Weekend in Edinburgh

[CasaBonitas]

I'll be in Edinburgh at the weekend, visiting alone, and need some advice/recommendations.

Staying near the Royal Mile. I really like history and was thinking of going to the castle. Where else would be good to visit?

Recommendations for places to eat- breakfast, lunch and dinner- would also be great!

TIA!

The city center bus tour was quite interesting. Most are recorded. Some have a person doing the commentary.
You could visit Holyrood palace. It’s at the other end of the Royal Mile.

I should have asked really- where would be good to go for lunch/dinner alone? Sounds daft but I've never done this before. So suggestions of where to go alone and where I'd be able to blend into the background would be great.

The Bistro at the French Institute. Small and friendly.

Holyrood Palace, Royal Yacht Britannia at Leith, Museum of Scotland, St Giles Cathedral, University(New College), Grey friars churchyard

Surgeons hall museum

There are lots of lovely little coffee shops and independant places in Edinburgh. You could wander into the Stockbridge area and see what you fancy- generally people won’t even notice you are by yourself.
More specifically, Maki and Ramen chain and Mimi’s bakehouse chain all have branches near the RM, and nobody would bat an eye at a lone diner.

Take a short walk to Dean Village, climb Arthur's seat, couple of great museums, haymarket is great for a wonder and food.

You could spend a week just wondering around Edinburgh. Went 3 times last year.

Mary King’s Close tour is worth doing but you’ll have to prebook. It’s atmospheric, a bit spooky but great history.

www.realmarykingsclose.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=visitors&gclid=CjwKCAiAxvGfBhB-EiwAMPakqr3H-N3LQ7DVennZhJyrVUJJCvdtqKh_q5fPFNJR1x97gRwW-CDhvRoCIqEQAvD_BwE

Devils Advocate is fab for food and probably close to where you're staying.

The National Museum of Scotland is a 15 min walk from The Royal Mile and its free entry with lots of interesting exhibits. There’s a nice cafe too. The Museum of Childhood is on The Royal Mile and is also free entry.
There are plenty of chain restaurants such as Wagamama, Pizza Express and Wahachas a short walk from The Royal Mile and I would recommend Mimis Bakehouse Cafe for either breakfast or lunch as they do delicious sandwiches and cakes. Vittoria Italian restaurant on George 4th Bridge (just down from The Royal Mile) is lovely for an evening meal and you could easily just blend in as last time I was there I saw quite a few diners on their own.

Oops great minds think alike.

Also, just a wander round the Grassmarket, Cowgate, etc and up Victoria Street. Apparently the inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter.

Ah this is all great stuff, thank you all!

I second the National Museum of Scotland. Don’t try and see all the exhibits - there’s far too much for that - but you could sit in the first floor cafe with lunch or a coffee looking out over the amazing main display hall and just enjoy being there.

Another vote for the Museum of Scotland - you could probably spend your whole trip there but if you only have a set amount of time, the 6 floors of Scottish history are really brilliant. Also adding votes to the castle and Holyrood Place.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city so definitely take time to just walk around - Grassmarket, Victoria Street, the Mile, Princes' Street Gardens, the Meadows, Dean Village, Stockbridge are all lovely. Edinburgh is very walkable and very compact so you can easily walk between all the places you want to see.

The National Gallery is also great and has a really lovely restaurant.

There are always plenty of history / walking tours along the mile and we've enjoyed some of these. The evening ones are good fun - some of them may be a bit ghost-y but none of them take themselves too seriously and they all give a good historical overview of Edinburgh.

Pizza Posto, Saboteur (Vietnamese) and Ting Thai Caravan are all low-key well-priced places to eat that we enjoy and are close to the centre of town. Edinburgh is really bursting with independent restaurants.

Thank you so much for all the recommendations. I've booked for Mary Kings close and for the castle. I'm so excited to be going- I loved Glasgow when I went with work last year but have never been to Edinburgh, so really am looking forward to it.