Edinburgh is one of the many fighting to be the UK's second city behind London, and if visitor numbers are anything to go by they are at the front of the pack.
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Edinburgh Castle from Princes St. Gardens
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Edinburgh does seem to be a must visit for anyone coming to the UK and, having been there a number of times myself, I believe that to be with good reason. Many of my visits have been on business as I work for the Royal Bank of Scotland. In fact I actually worked for Nat West Bank up until about 2000 when we were taken over by a bunch of marauding Scots led by the European Egotist of the Year. I can still remember the questions being asked at the time, Who are they?, How can that happen?, and Why didn't the Romans build that bloody wall higher? Unlike Glasgow this city seems to have largely thrown of its 1980's reputation when the menu of choice on a Saturday night - or any other night for that matter - was twelve cans of special brew and a couple of deep fried mars bars.
If visiting London it is easily accessible with flights from low cost airline Easyjet and others. The airport is less than 30 minutes away from the city centre and it is quite a compact and easy city to move around in. The weather can be a bit of a downside especially in the winter months, but it does have some natural protection and is not so wild and windswept as some other parts of Scotland. The visitor is well catered for, with all types of accommodation available from luxury hotels to hostels and a whole host of things to do.
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| Favourite spots: |
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View from the top of the Camera Obscura
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The new town is set out on a sort of grid system making it easier to find your way around and the old town is centred upon the Royal Mile with the Castle at the top end and the new parliament buildings at the other. Tha castle is of course a must visit but it does get very busy during the summer months. Close by you will also find the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre and the Camera Obscura attractions, both of which are worth a visit.
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| What's really great: |
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Early morning in Princes St. Gardens
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I generally find it a very clean city and the Princes Street Gardens, with great views of the castle, are usually immaculate.
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| Accommodations: |
From a location perspective the best place I have stayed is the Frederick House Hotel. Frederick Street runs off Princes Street which is the main road through the new town and you are only a few minutes walk from the Gardens.
I can also recommend the Apex International on Grassmarket in the old town and (if you are on expenses) the Malmaison in Leith about 10 minutes drive from Edinburgh city centre.
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| Hangouts: |
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The Bow Bar in the old town
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If pubs are what you are after then you will be spoilt for choice in Edinburgh. Any regular visitor will point you towards the famous Rose Street that runs parallel to Princes Street in the New Town. I always intend to count the pubs but for some reason I tend to lose my focus half way through, but I reckon there must be somewhere between 15-20. A couple of my favourites are the Abbotsford and the Kenilworth. If you are in Rose Street it is worth seeking out the Oxford Bar, haunt of local writer Ian Rankin. Other good pubs can be found in the Grassmarket area of the Old Town, where I would recommend the Bow Bar and the Blue Blazer. For a real quirky experience head for Frankenstein, a pub/restaurant built inside a church.
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Published on Saturday March 11th, 2006
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Publish on Facebook
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Fri, May 12 2006 - 07:35 PM
 by lafalott
| So reminiscient of last week! Well done, you have included everything that I remember from my few days there and more! |
Thu, Mar 30 2006 - 01:12 AM
by ebathory
| The information you give is of great help to the Edinburgh tourist. I understand it has some haunted places, such as MacKenzie's Black Mausoleum, as well! |
Wed, Mar 29 2006 - 05:32 PM
by jorgesanchez
| Very pleasant read. Thank you |
Mon, Mar 13 2006 - 03:39 PM
 by davidx
| It's difficult to believe that this is a first report. I hope we see many more from you. More detail on some of the sights owuld make it even better - and treat the headings as possible prompts rather than a corset - i.e. use 'restaurants' and 'other' to describe some of the places in the Royal Mile or national museums if you like. |
Sun, Mar 12 2006 - 06:18 AM
by rangutan
| Pretty good as a first report, lacks a little more info bit for a huge city. |
Sun, Mar 12 2006 - 03:23 AM
by downundergal
Well done Clive, I still kick myself that when I visited the OK my partner & I had our only arguement of the whole trip on the Ring Rd and missed visiting Edinburgh altogether, now I'll just kick my self again.
Kerrie |
Sat, Mar 11 2006 - 10:59 PM
by isaacmolina
Sat, Mar 11 2006 - 09:27 PM
by mistybleu
| Nice report, with a good mix of humour and pictures |
Sat, Mar 11 2006 - 01:10 PM
by marianne
Clive
This must be the biggest coincidence ever. I was looking up info about Edinburgh. I found some on VT, then I switched to GLOBO and read your report again, altered but with the same first line, and with some of the same photos. It is the Camera Obscura photo which took my fancy. Enjoy GLOBO
Marianne
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