Post summary
Organization of our visit of Edinburgh in 1 day
Since we only had one day to go to Edinburgh, we could not visit everything. We had to compromise.
So I took my Lonely Planet to list the must-see tours in Edinburgh. Then, I went on the Internet, on forums, on travel blogs to see photos and comments. Thus, I was able to select the visits that attracted me the most given my tastes and my desires.
Then, it was necessary to check if all these visits were feasible in a single day. Then we had to organize them in order to optimize the precious time that we miss all the time!
Edinburgh in 1 day – Best places to visit
This is my selection of best places that can be visited in 1 day :
- Edinburgh Castle
- Royal Mile
- Victoria Street
- OINK
- Real Mary King’s Close
- St Gilles Cathedral
- Parliament
- Holyrood Palace
- Greyfriars Bobby Bar
- Mum’s
Edinburgh in 1 day – Map of my walking route
Edinburgh in 1 day – Morning itinerary
First of all, I chose to visit Edinburgh Castle when it opened in the morning (9.30am). Indeed, we have been able to limit the time we lose in queues interminable especially in the middle of the day.
In addition, I booked the tickets in advance on the Internet which allows you to go directly without going to ticket counters. Here is the site on which I was able to book online:https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/
Around 11:30, we went down towards the Royal Mile.
On the way, we stopped at Real Mary King’s Close to book our visit 1h30 hours later. Attention, given the influx of tourists in August, it is impossible to take an entrance and visit the site immediately. It is mandatory to register for the next visit in French and to return at the time indicated to start the visit.
Edinburgh in 1 day – Restaurant for lunch
We decided to go eat during the wait … We take Victoria Street direction to admire its beautiful colorful facades then OINK direction which is in the same street.
This fast food restaurant (OINK) specializes in pork and is perfect for quick and cheap pork sandwiches. Not very dietary but very good!
There we were efficient because we did not waste time looking for a restaurant, we ate very quickly and we filled our stomachs well.
Edinburgh in 1 day – Afternoon itinerary
1:45 pm: French visit of Real Mary King’s Close.
15h00: Direction and visit of St Gilles Cathedral.
3:30 pm: We decide to walk along the Royal Mile to the Parliament of Scotland (30 minutes walk). Quick visit of Parliament.
4:15 pm: Go to Holyrood Castle or Holyrood Palace at the end of Royal Mile Street. No time to visit because I absolutely wanted to go for a beer in a pub … And yes, sometimes you have to make choices!
And here I am a little ashamed to admit that I preferred to discover the lively and folk atmosphere of a Scottish pub rather than stories of castles and queens that we recited a guide tired of his day!
17:00: We take the bus to go up the Royal Mile and we go down to the Cathedral to walk to 30 Candlemaker Row.
We take a good beer at Greyfriars Bobby Bar which is a very popular old and traditional pub in Edinburgh. It is closely related to a nice legend that I invite you to discover: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby
Edinburgh in 1 day – Restaurant at night
19:00: We are tired and decide to take a taxi.
I had read on the Internet that you could enjoy a very good Haggis (stuffed sheep’s body – great Scottish specialty) at a very small price (9 pounds) at Mum’s. And as the address is well known to tourists and locals, I had of course booked in advance. http://www.monstermashcafe.co.uk/#home
That’s how it ended our busy day in Edinburgh. We liked it but had only one regret: the rain!
Unfortunately, we will see over the days spent in Scotland that she will accompany us everywhere, everywhere …
Cheap hotel in Edinburgh?
I thought that in big cities like Edinburgh, we would not have a hard time finding a cheap hotel. But I quickly disappointed … Correct and well-rated hotels under 100 Euros in the center of Edinburgh are not found in summer.
So I did not find any cheap hotel in Edinburgh in August 2015 so I looked at the apartments.
There, I must say that the offer is more interesting. I booked 2 nights at the Spacious West End Apartment which was 1km walk from the historic center of Edinburgh.
It was the most economical option as we were 4 and the apartment had 2 rooms. 130 Euros per night for 4 people: it was a good plan for our small budget …
In addition, we were completely satisfied because the apartment was beautiful, clean and very well equipped (dishwasher, coffee machine, linens, cleaning products …).
Its location in a very nice residential area, was ideal to reach the main sights of Edinburgh.
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