Well it’s not exactly classy, but I’d definitely recommend eating a meal or two at Monster Mash. I tried my first haggis there and it was actually really nice!

I’m also a fan of the “City of the Dead” (not a resteraunt).

for must-sees, you can’t go wrong with the Royal Mile (High Street). Here you will find plenty of shops, plus things like the Castle, The Witchery Tours and the Museum of Childhood.

I’d recommend any of the following places to eat:
Barioja Tapas Bar, Elephant House Cafe, and Tass (on 1 High Street).

On a cold day, grabbing a latte at the Starbucks on Princes Street is nice as it provides a lovely view of Castle. Also on Princes Street is the Sir Walter Scott Monument. You can climb up to the top and get a great view of the city. My only suggestion there would be to do that early as the spiral staircases are quite narrow, making it hard to pass people going up/down.

Have fun!

Scott Monument is a must if-it’s-a-nice-day in my books. Not sure if the weather’ll be kind this weekend though:( Edinburgh Castle is also a go. Maybe take a tour on one of the tour buses, that can be quite interesting. Do not attempt to go to Rosslyn Chapel. A couple of my friends went late Sept, and it was apparently all scaffold-ed up, and simply was not worth it!

Restaurants.. Mmm.. Not so much a restaurant, but there’s a “Piemakers” up from the George IVth Bridge who do excellent pies. And maybe give Monster Mash a try. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s rather nice! Enjoy:)

Definately the Castle, go early & spend as much time there as possible. Mary King’s Close is a must, its edinburgh history at its best. Gladstones Land is great too. I think The Royal Mile is the place to be, its gorgeous dispite the road works outside St Giles Cathedral.

Monster Mash (Forrest Road) is awesome. They do a really lovely applie pie desert. Assembly, around the corner, is nice too.

Have a safe trip and have loads of fun! xx

Edinburgh Vaults. Spooky as all hell.

the botanical gardens are beautiful. you can pack a lunch and picnic there when it’s sunny…

- Restaurants -

Monster Mash is good indeed for cheap and cheerful, but The Outsider on George the IVth Bridge is great for a sophisticated dinner: won’t break the bank, healthy options, great decor, really nice staff, wonderful atmosphere and (if you’re lucky enough to get a window table at the back) a brilliant view to the castle.

If they’re fully booked their sister restaurant The Apartment on Home Street is very alike, but a bit less trendy. Similar to this are Howie’s chain of restaurants, there’s loads of them so you’ll probably have one near where you stay too.

For breakfast/brunch/coffee, Always Sunday on the Royal Mile is my absolute favourite. Also Elephant Cafe is nice though, but both are often very busy.

In New Town, a French restaurant La Petite Folie at 61 Frederick Street do great cheap-ish lunch. If you’re around the Newington area (near Arthur’s Seat & The Meadows), there’s a lovely French place there (at 69 Causewayside) called La Bonne Vie. They do great lunch offers too but you might have to book in advance (0131 667 1110).

If you like sushi, Izzi on Lothian Road is THE place for you. I’d eat there every day if I could.

- Sights -

My favourite must-sees are the view from Calton Hill and the view from the rooftop terrace of the National Museum (see I’m too lazy to climb up any bigger hills :).

Also, Dean Village & the walk to National Gallery of Modern Art along the Water of Leith is great, if you have time, you can read more about the area here: http://www.stuckonscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/dean-village.html

The old town in general is full of beautiful old buildings. Victoria Street and the Royal Mile are definite must-sees.

Also, the Botanical Gardens are quite nice if you’re into gardens. If you happen to be here on a Saturday when the Edinburgh Farmer’s Market is on, you should def go and see it. More here: http://www.edinburghcc.com/farm_market.htm

Hope you like Edinburgh! :)

The Dubh Prais is a tiny little restaurant beside John Knox house, across from the Museum of Childhood. It is tiny, look for the black cauldron sign next to a door.

The food is very Scottish with a French twist. Be warned it is quite heavy but fabulous!

Another idea is A Room in the Town. Fairly, light, slightly French food. If the lavender and white chocolate ice-cream is on the menu, I’d suggest you try it, I had it a year ago and I still ocassionally catch myself day dreaming about the taste!

As for entertainment, if its raining, the Royal Museum and National Museum of Scotland on Chamber Street is a must.

Enjoy!

There is so much to do and see in Ol’ Reeky. I had to comment to second The Witchery Tours! It is an absolute MUST in my book! Don’t waste time at the Edinburgh Dungeon…. my husband and I regret that. Mercat Tours was good too meets up at the Mercat Cross. However, Witchery Tour was our favourite!

The absolutely best restaurant in Edinburgh has to be The Witchery. It’s the one place I make sure I eat whenever I’m up there.

The best restaurant in my opinion is The Grain Store, a great little Scottish restaurant (the salmon was the best I’ve ever tasted) with very reasonably priced set meals, especially at lunch time. It’s about half way down Victoria Street, off George IV bridge and quite easy to miss because you have to look for the doorway and the restaurant is upstairs (for dinner you MUST book). If you like Thai food, go to Ayuttya on South Bridge opposite the Festival Theatre. Also, for lunch, try Frankensteins on George IV bridge, good, cheap food in an unusual environment.

For sites, all the usual things, the castle, Arthur’s seat, Royal Mile, Princes St, Scott Monument, take a city bus tour, Mary King’s Close, Camera Obscura. Don’t go on the Whiskey tour by the castle, it is a rip off.

Have fun!

well this is probably repeating a lot of what people already said but:

Sights
—Climb (meaning walk up some stairs) to the top of Calton Hill. it’s a great view of the city and beautiful in of itself.
—Arthur’s Seat (likewise)
—Prince’s Street Gardens and the fountain (there’s a huge beautiful fountain with the castle as the backdrop). there’s also usually some kind of street market or fair taking place across the street in new town near that end on the weekends.
—Cockburn Street(right off the Royal Mile) is a little winding cobbled street. there are some funky shops, a good Tapas Restaurant and a great view of new town at the end of the street. Make sure to make your way down some of the closes that wind off of the street. go down the Royal Mile too:0)

Eating:
these places don’t necessarily count as “restaurants” but they are some great places to find good foood/respite from what can be some gloomy weather.

Chocolate Soup—right off the royal mile. they serve hot chocolate, coffee, expresso very elaborately and beautifully, often, in a bowl!

Central Mosque Kitchen: there’s a mosque located next to the university in Old Town (I think it’s at West Nicholson Street and Potterrow…look for the Mosque). There are meat and veg dishes served in a big bowl, and you can sit under a big tent. It costs 3 or 4 pounds and was one of the best hot meals I had in the city. It’s a great quick lunch place…but they’re not open on Sundays.

Brass Monkey: one of my fav. spots in the city is located on Drummond Street in Old Town. It’s a pub that serves coffee and sandwiches during the day that happen to be delicious. Brass Monkey’s got a Moroccan theme and one of the rooms is outfitted with a gigantic bed/sit on cushions with miniature tables for pints or coffee. At 3pm every day the bar plays a movie and you can sit and relax on the gigantic bed.

other restaurants—there are a lot of great little places in the Grassmarket Area.

Have fun! Edinburgh is a beautiful city.

Climbing Arthur’s Seat can be tiring (depending on the weather) but is difinitely worth the effort..! Also, the castle is really beautiful. :)

The Shore (a pub and restaurant) down in Leith is nice.

And, although maybe not the time of year for it, the botanic gardens are nice as well.

The Edinburgh Castle was really nice. It had a nice view. And Mary King’s Cross (which I think is in Edinburgh below the highlands…I think. If not, ignore that.) But it is so amazing. It had to be my favorite part of Scotland.