Edinburgh in February?

[nancy75]

Looking for somewhere to go for a few days during half term, never been to Scotland at all & Edinburgh looks fab BUT are we going to freeze? Is it silly to go in February? We would be doing city stuff not countryside & Dd would like to see the pandas ( when answering please take into account I am a soft Londoner who is not really used to weather & DH is an Aussie so thinks 20 degrees is cold)

The Honours, just off Princes St is Martin Wishart’s bistro and is a bit less out there than his main restaurant.

So many lovely looking restaurants, not going to bother with sightseeing - just going to have 6 meals a day
Bus tips are great, in London you just use a contactless card for the bus so good to know how to make payment (in advance of making a tit of myself on the bus)

LRT - you can get a family day ticket for £8.50. Might cover tram too...can’t remember.
Child single is 80p.
Living 3 hours north of Edinburgh, I’m always surprised how warm and toasty I feel when we visit. Went out in a top, thin cardi and a scarf in the car yesterday. Was ace!
Did the Edinburgh dungeon the other day....if your kids are made of strong stuff, I’d def recommend!

Thanks TheSquiffyQuiff, we’ve done the London dungeon & Dd was a bit meh about it, I think I might have a look at the ghost walks. I can guarantee I won’t be walking round in just a thin Cardi!

Monday to Friday will give you plenty of time, it’s a very compact city with excellent public transport. We have been many times and love it, I would recommend booking an apartment via HomeAway or airB&B, more space than a hotel room and usually cheaper.

Mary King’s Close is good. It’s all touristy now but still gives a good feel for how life used to be in the Old Town.

As a hardy northerner we went to Edinburgh Zoo a couple of years ago during February half term and the weather was lovely, yes cold but bright and sunny I actually think it was slightly warmer than home.

Another vote for Scran and Scally - had Sunday dinner there last week! Fish pie was lush! You will need to book though . Tom also runs Castle Terrace - bit more expensive - but amazing food. (Might be wasted on a teenager)
Most of the pubs won't serve you with a teenager in tow .
George street has Gourmet Burgers at the Charlotte square and - my teens loved it in there.
Have a fab time!

Pubs won’t serve you with a teen? really? That is very different to London, we don’t take Dd to the pub at night but I’d think nothing of going in a pub with her during the day.
I saw the castle terrace restaurant when I looked at the other website, it looks lovely & is high up the list of places to book.
Dd wants to go to the pizza place & breadmeatbread - might just send her off on her own for a week

I think you need to book to see the pandas, though maybe that is just in high season. Look on the zoo website to see. And they are sometimes off being awkward but lots of other cool animals if not. There’s an ice rink near the zoo if your dd likes to skate. Food serving pubs are likely to take dc during the day. When is your half term and I can tell you if it’s half term here too?

Mistressiggi Someone had mentioned booking for the pandas, they are the only reason Dd wants to go so hopefully at least one will make an appearance!
We will be arriving 18th Feb & going home on Friday of that week.
I will book restaurants, pandas & everything I can in advance ( we live in London so we know what a busy half term is like if you don’t book tickets!)

Some pubs let kids in. In Scotland you have to pay extra for a license for DC so lots of Landlords don't bother.

If you Google I imagine you'll find a few. There's a nice one on Leith Walk, I forget it's name, but I suspect there are several more central ones.

Will take planning though - most of the pubs on the Royal Mile don't let kids in for example.

I’m not too fussed about the pubs, just really surprised! If Dd & I are out in London & just want a quick drink (fizzy rather than alcoholic) I’d think nothing of just going in a pub

That’s the week after half term here, though other regions of Scotland (and the private schools) May have different ones. So a bit quieter for you perhaps.
As well as city stuff try to click Arthur’s seat (in the centre still) and you could get a bus to Portobello for the seaside, though might be a bit bleak in Feb. There are boats that go under the bridges in the Forth. Top of the museum that others have mentioned is a terrace with great views. I’d probably do one of the bus tours to get your bearings on first day.

Bus tour is a good idea for the Monday afternoon, we did one in York & it does help to get an idea of where everything is & how big/small a place is.
Good news that we are missing the main half term!