Insight Guides Great Breaks Edinburgh (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

Pocket-sized travel guides making the most of the British Isles through clearly laid-out walks and tours.

Explore the best of Edinburgh with this indispensably practical Insight Great Breaks Guide. From making sure you don't miss out on must-see attractions like Edinburgh Castle, the Scottish National Gallery, the Royal Mile, Calton Hill or the Royal Botanic Garden to discovering hidden gems, including the Real Mary King's Close, the easy-to-follow, ready-made walking routes will save you time, help you plan and enhance your Great Break in Edinburgh.

Practical, pocket-sized and packed with inspirational insider information, this is the ideal on-the-move companion to your trip to Edinburgh.

- Over 12 walks and tours: detailed itineraries feature all the best places to visit, including where to eat along the way
- Local highlights: discover what makes the area special, its top sights and unique attractions, and be inspired by stunning imagery
- Insider recommendations: where to stay and what to do, from active pursuits to themed trips
- Rainy day recommendations: uncover plenty of options, whatever the weather
- Practical maps: get around with ease and follow the walks and tours using the detailed maps
- Informative tips: plan your travels with a useful practical section to ensure effortless exploration
- Innovative and unique extra: a free eBook
- Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy-reading experience
- Covers: Old Town and Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile and Scottish Parliament, Palace of Holyroodhouse and Arthur's Seat, South Side Museums and University, East Princes Street and Calton Hill, West Princes Street and New Town, Water of Leith to Stockbridge and Dean, Leith, Excursion to Firth of Forth, Excursion to Edinburgh Zoo, Linlithgow and Falkirk, Excursion South to Roslin and Pentland Hills, and Excursion East along the Coast.

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Feb 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781789193244

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

This Great Break has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With ­top-­quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the world’s most exciting destinations.

Walks and Tours

The clearly laid-out walks and tours in this book feature options for walking or using public transport wherever possible. The emphasis is on family fun, wholesome outdoorsey activities, local festivals, and food and drink. There are loads of great holiday ideas: kids’ stuff, best beaches, historic pubs, literary connections, unique shops, and – crucially with our Great British weather – what to do on a rainy day.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments – options are shown in the ‘Eating Out’ box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink.

Directory

Also supporting the walks and tours is a Travel Tips section, with a clearly organised A–Z of practical information. There is a comprehensive round up of sports and activities in the destination, recommendations for themed holidays, plus our pick of the best places to stay.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Edinburgh’s Top 10

Overview: An Enlightened Capital

Landscape and Climate

A Rich History

Food and drink

Entertainment

Music

Theatre and Comedy

Film

Tour 1: Old Town and Edinburgh Castle

Grassmarket

West Bow

Greyfriars

Greyfriars Church

Jinglin’ Geordie

George IV Bridge

The Lawnmarket Area

Museum on the Mound

Writers’ Museum

Gladstone’s Land

Castle Hill

Ramsay Garden

Scotch Whisky Experience

Edinburgh Castle

Some History

Castle Tour

St Margaret’s Chapel

Tour 2: Royal Mile and Scottish Parliament

Parliament Square

Heart of Midlothian

High Kirk of St Giles

Parliament Hall

Mercat Cross

The Real Mary King’s Close

The High Street

Museum of Childhood

John Knox House and the Scottish Storytelling Centre

The Canongate

Canongate Kirk

Scottish Parliament

Home Rule

Feature: Literary Edinburgh

Tour 3: Palace of Holyroodhouse and Arthur’s Seat

Holyroodhouse

The North and West Ranges

Royal Rebellion and Decline

Our Dynamic Earth

Holyrood Park

Routes to Arthur’s Seat

Duddingston

Tour 4: South Side Museums and University

National Museum of Scotland

South Bridge

Festival Theatre

Surgeons’ Hall Museums

University Squares

Craigmillar Castle

Feature: A City of Festivals

Tour 5: East Princes Street and Calton Hill

Art on the Mound

Along Princes Street

Waverley

Register House

Gaol and Graveyard

Calton Hill

Nelson Monument

National Monument

Picardy Place

St Mary’s Cathedral

Tour 6: West Princes Street and New Town

Princes Street Gardens

Garden Churches

Charlotte Square

Georgian House

The West End

St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral

The Second New Town

Moray Place and Heriot Row

Royal Circus to Dundas Street

Central Streets and Squares

National Portrait Gallery

St Andrew Square

George Street

Tour 7: Water of Leith to Stockbridge and Dean

Canonmills to St Bernard’s Well

Stockbridge

St Bernard’s Well

Dean Village

Dean Cemetery

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

Feature: Botanic Oasis

Tour 8: Leith

The Foot of the Walk

Leith Links

Bernard Street and the Shore

The Old Quays and New Ocean Terminal

Ocean Terminal and Royal Yacht Britannia

Local Diversions

Tour 9: Excursion to Firth of Forth

North to Cramond

Along the Almond to Cramond Island

Dalmeny House

South Queensferry

Island Cruise

Hopetoun House

Tour 10: Excursion to Edinburgh Zoo, Linlithgow and Falkirk

West to Corstorphine Hill

Linlithgow

Linlithgow Palace

Falkirk Wheel

Tour 11: Excursion South to Roslin and Pentland Hills

South to Braid Hills

The Braid Hills

Pentland Hills

Roslin

Currie, Balerno and Colinton

Tour 12: Excursion East along the Coast

The Eastern Coast

Musselburgh

Scottish Mining Museum

Prestonpans and Prestongrange

Prestongrange Museum

Active Pursuits

Hill walking

Cycling

Golf

Horse Riding

Skating and Skiing

Swimming Pools and Sports Centres

Fishing

Themed Holidays

Art

Cookery

Spa Holidays

Practical Information

Getting There

By Train

By Air

By Car

By Coach

By Sea

Getting Around

Public Transport

Going Green

Trains

Driving

Taxis

Bicycles

Facts for the Visitor

Disabled Travellers

Emergencies

Opening Hours

Tourist Information

Scottish Money

Postal and Internet Services

Walking Tours

Tipping

Accommodation

Old Town and around

New Town and Around

Outside of the City Centre and Suburbs

Edinburgh’s Top 10

From its impressive castle and elegant Georgian architecture to its world-class museums and cutting-edge arts festival, here, at a glance, are the top attractions of the fascinating Scottish capital

Edinburgh Castle. This imposing and impenetrable fortress defines Scottish history and is visible from every corner of the city. For more information, click here.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

The Royal Mile. A stunning stretch of cobblestones, medieval passageways, churches and museums leads down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. For more information, click here.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

The Festival. The world descends on Edinburgh in August to take part in a vast celebration of the arts, with thousands of comedy, theatre and literary events. For more information, click here.

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Literary Edinburgh. Explore the city that spawned Sherlock Holmes, Peter Pan, Treasure Island, Harry Potter and Trainspotting. For more information, click here.

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Calton Hill. This volcanic outcrop crowned with monuments has panoramic views of the city, Holyrood Palace and the Firth of Forth. For more information, click here.

Douglas Macgilvray/Apa Publications

City art. Among an unprecedented 30 galleries in central Edinburgh are four housing the National Collection, in which pride of place must go to the Scottish National Gallery. For more information, click here.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

New Town architecture. Designed between 1740 and 1850, the neoclassical city’s crescents and terraces are a triumph of Georgian architecture. For more information, click here.

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The Scottish Parliament Building. A complex yet stunning award-winning design that shocks and pleases in equal measure. For more information, click here.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

National Museum of Scotland. Recounts Scottish history with national treasures and multimedia displays. For more information, click here.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

Royal Botanic Garden. This world-famous garden dates back to 1670 and houses a vast selection of beautiful, exotic plants. For more information, click here.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

Overview: An Enlightened Capital

Far beyond its label as the host of Britain’s biggest cultural festival, Edinburgh is also its most visually impressive city with a history and charm that few others can rival

View of St Andrew’s House from Calton Hill.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

Declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1995, the centre of Edinburgh is a fascinating juxtaposition of medieval confusion and classical architectural harmony. The higgledy-piggledy Old Town, built around the Castle on a volcanic plug where the first defensive settlement was founded over 2,000 years ago, contrasts remarkably with the New Town – in fact now more than 200 years old – where order and harmony prevail within the largest area of Georgian architecture ever conceived. Today, the city is the capital of an ancient nation whose influence resonates around the globe. It has a proud history of artistic excellence, intellectual endeavour and scientific discovery that is reflected in its national confidence and devolved parliament. The Edinburgh Festival, tripling the city’s half a million or so inhabitants each August, is its flagship event, but all year round a selection of great museums, beautiful parks and vibrant entertainment make it one of Europe’s most exciting destinations.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

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Landscape and Climate

Strategically situated inland from the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, an estuary of the North Sea on Scotland’s east coast, the capital, like Rome, lies on seven hills. Rising above Princes Street, the main shopping thoroughfare, the castle rock is the start of the Royal Mile, the Old Town backbone. Stretching down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, there is further dramatic scenery in the form of Arthur’s Seat, another extinct volcano surrounded by rocky crags and lush parkland. To the north, between the castle and the Port of Leith on the Firth of Forth, sprawls the New Town, where in just one square mile (2.5 sq km) thousands of buildings are listed for their architectural merit.

The weather on Scotland’s west coast is wetter than on the east, but Edinburgh is notorious for the seasonal North Sea ‘haar’, a mist that periodically settles over the city. When it does rain, a strong wind sometimes renders umbrellas useless. Generally, summers are moderately warm, and winters are cold but clear, with occasional light snowfall. For most of the year the climate makes for more of an indoor, than outdoor, existence, and locals, for the most part, tend to go about their everyday lives immune to the weather. When the sun does come out, however, the city is transformed, the population taking full advantage of its many green spaces.

One of Edinburgh’s narrow wynds.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

A Rich History

Edinburgh evolved from the 6th century onwards with the merging of Pictish and Celtic kingdoms, together with Saxon, Norman and even Viking influences. In 1124 David I became King of Scotland and set about building feudalism and Christian monasteries with support from his Norman friends. Within a few centuries, Edinburgh was well established as Scotland’s