Edinburgh, where to say, what to do?

[shadypines]

I'm excited for my first proper trip (have passed through for a few hours) to Edinburgh and wondered if anyone can recommend places to stay, in or just out of centre. Also what sort of things would you recommend to see/do, we'll probably have two full days there, no car, we are going by train. We like history, art, walks, books mainly. Thanks.

I usually stay in air bnbs in Leith - you can walk or get the tram/taxis easily into the city centre. You will be absolutely spoilt for choice for stuff to do, it’s such an incredible city! The castle, Mary Kings Close, the Vaults are all brilliant as is the Portrait Gallery. Portobello worth a quick trip out to as well! Arthur’s seat and calton hill are great for views. You’ll have a great time!

If you want to splash out the Sheraton has a nice spa and outdoor jacuzzi

@Hotmess1 Thank you (love your username btw) those sound great, yes we thought there would be a lot to do and are trying to choose wisely. It's nice to know that getting back into the centre there is a few options aswell.
@Janedoe82 Thank you but I don't think the cash will stretch to that, nice as it sounds!

We usually stay in Premier Inns. There is a newish one in Rose Lane which is about 5 mins walk from Waverley Station and about 10 mins.walk up to the Royal Mile.
If you want a short walk Calton Hill is great for views, the old Burial ground near the bottom has some really interesting monuments.
Arthur's seat is the obvious longer walk, it took us about 2 hours up and down.
Holyrood Palace is at the bottom.
Multitude of museums and art galleries to choose from.
Mary Kings Close is a nice slice of history, and is close to St Giles and the Castle - you could easily do all three in a day. For a bit of fun the Camera Obscura is great.
Edinburgh is very walkable, though lots of hills!
Have a great time.

I'd strongly advise against an AirBnB.

Edinburgh has a housing crisis, and the proliferation of flats used as AirBnBs by profiteering landlords has contributed to this; a subsequent shortage of long-term rentals has helped to drive up rent prices to affordable levels for many.

I live in Edinburgh and I'd recommend googling "things to do in Edinburgh" and, as above, not staying in an AirBnB. HTH.

You can spend a whole day walking down the Royal Mile from the castle at the top to the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood House and Arthurs Seat at the bottom. On the way down are Camera Obscura, St Giles Cathedral, some museums, Mary Kings Close and loads of places to eat and drink.

If you like art then the National Galeries are great and are free apart from special exhibitions.

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/

The ghost walks are great and you learn a lot of history from them. I recommend this one:

https://www.cityofthedeadtours.com/

Royal Yacht Britannia is worthwhile, Botanic Gardens pretty to stroll around with views across to the castle, National
Museum, National Gallery, Castle

Check out the view from the W Lounge at the top of the new W Hotel in St James Quarter. Better by day I thought. Pretty by night but the cocktail menu is quite frankly baffling and while you can see lots of lights, it's not as good a view to those that don't know the skyline intimately.

If you like art, I recommend a visit to the Gallery of Modern Art on Belford Road. This can then be followed up with a walk along the Water of Leith (looking out for the Antony Gormley statues en route). You can end up in Stockbridge which has lots of nice cafes and shops. Agree, don't stay in an Airbnb!

Noted about the airbnb's. Thanks for all the ideas, will def be some of these.

There are several premier inns to choose from. Last time we had a night out we stayed at the one on Rose Street. It’s above Marks and Spencer so literally 5 minutes from Waverley Station. It’s a newer PI and breakfast was good although, I highly recommend a bacon roll at Dishoom on St Andrew Square too!

Loads to do in Edinburgh. Walk up to the castle - go in if you like that. Get the one o’clock gun, walk down the Royal Mile, do Mary Kings Close. The museum is free if you like that. Princes Street Gardens for a walk, the botanic gardens etc.

Its a very walkable city.

That’s more of a government derived problem taxing the are out of private landlords - so only way they can make money is Airbnb. Though this is changing. but unlikely to add anymore properties to let just be sold off.

as for Edinburgh we stayed at the Voco on royal terrace and could easily walk everywhere. We did the camera obscura anw aome of the museums.

I think there's two Premier Inn's on Rose Street. We stayed in the "Hub" one. We had a larger room (the smaller ones have the bed against a wall). It was a good location and not far from the station if you are arriving by train. It's definitely a budget option - no tea/coffee/kettles in the rooms but you can collect a free cup in the bar and take it to your room. Also, room only cleaned when you request it, but that suited us too.

If you like walks then you might like to take a look at this book. We did a few of the walks in here which was great. We have the equivalent book for London which we've used loads so I was pleased to see there was one for Edinburgh too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edinburghs-Hidden-Walks-Stephen-Millar-dp-1902910699/dp/1902910699/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

We also like Bonnie and Wild which is a food court in the shopping centre. Lots of different food/drink options and they have a fun (and free) ceilidh once a month.