Tips

The Edinburgh in Hiding

Skip the regular tours and take a ‘haunted’ nighttime tour of the city – Edinburgh has been named the most haunted city in the UK – check it out for yourself. Try www.mercattours.com for the Haunted Underground Experience or the Ghosts & Ghouls tour.

Pay a visit to Greyfriars Bobby (Pic left) – the Skye terrier who spent 14 years watching over his master’s grave – enough to melt the stoniest heart.

Take a walk around the Scotsman Hotel – the original location for The Scotsman – Scotland’s legendry newspaper

Hail, snow or sunshine…you can feel the excitement of whizzing down a snow laden hill at Midlothian SnowSports Center. You wouldn’t even realize that the slope you just beat was the longest artificial ski slope in Britain!

The Edinburgh Tipster

General

The currency you would be using in Edinburgh is Pounds not Euro

Edinburgh is not an extremely city and you can get a meal for as little as £ 3 to £ 10. Of course if you want to splurge, there are enough places to part you from your money.

Tipping in Edinburgh is not necessary and you don’t have to tip unless you want to. However, sometimes some restaurants add a service charge to the bill in which case you can give the whole tipping thing a complete miss

Families

Visit during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – it has something for everyone in the family including children’s theater, puppetry and dance workshops

When booking rooms for more than a day, ask for family suites – most Edinburgh hotels have suites for families making it easier for the kids and economical for you

Historical attractions in Edinburgh often offer family tickets and you can save a good percentage on these.

If there are young kids in the family then a day would be well spent at the Edinburgh Zoo – the main attraction is the Penguin pool – the largest in the world.

Take the kids to Brown’s restaurant & bar on George Street. The specialty? Crayons and Paper Gumbo for the kids while your food arrives! You can chat in peace and no one asks hairy questions!

Couples

Wake up early to go check out the Edinburgh Farmer’s market in Castle Terrace. Pick up Arbroath Smokies or Smoked Haddocks and Scottish Dolcelatte cheese for lunch. Cooking together is a lot of fun…really, it is!

Treat your significant other to the widest array of wines and traditional English and Scottish dishes at the Boho-chic Doric Tavern on Market Street.

Get jiggy with it on one of the five floors at Espionage – there is different music at every floor!

Edinburgh through the veterans’ eyes

Fodor’s recommends digging into the lunch time buffet at Kalpna - an Indian restaurant on the South Side – it’s a huge treat with great food at just £ 5.50. Also on Fodor’s recommendation try the roasted quail with braised endive and scallops with spiced pork belly at Witchery by the Castle in Old Town.

NY Times would have you stay at The Tigerlily and have celebrate something special with dinner at The Grain Store on Victoria Street

Frommers suggests take the elevator in the Museum of Scotland, which has an observation deck atop its magnificent modern building. The view of the city of Edinburgh from the observation deck is what makes the perfect picture for a tourist.