Few days in Edinburgh

[carlottacandle]

Hello all. Please please please can you help me with an itinerary for 3 days in Edinburgh in Feb. This will be for my daughters 10th birthday. I also have a 6 year old! I'm looking for the best places to stay (thinking Airbnb) for ease. Is it best to hire a car or are things fairly central ? I know nothing.!

The last thing you want in Edinburgh is a car! It’s a city that wasn’t built with cars in mind. If you’re flying or getting the train then the bus service or feet will serve you just fine.
the pandas will have left by February but the zoo is a full day out (although could be chilly in Feb)
the national museum is great for kids, camera obscura, do a Harry Potter walking tour, walk up Arthur’s seat if you’re feeling energetic or Calton Hill if less so. Royal yacht Britannia. Aqua dash at the commonwealth pool (might be too hard for. 6yr old), ninja warrior, trampoline park or miniature golf at fountain park. Get the bus to portobello beach for a walk, ice cream and amusements. Junior parkrun at the meadows or inverleith park.

Dynamic Earth is excellent - lots of interactive exhibits and 4D films, plus a planetarium. It’s about a 20 min walk from the city centre and very close to Holyrood. Holyrood has an interactive media tour for kids as well as a selection of themed activity trails.
If you go to the castle (you definitely should!) try to time it for 1pm when the guns fire. It’s not cheap to visit, but my dc loved it and there’s a handy suggested family itinerary on their website.
The Chocolatarium tour is definitely worth doing. It lasts about a 90 mins and you can design and make your own chocolate bar. It’s right by the Museum of Childhood which has free entry and a couple of fun interactive exhibits so you may as well pop in if you’ve got the time.
Badger and Co is a quirky but excellent place to eat. It’s inspired by Wind in the Willows and has a childrens menu.

Ooh yes, dynamic earth is really cool! I don’t personally enjoy the castle, there’s a LOT of history and military stuff and it’s really expensive to get in.

Castle is disappointing IMO if you’re expecting a ‘castle’ - it’s a historic barracks really. Fascinating if you like regimental history etc, but if not I would just walk up the Mound and look at the view from the car park!
My daughter loves the museum, as mentioned by PP. She also loves the Camera Obscura - fun for a couple of floors of optical illusion stuff and an interesting session at the top learning about the Camera Obscura itself.
Definitely don’t get a car. Maybe take a trip on the tram?
There’s a fab playground on the Meadows which your younger one will probably love, and maybe also the older one 😊

Thank you all! Some great stuff to go on 😀

I would maybe consider staying in a hotel if any deals on maybe somewhere fairly central (everything is walkable) maybe like APEX in the Grassmarket which has fab views of Edinburgh Castle.

Shopping, Camera Obscura, Castle or just Castle grounds and park, nice meals out in restaurants, bus tour of the city/learn about the history, are their any shows on you think she would maybe fancy?

The national museum is REALLY good

I second the Apex, great location and a reasonable swimming pool if you want to that too.

National museum is great and from the Apex could easily be split into two visits.

Camera obscura is great. There’s an underground tour designed for kids which is fun. Loved the Three Bridges tour, but not sure how fun it would be in Feb!

There’s a Premier Inn by the Royal Yacht Britannia which isn’t as pricey as inner city, but only 10 minute cab/bus in to the centre.

Don't bother with actually going into the castle, wandering up the Royal Mile and around the castle esplanade will be enough.
The Chocolatarium tour is great, and very near the National. Museum of Scotland which is free and good.
Also close by is Victoria Street which is worth a wander around, even if there is no interest in Harry Potter.
Don't hire a car. If you need to, the buses are fine and you can use contactless on them.
If you like pizza, Civerino's Slice on Hunter Square is cheap and excellent.

Don't use air b&b it's destroying the city. There are plenty of hotels/b&b/hostels.

It's not a car city. Look for places on the tram route as the DCs might enjoy that.

Edinburgh is a city for hearty walkers- it is very very hilly with lots of alleyways with steep steps. Make sure dc have a lot of stamina before going!

For DCs the best bits are probably:

Zoo (another huge hill)
Our dynamic earth
Camera obscura (near castle)
Museum of childhood (down the royal mile from the castle)
National museum
Open top bus tour
Going up the Scott monument

As above the castle isn't that interesting for DCs.

Go to grassmarket for an ice cream (there's a shop with a permanent queue.) opposite there's a cat cafe. From here there's a good view of the castle.

Holyrood is worth a tour.

There aren't many playgrounds in the city centre you have to go to the meadows.

If they like beaches I'd choose south queensferry over portobello as the view of the three bridges is spectacular and you can do boat trips from there.

If you like walks there's the water of leith walkway, Arthur's seat, calton hill, the botanic gardens or one of the many ghost tours if your dc like that kind of thing.

Then there's the usual stuff in most cities- dungeon, cinema/bowling, shopping.

If they like HP unfortunately the cafe where JK wrote it had a bad fire and afaik hasn't reopened yet.

Do you mean the holiday inn express @PaniniHead ? That’s the only hotel by ocean terminal, the premier inn is at newhaven a bit further along the road. They’re cheaper for a reason though! If you’re coming with young kids I’d stay somewhere central, particularly in Feb.

We stayed at the premier inn on Princes Street and rang to ask for a room with a view and got a great one of the castle, much better and cheaper than what we got at the Radisson Blu on the Royal Mile. Another who loves Portobello Beach. I would do the castle, I did with young children. Think the ferris wheel is on Princes Street all year now. Love Edinburgh

They have a lovely John lewis cafe

Premier Inn Leith Waterfront. I don’t mind that it’s cheaper, the difference between that and a city centre equivalent means more spends for activities. But it depends on individual budgets for preferences.

It’s hilarious that they call that “leith waterfront”! It’s Newhaven Harbour. The downside for me would be that there’s nothing on the doorstep so everywhere you go it’s a bus or tram ride away and with small kids sometimes you just need a quiet moment in the middle of the day or before going out for dinner.
there is no big wheel currently on princes street!

You can now get the tram to Newhaven, the premier in there is actually a fab base being right on the little harbour with an amazing fish and chip restaurant. The hotel restaurant has a soft play too which could be helpful in February

There aren't many playgrounds in the city centre you have to go to the meadows.

There is a play park at the west end of princes st gardens near to the fountain which also has a nice cafe next to it.

The zoo is good but maybe worth giving a swerve in February as it's on an exposed hill and can get very cold. You can play it by ear though as you never know the weather can surprise you. The museums are free and second previous recommendations for dynamic earth and camera obscura. Depending on dc dungeons might appeal too. A lot of this stuff is very close to each other however you can still hop on and off busses to get about and the fare is capped. Buy a physical day ticket from the driver if you wish to include the tram. Also if the weather is kind a trip to the botanic gardens is always a good way to spend a few hours.

@Coronationstation it has a harbour/lighthouse walk, Victoria and star bank parks both a couple of minutes away and a soft play. Also oven terminal just one tram stop or a short walk with restaurants and a (very good value) cinema. Wouldn't say nothing to do

*ocean terminal obvs 😅

I have a 7 year old and it’s fine. OP has a 6 year old so it’s a viable option. As I said before, it depends on budget. Being able to afford more activities and stay slightly further out is far preferable to me than being completely central but not have room in the budget for much else. It’s not too far from the city centre, my 7 year old will be fine with it.

A restaurant tip for you - Pizza Ponto on Nicolson Street (round the corner from National Museum) is great. They have a Kids meal deal for £8.

Its always worth a visit to the Fudge Kitchen on the Royal Mile as you can watch them making the fudge and they make a big fuss of kids.

If you're in Grassmarket buying an ice cream, my kids used to love going into Mr Wood's Fossils shop too.

@PaniniHead if budget is tight then Jolly restaurant on elm row, the block down from the playhouse is fab. We get the 3 course lunch menu for £7.95 (dc have big appetites and get the adults one). For the main course you can get half pizza half pasta which dd loves and you barley need to eat for the rest of the day. From hotel you can get the number 11 bus straight to its door. @Coronationstation debatable issue that you'll often see discussed on local leith pages however the hotel is EH6 - it's Leith 😅

I think Jupiter Artland is amazing too, although it's out of the city

@liveforsummer if you follow that logic, the people of Muirhouse live in the West End 😂 anyway we digress......