hi guys welcome back to our channel and to our first travel guide where we will talk you
through the best things to see do eat and drink in edinburgh 2020 we were recently there for a
five day trip and packed in a lot of cool stuff that we thought to share with anyone else who's
going for a quick break to edinburgh so let's jump into our edinburgh travel guide for 2020
the iconic city of edinburgh is located in the southeast of scotland and the city is made up
of many districts these being the main ones if this is your first time visiting then i think
it's really important to know what each part is known for and why you should explore the different
parts the main parts are divided into the new town and the old town the old town houses the classic
harry potter type buildings hidden walkways boutique shops and the famous grey friars bobby
whereas the new town is much more modern and has all the latest high street shops
scots monument and plenty of bars and restaurants these are the two areas that are the busiest parts
of the town for sure if you're looking for a quietest day then explore the picturesque
dean village and for coastal views and a great fish and chips and head out to leith
there is something for everyone when it comes to exploring the magical edinburgh
now moving on things to do it's fair to say that one of the most prominent places
to visit in the city is edinburgh castle the castle can be spotted from almost anywhere
in the old and new town and takes pride of place on the monolithic castle rock
castle rock is actually an extinct volcano said to have formed over 350 million years ago
and if you love harry potter then you can really sense a hogwarts feel here the castle
is accessible by walking through the old town up a steep incline that leads to the castle plaza
the plaza has some of the most spectacular views of the city and the surrounding hills
unfortunately we didn't manage to get into the castle because you do have to book a few days in
advance online which we should have planned out to be honest with you but nonetheless there are some
great views out into the city and you do still get a sense of the ancient elements of the castle
if it's your first time visiting then you're going to want to explore the city right
and we feel the best way to do this is by one of the many bus tours across the city
it may seem really touristy but because edinburgh has many different parts to see
the bus covers all of them within a day giving you the option to hop off of course at each major stop
we found this such a great way to explore the city and the tour guide also gave us great
historical facts and insights into the different landmarks buildings and figureheads of edinburgh
because the bus is two floors it also gives you a great vantage point to see some amazing views
of the castle and cityscape we highly recommend the bus tour as part of your trip across the city
next up is colton hill located in the new town and i would say a short five minutes walk if you
get off at regent road there's a shortcut that makes it really quick and if you're like us and
you don't want to trek up arthur's seat and enjoy the crags and high winds then a great alternative
is colton hill colton hill has spectacular views across the city and is also a very easy walk
there's also some interesting architecture up there as well like the scottish national
monument a memorial to the scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the napoleonic wars
back in the day edinburgh was referred to as the athens of the north notably for its many
scholars and inventors who frequented the city but also because of the fantastic monuments so
it's definitely worth checking out if you're after some panoramic shots of the city i'm
sure that you also want to get some shopping done too and there are plenty of shops to choose from
when thinking of edimbra i'm sure you'll think of tartan carrots whiskey cashmere shortbread
and plenty of other souvenirs all of which can be found along edinburgh's famous royal mile
the royal mile is a popular tourist street in edinburgh famous for its historic buildings
street entertainers and souvenir shops if you're after some classic high street shops then you'll
want to hit the new town where you can find princess street edinburgh's popular shopping
street then you can also find the historic department store jenners both the exterior
and interior are so detailed and it's worth just going in and having a look around the store you
are sure to find anything you want in there now if your potter heads like us and i'm sure you'll
already know that jk rowling wrote many of the harry potter books in this very city and for that
very reason harry potter is celebrated throughout the entire city it's not hard to see why the old
town with its multi-coloured buildings cobbled streets and secret stairways would seem like the
perfect place to pick up a wand or broomstick victoria street in the old part of town is the
real life inspiration for diagon alley and it's not hard to see why definitely explore this street
because there are also a couple of harry potter shops to delve into let's go in
you can also visit the elephant house cafe where jk rowling wrote a lot of the earlier books
in fact most of the streets and buildings in edinburgh transport you to another wizarding world
if you do want a full harry potter experience then book a harry potter tour where you'll be
taken around all of the magical sights around the city that inspired the book like the balmoral
hotel for example that was the inspiration for hogwarts once we were there we were lucky
enough to experience some live street music which really did feel like edinburgh unfortunately the
edinburgh fringe festival was cancelled this year but usually the streets are packed with musicians
comedians and entertainers all creating a fantastic atmosphere among the city street
edinburgh is also home to the amazing military tattoo and new year celebrations or hog money
as they say so it will be great to see this back up and running in the years to come
the nightlife here is usually great of course current times have stopped all of that but if
you are looking for some nightlife then head to rose street in the new town which has a nickname
the amber mile because of its long line of pubs and bars a great place to do a classic pub crawl
and enjoy some live fork music whilst we are on the topic of food and drink we just thought to
mention some classic scottish dishes that you must try when you're in the city of course i'm
sure that you heard of haggis a spiced meaty dish usually served with potatoes and turnips but if
it's your first time trying haggis then we suggest going for some haggis fritters or a haggis burger
now a trip to scotland wouldn't be complete if we didn't have a wee dream of whiskey
and trust me there are plenty to choose from check out the scottish whisky experience if
you are a whisky lover there are also some fantastic genes in scotland too
so make sure to try some edinboro gene my favorite is the bramble and honey just delicious
beef in scotland is also world famous so make sure to have a steak burger or something of the sort
of course without the lox rivers and surrounding coastline scotland is famous
for its fresh seafood especially the salmon so make sure to try a fish dish when you're here
and we also love scotch pies filled with flavorful minced meat and spices
so make sure to have some of these whilst you're here too and if you have a sweet tooth like me
then make sure they have a mellow or a tea cake or some traditional scottish shortbread
if you're an architecture lover then you'll love some of these travel tips edinburgh's buildings
are completely covered in black residue which automatically gives the city a gothic gloomy vibe
which is both spooky but cool the new town holds the gorgeous georgian architecture
and highlights many of the old housing tenements some of which are still used as houses today
most of the new town designed by james craig in the 18th century
was designed to look like traditional manor houses to appeal to the masses at the time
but were really divided into town houses within the interior of the blocks although there are some
modern structures in the city there are more older buildings as most of the buildings are
either listed or in fact under the unesco heritage protection making tourists feel as though they're
stepping back in time one area that does this well is the old town in fact the oldest building in
edinburgh can be found here too edinburgh has it all with more architectural gems and sites
of interest than the cobblestones that line the royal mile an array of different building fronts
lined the medieval streets here making it an incredibly picturesque place to stroll
we also spotted this odd art deco building which is st andrew's house now a government building
there's lots of architectural sites to discover in the city one of the most famous of all in
edinburgh is the scott monument the monument is dedicated to the scottish author sir walter scott
it's located in the princess street gardens and you are actually able to climb up to the
top of it as well if you'd like it's a monumental gothic landmark that you have to see if you visit
we also thought to include some more alternative things that we got up to
if you are there for a couple days it's also worth venturing slightly outside of the city
to see some more of scotland's landmarks just half an hour away are the famous kelpies
large horse-headed structures mean celtic folklore kelpies are shape-shifting water spirits
that hide in the locks and rivers of scotland said to have the power of ten horses
it's a great area to walk around and there are plenty of places to have a picnic and
relax outdoors not far from there is the fall kirk wheel which is a rotating boat lift that
switches boats to the differing canals in a ferris wheel-like motion a huge engineering
feat you can also ride the boat if you'd like going back to edinburgh you can explore the
cute fishing towns of queensferry on the local coastline and the kremlin area for some great sea
views and have picnic on the beach too that's it guys for our edinburgh travel guide 2020
we hope that you really enjoy this video and that we gave you some helpful travel tips
for your own scottish adventure to this magical city if you've traveled there before and thought
that we missed anything then please leave a comment below to spread the word to fellow
travellers and that's it guys thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next video
bye