Edinburgh

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK summary. Edinburgh, Scotland UK highlights can be seen in three days. On day One: Royal Mile and Castle; Day Two: New Town, National Museum of History and shopping; Day Three: to the Royal Yacht Britannia at Leith waterfront, then the National Gallery of Art and free time.

The best place to begin is a few blocks in front of Edinburgh Castle, high above the city where Edinburgh was first settled. It's a lovely downhill walk from here along what is called the Royal Mile which is anchored at one end by the Castle and at the other end by Holyroodhouse Palace, one of the queen's summer homes in Scotland. This route has one of the most concentrated collections of historic sights in Europe, along with attractive little shops and many tempting restaurants and pubs. Several former homes on the Royal Mile are open as museums, giving you a vivid idea of what domestic life was like four hundred years ago.

Edinburgh's Old Town has retained many of its original buildings and the 18th century New Town is also well-preserved, both still functioning as a great examples of healthy urban neighborhoods. This large number of authentic buildings presents you with a rare chance to experience genuine historic settings that have been beautifully preserved, unlike so many destinations that got modernized and then attempt to re-create an "authentic reproduction" of the past. Edinburgh is the real thing.

Three days

Edinburgh, Scotland is another one of Europe's truly great cities, a place noted for historic sites and modern culture that makes it one of the most popular destinations in the world.

Your visit to Edinburgh could be done comfortably in three days: on day one, Royal Mile and castle, day two, the busy shopping district of the New Town, historic neighborhoods and the National art museum; day three, to the Royal Yacht Britannia at waterfront Leith, National Museum of History and free time. Of course, in between all of these wonderful attractions your main activity is just the sheer pleasure of walking around in this beautiful city.

The main street that visitors love to see is the Royal Mile, loaded with shops, restaurants, statues, monuments, and great old buildings and lots of street entertainment to please the crowds.

The pub culture is alive and well here, a great place for a drink and to meet some locals. You can eat in a fancy restaurant from a variety of international cuisines. Or go casual with fish and chips.

Fish and chips has been a standard meal in Great Britain for over a hundred years and still very popular today. You can find it all over town. Perhaps not the healthiest meal, but very tasty and you don't have to dress up for dinner.

It seems that the Royal Mile is just one restaurant after another, mixed in with a few shops and old historic buildings. It is just the place to hang out when you're in Edinburgh.

Castle and Royal Yacht

Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Yacht Britannia, are two of the most famous sites in Edinburgh, if not all of Scotland, a must for every visitor and it will not disappoint. You can easily spend two hours on the visit exploring the many rooms filled with historical artifacts and reenactments of life in the past. Located high up on Castle Rock, you get a great view looking down from the castle into the city. From down below, looking up, you get that iconic postcard view of the castle up on its rock, impenetrable fortress.

Edinburgh's other very popular historical site is a short bus ride out into the suburbs to arriving at the Britannia, the Royal yacht of Queen Elizabeth.

You are of course welcome to come aboard. You pay your admission fee.

And it's like the queen just stepped out for a moment. The furnishings are just the way she left them. The yacht is now retired, no longer in active duty, but it went around the world many times in the service of the royalty.

It's docked at a modern shopping mall, so you can browse around. Maybe get a bite, spend some money, stroll through nearby Leith, which is a beautiful waterfront community. You will enjoy harbor reflections and perhaps stop at a local pub, and then get back on the public bus for the fifteen-minute return ride to town.

We have other movies about Edinburgh, covering a three-day visit: day one, Royal Mile and castle, day two, New Town, National Museum of History, and shopping, day three, to the Royal yacht Britannia at waterfront Leith, then the National Gallery of Art and free time. Of course, in between all of these wonderful attractions your main activity is just the sheer pleasure of walking around in this beautiful city.

Take the fast train from London to this second city of the British Isles, a wonderful place to visit. We bring you to Rose St for starters, a great lane for a pub crawl. Shops along Princess St include many place to buy woolens and other local specialties. The National Gallery of Scotland has an important collection of European masters, including Impressionist, Baroque and Renaissance painters. End the visit with a walk along Victoria Terrace. One of our historic videos from the archives.

More information will be added in coming months.