Edinburgh: The Best & WORST of Visiting Edinburgh

hey there fellow Travelers Mark here with Walter's room today we're in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh and today what we have for you are the five things you're gonna love and hate about visiting Edinburgh and I'll be honest I love this city it is a beautiful place with the architecture and the stone and the just museums it's really really cool but there's things you might not like and that's why I like to start off with those hates but I think this time it's more of a set of mild annoyances okay now the first thing you're not gonna like when you come to Edinburgh is most likely you're going to be running a car and going to go travel the rest of Scotland and you might want to drive into Edinburgh look first hate I have is finding parking and driving around Edinburgh look as you might you might know or you might not know they drive on the left side of the road here in Scotland and so that can be a little difficult with the roundabouts and stuff like that but here in Edinburgh what's really going to get you is finding the parking if you are going to be coming here so what I recommend if you're flying in and Edinburgh is either the beginning or the end of your trip to Scotland I would fly in come and visit Edinburgh then head back out to the airport and get your car after you've been in Edinburgh for a few days or what we did is we flew into Edinburgh got our car drove around for a week or so and then dropped off the car back at the airport and then we took the tram into the City and just spent a few days here in Edinburgh it really makes your life a lot easier because driving and parking here is a pain in the behind so just a heads up for that one okay now the second thing that you might not like when you come here and again like I said these are more like mild annoyances or mild things you might not know is more of getting oriented here look there's Seven Hills here in Edinburgh and so you have to do a lot of walking uphill and things like that which some tourists aren't a big fan of especially the little tiny ones Liam said my legs are going to die so yes bring good shoes but the thing is when you look at the map it'll look like things are easy to get to like they're right next to each other but sometimes there'll be a bridge going across and and what you want to see is in the lower City versus the upper City and that can get a little confusing for some tourists so whenever you see something and it says oh it's just 500 meters away it might take you a little bit more time than your usual 500 meters so getting oriented to it but once you get it you're totally fine but just know those Hills and getting oriented to the map that can be a little bit of a throw off for some tourists when they come here now the third thing you might not like about coming to Edinburgh is look this place has become very very popular for weekend Travelers and you're probably gonna be coming here on a weekend or during the weekend and stuff like that and it can get packed with tourists but it seems like the pack with tourist Park is really only in the Royal mile from basically St Charles Cathedral to the Edinburgh Edinburgh Castle and you're like fighting through people and there's cool buskers by the way there's buskers there's all the stuff going on people playing bagpipes and you're just like I just want to get to the castle and it can get frustrating with all those tourists so what I recommend is if you can come off season okay you'll be fine or just come during the week in the summer usually okay um I will warn you though during the Edinburgh Festival in August it's really packed like you can you're like this everywhere you go in town not just on the Royal mile but everything down near the the castle where a lot of the festival big concerts happen but there's a lot of stuff that goes on around the city she'll be okay but just know those weekend smooshies yes I know a lot of the airlines are coming here and all kinds of stuff to get here and get the cheap airlines here but yeah you're gonna have to deal with a bunch of tourists on the weekends because it really is a great City and yes that is me saying I hate myself but that's just the way it is now the next thing you're not going to like when you come here is the airport look we flew in I thought oh they must be under construction that's why they put us at this at this gate and this this entryway oh no no no no no no no no no the Edinburgh airport needs some work and you're going to need some time to get through it because it's too small for what a city like this was getting so many Travelers coming through so it can be kind of a headache now they are working on it like the tram line to go in and out is great take that in and out buy your return ticket when you when you when you come in it's a lot cheaper that way but the airport itself is just a pain in the butt and if you've got a morning flight man don't don't think you're just going to show up at six to get that seven o'clock flight because it gets so packed and getting through security and those things can take a lot of time on weekday mornings especially Monday mornings so do give yourself some extra time if you're going to be going for a morning flight also when you get through uh when you get through the the check and you check in and security and all through these things you're thinking oh finally I'll get to the gates there'll be plenty of room to relax I can find a seat stuff like that no it's a rather small departure area so just just a heads up for that one and the fifth thing you might not like about coming to Edinburgh has to deal with bringing your kids look Scotland itself and Edinburgh itself are fantastic for bringing your kids from outdoor activities to museums to just just looking around like oh my gosh it's like we're in Harry Potter World everywhere we go yes the kids will love Edinburgh and they'll love Scotland but the thing is it's in Scotland and Edinburgh itself you do have the rules that you know kids in the bar after eight o'clock some bars will say no kids at all or or no kids under five and the thing is is kids usually like the pub grub you know the fish and chips and the I know you're supposed to go to a chippy shop for that but you know the bangers and mash and all these things you want to have when you're here and yes you should have the Haggis okay you should try it when you're here is but the thing is the kids can't go in so that means you can't go in and that can't be tough because you're like you know what I don't want to eat you know McDonald's or Pizza Hut or something like that when I'm in Scotland I want to go to a Scottish Pub and have Pub dinner and stuff like that so if you do have kids and you want them to have that Pub experience go for lunch not dinner unless you're going to eat like at five or six o'clock otherwise your kids won't be able to get in and then you won't be able to get in so that's kind of frustrating now these five hates aren't really that bad they're all things you can deal with and I didn't mention yes the weather here is kind of soy but I talk about that in the uh in the love and hates of Scotland in general so that's one of those things but the thing is what are you gonna love when you're here and for me and the one thing that the tourists always go to we all walk to the one place we flock to the Royal mile the Royal mile is the road that goes from the Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Hollywood house the bottom where the queen stays when she's there and this way it's got St Giles cathedral which is just gorgeous to go inside you have a beautiful stained glass in there you need to pay two pounds to uh to take pictures by the way it's got the when you're walking down outside of St Charles you've got the little heart you spit on for you know good luck or come back to Edinburgh you've got Edinburgh Castle at the very top with amazing views of everywhere around town you can see the Scottish uh the Scottish crown jewels and stuff like that there a lot of history in the museum you walk down take it in the architecture the church is just looking around going wow wow I mean it's just really really beautiful and nice and there's nice museums on there you know and so you want to check those out but you're walking down there and you see that and you come down and there's Arthur seed on the right of Holly Road house and then you got called in the hill on the other side with the monuments on there and it's just it's just gorgeous and that's your really touristy touristy touristy place for a reason because it's gorgeous the thing is that leads us into the second thing you're going to love here is if you're going to go up Arthur's Cedar called the hill or just anywhere the views around the city are amazing if you go down to the grass Market you get a view you get some nice pictures up to the castle that way or you walk up to Colin Hill you can see everything from the castle up there it's just amazing views and scenery everywhere in the city and you go around you see the architecture I'm just on some back road outside the center of town okay outside the new town and it's gorgeous I mean and that's one of the things you love is the views of Edinburgh everywhere you go just like in Scotland everywhere you go just seems like a postcard beautifulness and so I really say is look don't just stick to the Royal mile yes that's my favorite part of it you're gonna love it but go explore you know see that Scott Monument go out there check out that the Princess Gardens but keep going check out the new town in all kinds of places you'll find amazing statues and cool statues all over we've found a Sherlock Holmes statue yesterday I mean it's just like one of these cool things and that's why you really have to explore don't just tell on that real amount get out and explore and see some of those great views around the city now the third thing I love about coming to Edinburgh are the shops there's the Vintage shops there's the cookie shops there's the over-the-top touristy Scotland shops and the thing is is when you come here you know if you're coming for like your traditional h m and Zara shopping and things like that that's in the new town not the old town the old towns where the Royal mile is you're going to go across the Princess Gardens and and go across there and you'll see the Scott monument and stuff over there is we're going to have your Traditional High Street shops um but if you want to go shopping in Scotland you actually go to Glasgow for the shopping shopping but Edinburgh what's cool about edinburgh's there's very I would say eccentric eclectic shops and you're gonna go to those to find kooky little souvenirs or if you want to find vintage clothing things like that go down by grass market around there there's some really cool some really cool vintage places Jocelyn loved it I mean you know it's got to be pretty cool if the husband is like yes I want you to go shopping for vintage clothes because it's so cool and that's one of the things you're going to really love are these cool quaint shops that are here and don't worry if you're not gonna buy something just go in and check it out and they'll have all kinds of little things I know Harry Potter is still very popular here and you'll see when you walk around you'll see the influence that's that Edinburgh really had on the Harry Potter series and you'll see that there's of course cheese ball shops that are for them but they're fun to go on as well okay so that's one thing I love is going shopping in The Eccentric shops here not just the traditional you know h m John Lewis m s kind of stuff now the fourth thing to love about coming to Edinburgh is basically going around town taking in the museums and the sites that are here with things that aren't on that Royal mile Bill I'm going to mention two places that are one the Museum of childhood is really cool it kind of gives a history of what it was like to be a child in different epics um also the uh the Museum of Storytelling or the storytelling Museum that's really cool because Scotland has a really rich history of storytellers and it is pretty cool so you can check that out and those are on the Royal mile will you venture out farther take the public transport out to Roslyn Chapel you can see The Apprentice column and all these kind of stuff and you'll hear the history about it and yes I know it's I mean 20 years ago DaVinci Code was really cool but you'll see those things there but you go around and there's so many things to do you want to go hiking outside of town you can do that walking up Arthur's seat is always really cool the views like I talk about but also when you are here you get out and you explore the different areas of the city and you're going to see great architecture great people great stuff all over and that's one reason we really love Edinburgh because it's not just that Old Town historic part it's the rest of the city as well that has some cool churches some museums the botanical gardens they're right back over here okay and you can see these things and it's really cool but you gotta venture out and the thing is is if you're using Edinburgh as a base you can venture out on the train to Glasgow to see the art and do shopping there it's only 45 minutes I mean you can go there in the morning come back in the afternoon you're fine okay though I will tell you another hate I guess I should mention is the shops close around six sometimes but the tourist places they stay open longer so just a heads up on that one make sure you're looking at when things are closing and opening so you make sure you can shop when you want and I think the last thing I'm going to say about the things you're going to love about Edinburgh is Edinburgh has amazing tourist infrastructure there are tons of hotels bed and breakfasts apartment rentals those things really make it easier for tourists in different price categories hostels I mean if you're a hostile Backpacker you can do it here if you're a wealthy family that was to have nice tea and crumpets well they got they've got the balmora okay you have all these places you can go and stay in all price ranges also we have a family with us we're staying you know we're here as a family we've rented an apartment all kinds of stuff you can get obviously during the festivals the prices go up but the thing is the infrastructure is there for the accommodation restaurants and pubs and all those things plenty of stuff to go out and eat which is nice but also the tomb infrastructure in terms of how well things are displayed how helpful the people are at sites around town they are quite nice and if you have any questions whether you're at a castle or a museum just ask the docent that's there and they will give you the history times 10 about what you're seeing and that's what's really great about it you see that Pride that the Scots have in their country and the Edinburgh people have in Edinburgh and it really comes out in that helpfulness for the tourists and I really love that and you know I mean we can go on about the tourism infrastructure the buses here they go all over the place you can take them no problem the tram line that comes from the airport down to the center takes about 40 minutes from the airport to the last stop at York place it's great and it's easy and that's why when people are looking to come to Europe I'm like hey you know if you don't want if you want something a simple place that you feel comfortable in English as your native language Edinburgh is your spot because it is just a great place to check out I love it I know this is the love and hates but you'll notice those hates were like mild annoyances that you can deal with but honestly it's a beautiful city with wonderful people and yes you will find some quirky things like fried Mars Bars and fried pizza and and black pudding but we talk about the food in other videos so anyway I hope this helped you get better prepared for visiting Edinburgh it is a fantastic City if you haven't noticed because I said that about 400 times if you want to learn more about Edinburgh and traveling in Scotland check us out on our website at waltersworld.com we're also on Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube and we really appreciate your likes and subscriptions and if you do like travel videos like this click that subscribe button and we get new videos out every Wednesday and Saturday from all all over the world so anyway I'll say bye from Edinburgh I know you have a nice time because this place is great those hates I mean I feel bad even saying hate because aside from the driving part which in parking which really totally sucks like really totally sucks like it's really totally sucks you will really love the place anyway I'll say bye from Edinburgh

Channel: Wolters World

Views: 119,815

Keywords: travel, europe, wolters world, travel advice, tourist attractions, travel vlogger, honest travel, Walters World

Id: n3aw1iNlZV0

Length: 14min 0sec (840 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 14 2023