Edinburgh was one of the cities I was most looking forward to visiting during our big European adventure. Before visiting, I dreamed of regal castles full of history, charming buildings holding enchanting stories, and romantic streets filled with bagpipe music. That is why I made sure to book one of our longest stays of the whole trip in this city (five days!). I’m happy to say that the image in my head was very accurate, and you definitely need to make sure Edinburgh is on your travel bucket list.
In the descriptions below, I have underlined the attractions, restaurants, and things to do that I suggest adding to your five-day itinerary in Edinburgh based on my experience.
Day 1 – Authentic Scottish Dinner
Due to flooding in England’s Lake District, our trip from Ambleside to Edinburgh was much longer than it should have been. We had to take a couple of trains and then switch to a bus that replaced the final train of the trip. Needless to say, it was a long day of travel, and we arrived at our hotel in Edinburgh tired and hungry! We decided to find a great Scottish restaurant for our first dinner in Scotland before calling it an early night.
I have a cousin who went to the University of Edinburgh, and I have her to thank for many of the things we did in Edinburgh, not least of which was eat dinner at Mums Great Comfort Food. If you are looking for a traditional Scottish meal for a good value, look no further! I ordered sausages and mash, and Daniel orded haggis (brave man!). We both loved our dishes, and we had excellent service. The waitresses were happy to give suggestions and even asked us questions about our trip. We loved it!
Sausages and mash at Mums Great Comfort Food
Daniel’s Haggis! If you don’t know what haggis is, you can google it, but just know that the true form of haggis isn’t even legal in the United States. I couldn’t handle it!
Day 2 – Coffee Shop Hopping
Our second day in Edinburgh was the first day on our trip where we took a full day to just rest and get caught up on “work” (real work for Daniel, blogging for me). We had read about so many great coffee shops in Edinburgh, so we were excited to check some of them out and make them our “office” for the day. We ended up trying out three coffee shops because the first didn’t have internet, the second had bad internet, and (finally!) the third was the perfect place for us to actually be productive.
The Elephant House
Our first stop was at The Elephant House, a cafe well-known for being the place where J.K. Rowling wrote the first book of the Harry Potter series. We had a delicious breakfast here and enjoyed the coffee and the beautiful environment. While it usually is a good place to get some work done, their internet was broken that day, so we had to move on after finishing our coffees.
While the Elephant House is definitely proud of their claim to fame, this small plaque of J.K. Rowling pictures was one of the few hints of it. I was happy to see this because it gave the cafe a more authentic feel.
Black Medicine Coffee Co.
Black Medicine offered both delicious coffee and a great working environment, but the internet was having issues that day, so once again, we weren’t able to stay for long. We enjoyed sitting in the less-crowded basement area.
Look at this beautiful flat white!
Brew Lab
For our final (and favorite) coffee shop stop of the day, we picked Brew Lab. This one stood out to us because while we love a good latte or flat white, we are really filter coffee lovers at heart. Europeans love their espresso and are not very big on filter coffee or pour overs, so we were excited to finally find a place like Brew Lab, which offers a variety of single-origin pour overs.
Beautiful pour over coffee!
After what many would consider to be caffeine over-load and a very productive few hours, we walked around the city at night a little bit, and then called it another early night in preparation for our first full day of sightseeing in Edinburgh the next day.
See the beautiful Edinburgh Castle at the top of the hill?
Day 3 – Royal Edinburgh
The next morning started out with a slow walk in the city.
I love the morning light on these buildings.
Next we paid a visit to Edinburgh Castle. Little did we know that there would be so much to see and do at the castle! It is full of so much history. According to the Castle’s website, there has been a royal castle on Castle Rock (Edinburgh Castle’s home) since at least the 12th century. St. Margaret’s Chapel on the castle grounds was completed in the year 1140 and still stands today as the oldest building at the site. The Scots and the English took turns taking over the castle over the years. Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son James VI here. The Crown Jewels of Scotland were lost and found again here. I could go on and on….
The first thing to do when you arrive is take pictures of the castle and of the gorgeous views of Edinburgh.
View of the castle wall once you enter
Once we entered, we joined the free guided tour (they run regularly). The tour was brief and not very informative – it’s mainly useful for familiarizing yourself with the different things to do at the castle. The castle contains multiple exhibits and museums, not all of which are related, so you need to choose which ones you will take time to see.
Be sure to visit the Scottish Crown Jewels exhibit, which not only has the Crown Jewels on display, but also features an overview of Scotland’s royal history. No pictures were allowed in this exhibit.
You can explore Scotland’s military and war history at the National War Museum, the Regimental Museums, the Scottish National War Memorial, the Prisoners of War exhibit, and by looking at all of the cannons throughout the castle grounds. By the time we had been through a few exhibits, we had reached information overload and were a bit exhausted. We did not end up going into the National War Museum, but it appeared to be very well designed and informative. The regimental museums are smaller and have a very narrow focus, so I recommend starting with the National War Museum and then seeing if you have time for the others afterward.
Visiting the Royal Scots Regimental Museum
Outside of the beautiful Scottish National War Memorial
Look at the beautiful Great Hall which housed many celebrations and important ceremonies.
Peek over at the royal pet cemetery.
Save time to explore the various passageways and enjoy more beautiful views over the castle walls.
With so many museums, exhibits, and beautiful viewpoints, you will definitely get your money’s worth out of your time at the castle!
After spending the whole morning and early afternoon at the castle, it was time to pay a visit to the famous Royal Mile! We did some exploring on our own, and then we pulled out our headphones to do the Rick Steves audioguide for the Royal Mile, one of our favorite ways to explore the main parts of a city.
My favorite parts about the Royal Mile and Edinburgh in general are the numerous “secret passage ways” branching off of the main street and leading to various courtyards. These are called closes, and they are so fun to explore!
Writer’s museum off of the Royal Mile
The new, very modern, Scottish Parliament Building. We didn’t love it because it does not match the other buildings on the Royal Mile, but the intention of the architect was for the building to match the hills in the background, which I thought was a cool idea.
Day 4 – Highlands & Ramen
We spent our entire fourth day on a tour of the Scottish Highlands. It was breathtaking and so worth the time. My next post will be about that tour, so I’ll save the pictures for now.
When we arrived back from the tour around 7pm, we were starving. We ended up eating dinner at a delicious ramen place called Hakataya. Since our apartment in Austin is right across the street from the best ramen place in the world, I was skeptical. But it ended up being delicious! I recommend it for a cold night in Edinburgh. Nothing like a hot bowl of noodles and broth to warm you up!
Day 5 – Last Full Day
We started out our last full day in Edinburgh in the best way – with cake for breakfast! How delicious does that carrot cake look? Please do me a favor and check out Lovecrumbs on your trip to Edinburgh!
We then made our way over to the Royal Yacht Britannia. We had heard great things about the exhibit from both TripAdvisor and from Edinburgh locals, so we decided to do it even though the admission price was a little high. We ended up really enjoying it and learning a lot about the royal family. Visitors walk through the actual yacht with an audioguide telling you all kinds of interesting information about this yacht that served the royal famiy for forty-four years. I’d also like to point out that this exhibit is perfect for kids.
The front of the beautiful yacht!
The Queen’s bedroom. I was surprised at the simplicity of this room. Apparently, Queen Elizabeth specifically requested that the yacht’s decor be simple and “unfussy”.
The yacht’s sparkling engine room!
After touring the yacht, we had plans to hike up to Arthur’s Seat for a good view of Edinburgh. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well, so Daniel made the hike alone. He got some great pictures!
Once Daniel got back from the hike and got ready, we headed off to our last dinner in Edinburgh. We picked The Devil’s Advocate, a bar and kitchen advertising seasonal Scottish cuisine in a modern dining environment. On our way to the restaurant, it started snowing!
Blurry snow picture!
Dinner was fabulous! We were lucky to get a table without a reservation, so I recommend booking ahead. It was full of locals, had a very cozy atmosphere, and the food was top-notch.
Outside of the restaurant during the day time
The next morning we packed up and left! We will be back for you, Edinburgh!
Edinburgh’s beautiful train station
Where We Stayed
Once again our stay in Edinburgh was paid for with points. We stayed at the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa, a really nice hotel in the city center. This hotel is owned by Starwood, and Starwood has a points promotion where you can book four nights with points and get the fifth night free, so we stayed five nights. This hotel is very comfortable, luxurious, and in a great location. I do recommend it, but if you aren’t paying with points, it will set you back about $250 per night for a standard room.
{My husband and I are currently on a 2.5 month trip across Western Europe. Click here to check out all of my posts from this adventure!}
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