To ask you to help me plan my break in Edinburgh?

[ExcitedaboutEdinburgh]

I'm going to Edinburgh for a 2 night midweek stay this summer. It's my first break away since my marriage ended. I've always wanted to go visit but never got there. I'm travelling with a friend, we both like books, bookshops, cafes, art. Staying very centrally.
Where would be your absolute must-sees?

The secret underground street.

When in summer?

Yep book a Mercat tour.

Do you mean this?
Real Mary King Close

DH and I had a short break in Edinburgh in February and visited this. We thought it was really good.

We also walked out to Leith and went around the Royal Yacht Brittania and I have to say I really enjoyed that. We had lunch in the tea room on board. Lovely.

The National museum.

National museum on chambers street is good (and free!)

Topping and company bookstore down in Leith is HUGE

Armchair books is quite quirky and sells second hand books.

Mimi's bake house is good especially for cakes - one in corstorphine and one in leith.

When are you coming? Are you around for the fringe or the book festival?

The main art gallery on Princes Street and the Museum of Modern Art are free but sometimes also have paid exhibitions. The Princes Street gallery is obviously central and there is a bus to the modern art museum.

You can also start at the top of the Royal Mile where the castle is and spend the day walking down it visiting various attractions, cafes and shops. The Scottish Storytelling Centre is on that street and is free.

I also highly recommend the City of The Dead ghost tours at night.

Also I've never been but there's a writers museum I think mainly about Robert Burns, Walter Scott and maybe RL Stevenson? Not entirely sure tbh but worth a google?

We got a hop on, hop off bus tour & found that a really good way to see lots.

Also recommend Greyfriars churchyard & a vaults tour.

I went recently, but only for 24 hours. Edinburgh zoo is well worth a visit. I’m not a huge fan of zoos in general but this one is amazing, the animals have such wonderful habitats, and you also have great views of the city. In the evening we went on a haunted vaults tour with Auld Reekie tours, which was brilliant. Really interesting and entertaining.

If you go to the zoo wear comfortable shoes and be aware it's on a relatively steep hill.

Eteaket Tea Room, 41 Frederick Street EH2 1EP - my favourite place in the city, and I LOVE Edinburgh :-)

Thanks everyone. I'm going in July. There seems to be a huge amount to do in the city. I imagine this won't be my only visit.

I absolutely love The Proclaimers so a trip out to Leith sounds good.

If you enjoy art, I would second going to the Gallery of Modern Art on Belford Road. If you're up for a walk afterwards you could walk along the Water of Leith until you get to Stockbridge which is good for a wander and has an independent bookshop on St Stephen Street.

Some more suggestions:

-Climb Arthur’s Seat, walk around Holyrood Park
-Wander around New Town to admire the architecture (it’s a UNESCO site) have coffee or brunch in Stockbridge and then along the Water of Leith to the West End
-Visit the Castle (even if you don’t go in, go up to the site for the views over town) and wander down Royal Mile. Go down all the little Closes and book in to the Mary King’s Close tour.
-If the weather is good spend time in the parks - Princes Street Gardens has an outdoor bar right under the Castle so it’s a nice spot for a drink early evening. Or go for a wander around the Meadows (views of Arthur’s Seat and the Castle), look around Bruntsfield/Marchmont (Victorian era architecture) and then go back up towards Old Town via the Flodden Wall (best view of the Castle IMO!)

Have fun!

You've had lots of great suggestions. I would add that the Portrait Gallery on Queen Street ( running parallel behind Princes Street, below St Andrew's Square) is truly wonderful, you can spen hours there (and has a great cafe).

The Botanic Gardens are also well worth a visit - if you are a reader, you may have read The Fair Botonists by Sara Sheridan. Well worth a read - it is a historical novel about the genesis of the Botanic gardens and Edinburgh in the 19th century.

Another vote for the underground Catacombs tour. It was really interesting. We also visited the Royal Yacht. Have a wonderful time.

Nations museum of Scotland
Any of the art galleries
Mary kings close
Camera obscura

Also walk around a lot or take a bus tour.

Giant pandas at the zoo

If you're a history fan Holyrood castle is a must see - it's at the bottom of the royal mille. And there's also the Holyrood Scottish Parliament building, a total contrast in terms of architecture but it's quite interesting to pop in and have a look

Take comfy shoes - lots of hills & cobblestones!

We also did Mary King's close recently and it was fascinating, so I would definitely recommend that

Also something I would recommend is, pre booking attractions you know you want to go to, as it's not a case of just rocking up & queuing but will need to have prebooked in advance, definitely fit the castle, vaults & Mary King's Close in our case.
There is an information centre half way down the Royal Mile & they were very helpful & booked our vaults tour for us.

Surgeons' Hall Museum is fascinating and the Museum of Childhood on the High Street reopened at the start of April.
https://museum.rcsed.ac.uk/