trip to Edinburgh

I'm making my first trip to Edinburgh in May, and am wondering if anyone has suggestions for me as to B&B's, what part of town to stay in, public gardens, rockhounding, historical sites, anything! I'll be there for a week. Thanks!

I can't believe no one here has ever been to Edinburgh!

You've probably already found this site Margu but in case you haven't the Tourist Board is usually a great place to start http://www.edinburgh.org/

I've found the Rough Guide books helpful too, here's their website http://travel.roughguides.com/roughguides.html

I've not been there but I have heard that the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh is very good http://www.rbge.org.uk/rbge/web/index.jsp

Here's a site on things to do http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g186525-Activities-c15-Edinburgh_Scotland.html

And one on the Castle http://www.edinburghcastle.biz/index.html

I hope that helps a little.

Hello Margu!

I'm going up to Edinburgh tomorrow, and then again the following weekend. I'm going to some storytelling workshops being held there. I've found a little, reasonably priced B & B called Castle Park Guest House. You need to get booked very soon though as Edinburgh is very popular in the tourist season (which is basically all year round).

There's lots and lots to do. You won't see everything by any means. Go for a walk down Princes Street, the Princes Street Gardens and the Royal Mile and also visit the Museum of Childhood (it's on the Royal Mile, almost opposite John Knox's house). Those are all free. In fact the first thing to do should be to take a trip on one of the bus tours that show you the highlights of the city. Those take an hour or two and are well worth it. And you should also visit Edinburgh Castle. You could pretty much do most of that in one day.

As for what else you do, it depends on your personal tastes. There's a zoo, a botanical garden, plenty of museums and an art gallery. The art gallery is free. I would recommend the art gallery and museums! There's lots of historical things to explore. There are also a lot of cultural events that you can attend. Some of the pubs have folk music in the evenings. Get to a storytelling event if you see one on - they are very special - they are held once a month in the Waverley (a pub just off the Royal Mile). You can get news of storytelling events from the Scottish Storytelling Centre just off the Royal Mile.

You can also take a bus out of the city and explore the local area. The Pentland Hills are lovely. You're also not too far from the coast.

My family came from Scotland. I've been up and down over the past 50 years and still haven't tired of it. Have a good holiday!

Thanks! I've already booked a room for the week, near Princes Street (but I'll still check out Castle Park, plenty of time to change!). I will check out all the links you've given. Can't wait!!!!!