Bring a bag for all the flyers Plan itineraries and book you’ll pick up and keep a hold ahead – shows can sell very of them. You can look through fast once August arrives so 01 them when you get a minute 07 don’t rely on booking on the 01 EDINBURGH CASTLE 06 EDINBURGH ZOO and decide what takes your day if there’s something you fancy. really want to see. Wear comfy shoes – a day at But make sure to keep some 02 the festivals can mean lots of time free and try a few word- walking. 08 of-mouth recommendations – you never know what gems 02 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND 07 NATIONAL WAR MUSEUM Bring water. It’s very easy you’ll uncover. 03 to get dehydrated running to every show! Don’t miss a Festival Fringe deal; look out for free shows, Start your day early so you 09 previews, discounted tickets, can secure the best festival 2-for-1 tickets and the Virgin 04 tickets and see the most Money Half Price Hut. 03 SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY 08 EDINBURGH BUS TOURS popular visitor attractions before they get too busy. Be careful when crossing roads. Like all major cities, Head to the Edinburgh 10 Edinburgh’s streets can be VisitScotland Information busy and the trams move 05 Centre near Waverley Station especially quietly. on Princes Street and pick up a 04 ST GILES’ CATHEDRAL 09 THE ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA map to get your bearings. For a late night snack, visit George Square or Go for a mixture of Summerhall to find a whole performances and get a feel 11 range of quality food stalls, 06 for everything that is going on. serving delicious street food, from crêpes to curries. 05 ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN 10 SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY *© Moffat Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University FOOD Edinburgh is packed with places to eat that will suit everyone. 14 RESTAURANTS 1) Kyloe Restaurant 10 LEITH AND Rutland Street, Gourmet steak PORTOBELLO 2) Bread Meats Bread 13 Lothian Road, Burgers 11 3) Pinto’s Lothian Road, Mexican 4) The Dogs Hanover Street, Bistro 5) Henderson’s Hanover Street, Vegetarian 6) The Boozy Cow Frederick Street, Pub food 7) Taste of Italy Leith Walk, Italian 8) Laila’s Bistro Cockburn Street, Mediterranean 9) Joseph Pearce’s Elm Row, Swedish 16 10) The Ship on the Shore Leith, Seafood 11) Khublai Khan’s Assembly Street, Exotic meats STOCKBRIDGE MICHELIN-STAR 12) Number One at the Balmoral Hotel Princes Street, Scottish and French 13) Restaurant Martin Wishart The Shore, Michelin-star 9 14) The Kitchin Commercial Quay, Local 7 26 CAFÉ CULTURE 15) Lovecrumbs West Port, Tea and cakes 16) The Gateway Restaurant Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 4 17) Frederick’s Coffee House 5 Frederick Street, Coffee CITY CENTRE 25 18) Peter’s Yard 23 Simpson Loan, Baked goods 17 12 19) Elephant House Café 6 George IV Bridge, Cakes, coffee, teas 21 8 20) Museum Brasserie and Balcony Café 1 Homemade delicacies National Museum of Scotland, WEST END AND BAR & PUBS 21) Sygn HAYMARKET Charlotte Street, Cocktail 24 22) The Hanging Bat 15 19 Lothian Road, Pub 2 20 23) Le Monde George Street, Drinks 3 24) The White Hart Inn Grassmarket, Edinburgh’s oldest pub 22 25) Milnes Bar 18 Rose Street, Pub 26) Jeremiah’s Tap Room SOUTH Elm Row, Pub EDINBURGH EXPLORING EDINBURGH On foot By bus By taxi By rickshaw Walking is one of the easiest ways to Edinburgh’s extensive bus routes cover Travelling by bicycle-powered experience Edinburgh, and it’s also the entire city and its outskirts. Most Black cabs and other taxi services are rickshaw can be a fun and unique way the best way to soak up the festival festival venues are near, if not on, the readily available throughout the city. to see the city, but the fare can vary atmosphere. main bus routes. Single tickets cost Taxis can be pre-booked, picked up depending on the length and amount £1.60, while DAYtickets cost £4.00. at one of the city’s many taxi ranks or of uphill climbs in your journey. black cabs can be flagged down on the By bike street. A taxi ride across the city centre Edinburgh is a cycle-friendly city By car or motorcycle usually costs between £6 and £10. Accessibility with approximately 50 junctions with Useful information on all aspects of Edinburgh is a compact city so advance cycle stop lines. At peak parking and driving in Edinburgh, By tram wheelchair users or those with limited Edinburgh’s tram line runs from times, cyclists are allowed to share the including where to find on-street and mobility will find it relatively easy to Edinburgh Airport to York Place in the buses’ green lanes in and around the multi-storeyparking, can be found on get around. Although Edinburgh can city centre, with regular stops along city centre. the City of Edinburgh Council parking be busy during the summer months, as the line including at Haymarket Train pages. long as you give yourself plenty of time Station in the city’s West End. Tickets you shouldn’t have a problem getting within the city zone cost £1.60. from A to B. HIDDEN GEMS There’s so much more to Edinburgh than meets the eye. Keep an eye out for these hidden gems as you wander around the city. ARCHIVIST’S GARDEN The little-known Archivist’s Garden is a hidden gem SKY BAR AT THE overflowing with 57 species of DOUBLETREE BY HILTON colourful plants. Enjoy views of Edinburgh by POMMERY CHAMPAGNE BAR Relax in the beautiful Signet night while you listen to live LAURISTON CASTLE Library, one of Edinburgh’s jazz and sip on a cocktail at Just 3 miles west architectural gems, as it the SkyBar, open on the first of Edinburgh’s city opens the fabulous Pommery Thursday of every month. centre, this 16th Champagne Bar just for the century tower festival. house is a treasure trove of beautiful ornaments. SCOTT MONUMENT Princes Street’s ‘Gothic rocket COLLECTIVE GALLERY, ship’ is hard to miss, but many CALTON HILL visitors don’t realise it’s possible Amongst the monuments to climb to the top of the Scott on Calton Hill sits Collective, Monument. one of Edinburgh’s foremost contemporary art galleries. DUNBAR’S CLOSE GARDENS This lovely garden is hidden away in a little close just off the Royal Mile, providing a haven of tranquillity amidst the buzz of GREYFRIARS KIRK the city centre. You may have heard of this church’s namesake, Greyfriars WAVERLEY STATION MARKET Bobby, the loyal terrier who Check out the pop-up market on faithfully guarded his master’s platform 2 of Waverley Station grave for 14 years. every Friday throughout the year. KEEP THE KIDS HAPPY Museums Edinburgh’s festivals offer more than enough to keep you NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND Learn about Scottish and world history. busy, but do leave time to check out some of the capital’s fantastic attractions too. OUR DYNAMIC EARTH Journey back millions of years to a fantastic interactive centre. Rainy days URBAN PAINTBALL Scotland’s first indoor paintball arena. EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL The natural world CLIMBING ARENA EDINBURGH ZOO Older kids can tackle the bigger walls See the UK’s only giant pandas and the while little ones can keep busy at famous penguin parade. Scrambles. GORGIE CITY FARM The Royal Mile Free to enter and a great day out. CAMERA OBSCURA AND WORLD OF ILLUSIONS EDINBURGH BUTTERFLY & INSECT Mind-blowing visual entertainment. WORLD See gorgeous butterflies and colourful MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD creepy-crawlies from around the world. Toys and games from yesteryear. Spooky stuff Further out REAL MARY KING’S CLOSE SCOTTISH OWL CENTRE A hidden network of underground streets. Learn more about these amazing birds. EDINBURGH DUNGEON NATIONAL MUSEUM OF FLIGHT Spine-chilling entertainment. Explore Scotland’s Concorde. GHOST TOURS FOXLAKE ADVENTURES Scary tales of Edinburgh’s past. Scotland’s first wakeboarding park. ESSENTIAL NUMBERS 750 EXPLORING FURTHER AUTHORS AT THE EDINBURGH A trip to Edinburgh can be the perfect starter or climax to a 250,000 INTERNATIONAL longer holiday around Scotland.