2 days in Edinburgh with 2 teens and their slightly disabled mum

[TwigTheWonderKid]

I know it's crazy timing but I have stage 4 cancer and have to grab opportunities and so we have booked to stay in the centre of Edinburgh next Saturday and Sunday nights.

We'll have a full day on Sunday and probably until mid afternoon on the Monday.

DS2 is desperate to visit the zoo so we'll do that, probably for a half day.

Can anyone else suggest a good itinerary where we can see the highlights without totally knackering me out?

Also any suggestions for restaurants where I can sample proper Scottish food?

Be prepared for it to be very busy as the Edinburgh Festival is on all month. On the plus side, there will be loads going on in the streets, particularly the Royal Mile, and plenty of shows of every variety to go to (look up edfringe.com). August is the busiest month of the year in the city.

I'd recommend a bus tour too. It will go to all the main tourist sites (except the Castle, but even outside of August buses don't actually go right to the door) and you can get on and off as much as you want.

Book restaurants of interest before you go or you won't get a table at this time of year.

The Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle might be an idea if it's not sold out (big show on the Castle Esplanade every night in August).
There's a military aircraft flypast for this on Friday night at 9.30 (they fly up the Royal Mile and over the castle), so keep an eye out for that if you're out and about then.

Forgot to mention the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street. It's free, interesting for all ages, very accessible and there are plenty of places to sit.

I recommend the Real Mary's King's Close. It's an underground tour. There's one hill bit for a photo but you don't have to do it :)

You will need to manage everyone's expectations. The old town and city centre are mobbed. Edinburgh is a hilly city and the old town is on different levels so you can often find yourself presented with a flight of stairs to get to places. Edinburgh zoo is all on a hill and it's exhausting but pp have suggested some options.
You can escape the crowds quite easily but the tourist stuff will be very busy.

A bus tour would be my absolute first choice- sit on the top and soak up the city. Edinburgh is pretty compact so you will get a great feel for the city and there is loads to see from the top of the bus. Enjoy!

I've been a few times recently to stay with a relative just off Princes Street with my 10 year old. Am not disabled and haven't checked out accessibility unfortunately.

I can definitely recommend the Optical Illusion Museum, but ask first about lifts as it's a tall building (you go up lots of floors, exhibits on each, and then there's a camera obscura at the top). It's really, really good, but do ask about lifts and chairs beforehand.

If your teens are able to do something by themselves for a while, the Botanical Gardens might be somewhere you could go to relax. Or they might like it too — my son loved it because he's a nature lover.

The zoo is brilliant, easier than London Zoo, but yes re hilly areas and you need some hours to enjoy it.

Portobello beach is an easy bus ride from the centre, has loads of cafes, shops, ice cream parlour, chips, etc..

We got the train to the Seabird Centre and went on a boat round Bass Island to see the puffins. I'd definitely recommend that as the main attraction if you're able to. It doesn't involve much walking at all, just booking and organising (a very short train trip to North Berwick then a short walk to the boat trip, seats on the boat, amazing ice cream parlour afterwards).

Edinburgh zoo is fantastic but would second the recommendation for mobility scooter hire. You may not need one ordinarily but it is steep in places and it's a shame not to see all of it.

Conserve your energy for the rest.

The National Museum is good and free entry. My kids loved the dinosaurs and animals. Appreciate yours are older but plenty to look at.

Lothian buses do hop on and off for about £4 a day so you can make best use of them.

Well it's not Scottish food but we stumbled upon China Red, it's a fantastic Chinese buffet and perfect for ravenous teenagers! Also it's only a short bus ride from the zoo.

I'm fairly local to Edinburgh.

Tbh I think the zoo will be disappointing, especially for teens, but if you're set on it then go anyway.

Edinburgh is incredibly busy right now so plan twice as long as you think you'll need to get anywhere.

If you want to see a lot without walking the bus tour would be the way to go.

You won't get into the castle without a ticket. You can go up as far as the tattoo ground/display area.

For food, Rio Brazilian steakhouse for a real treat. My dc also like Coro the chocolate cafe on Frederick street. There's a posh desert place in the st James quarter too. bonnie and Wild in there is great for informal dining, and so is the street food market at the Omni centre. It's order by qr code to your table so you dont need to worry about queuing.

The National museum on chamber St is excellent and free.

There's an exhibition 'women in revolt' at the national galleries just now if that's your kind of thing. You can get a bus there. Lovely coffee shops and vibey secondhand shops on Stockbridge on the route. If you're in the area visit Rare Birds Books a female owned bookshop.

Teens might like the Edinburgh dungeon or a ghost tour.

Picnic in the gardens and soak up the atmosphere.

Just another vote for the national museum here. Also the DC might enjoy the street food market in the Omni centre (not as fancy as Bloom and Wild across the road but less stressful because you do it all from your table) or the street food in George Square, which has loads of festival venues nearby if you found something the DC would enjoy.

one of my favourite places is the gallery Modern One which has fun landscaping out the front and always has something interesting inside. It's very peaceful and has a nice cafe.

the Coro chocolate cafe mentioned up thread was a hit with my teen and her friends when we went earlier this year - lots of waffles/pancakes and cookie dough things with toppings
they also enjoyed the ghost bus tour (on the app in my phone so can't link) which was a mix of factual stuff with a bit of hocus pocus and theatrics. mention this as you're largely on a bus (obviously!) so might be easier if you get tired. there's one bit where they spend 10 minutes being guided round a cemetery, but that's entirely optional

My two are 16 and 12 things he enjoys in Edinburgh are

Zoo
Castle
Bus tour
National Museum
Camera Obscura
May Kings Close
Ghost or historical tour on the Roysl Mile

At this time of year you can get a lot of free entertainment wandering around the High Street area of the Royal mile and foot of the Mound just watching the street entertainment

There are a small number of tickets still available for the Tattoo. We went last week and they both loved it. So did I.

tickets.edintattoo.co.uk/selection/event/seat?perfId=10228567907500&table=1&productId=10228567215453&lang=en

There's a really nice Holiday Inn right next to the zoo. I recommend staying there. There are loads of buses to the city centre for sightseeing on the other days.

The zoo do carer tickets if your husband is your carer. Trams are probably the best way to travel. Some of our favs

St James Quarter
Royal yacht Brittany's
Surgeons museum
Castle
Dynamic earth
Camera obscure
Festival theatre
The dome - really nice afternoon tea

Thanks all, such a lot of great suggestions! Will sit down with DH and the DSs this evening and make a plan. Have already booked a couple of restaurants so that's sorted.

Luckily we live in London so are no strangers to crowds of tourists.

Just wanted to update to thank you all and tell you we had a brilliant time. It was busy, but not really worse than home (London)

Took your advice and did the hop on hop off bus your first which enabled us to see the city and decide where we wanted to explore more. We did loads, including the real Mary King Close and had a fab meal at Howie's (we are all addicted to haggis now!)

Did make it to the zoo the morning before we headed to Northumberland, where we stayed a few nights and got to see the koalas, which is why we were so keen to go.

Fab city. So glad we went!

Thanks for the update. Glad you had a good time.

So lovely you had a great time. ❤️