Describing my experience in this particular city as beautiful, will simply be an understatement. One could only imagine the amount they can possibly grasp in a few days. I have decided to write two segments with regard to my short 5 days trip to Edinburgh. This will consist of Edinburgh’s City and Scotland’s Highland. The former is something I hope I can explain in-depth. Edinburgh has honestly given me a different perspective of the UK. I do hope it will be detail enough for you. The latter comes with breathtaking views and well sadly I only visited one of the Highlands (The Queens View) due to time constraint. Nevertheless, I hope to make your reading time productive and informative 🙂

Bustling like any other cities you live in, the heart of this city lies within its breathtaking architectures, people, castle, and festivals. Firstly, having a castle in the middle of your bustling city may just be a little fairytale. It may be peculiar to some, however I found it rather intriguing. The sight of the castle and ostentatious buildings/monuments surrounding it, drapes across the skyline impeccably.

In the old town of Edinburgh, lies a succession of streets which form the royal mile. The royal mile runs between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace. Pubs, restaurants, boutique shops and many other retail outlets dominate along the mile. The one thing that captivates me most, is that these pubs and restaurants have so much history in them. Some of them started of to serve as a memorial, while others were built specifically to keep its guest (Tourist especially) entertained. BackPipes are a common sight along certain corners of Old Town Edinburgh, along with many other side acts.

Here are some pictures from the heart of the city.

Personal Favourites

1. The Elephant House: Harry Potter fanatics, this is one place not to miss when you visit Edinburgh. Located in Old Town Edinburgh,  is a small yet extremely famous cafe known for hosting none other than one of the most prestigious and world renowned writers, JK.Rowling. Commonly know as the birthplace of Harry Potter, this cafe greets a multitude of tourist all round the year and getting a seat inside may be quite a challenge. Thank god to beginner’s luck! I was fortunate enough to have sat  at the back of the cafe facing Edinburgh Castle, which was rumoured to be the JK.Rowling’s prime spot back in the days when she used to frequent the cafe. A fantastic memory to keep 🙂

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2. St.Giles Cathedral: Priced as the city’s jewel. St.Giles provides tourist with a heartwarming welcome into it’s corridors filled with intricately tinted windows and hand carved ceilings. Personally i felt so much of peace walking in and it is the perfect place to recharge after walking around the bustling city.

3.  Museum of Childhood: Some might actually find this little two storey museum creepy, but I felt that it was an opportunity to learn about antiques. OK! I was obviously kidding. The toys you find here can be viewed from two different perspectives. My mind just kept screaming evil, horror, terror, little girl ghost, chucky!! Well, like I mentioned there are two perspective..Personally, the vintage genuinety of the doll houses and little toy cars succeeded in fascinating me.

4. The Ship on the Shore(Restaurant):  Set along the harbour, this promising indulgence of seafood will have your heart at full content. Located at 24-26, Leith, Edinburgh, it is easily  accessible by local buses from the city. The interior of the restaurant is themed with intricate regard to ‘things found around harbours’ in general. The catch is fresh and the portions are hearty. An afternoon lunch or evening candle lit dinner here may just be the best way to end of a day of sightseeing and exploration.

Above were a few of my favourite places mentioned. Other interesting places which I failed to mention are pretty generic around the city. Such as the homemade fudge shop, the Christmas shop(open everyday of the year!) and other monuments that had special history to them. The culture and history in Edinburgh has truly taught me to appreciate UK for what beauty it has to offer. I do hope you will find the time to visit Edinburgh one day and see the city I had fortunately been able to experience.