Four nights in Edinburgh?

[HmmmCat]

Thinking of having a midweek break mid-October in Edinburgh. Two adults.

Any tips, suggestions, recommendations?

If you are going out to the Falkirk Wheel make time to visit the Kelpies too, they are very beautiful and worth a wander round.

We loved the Botanic Gardens and Dishoom for dinner

Last visit we got to have a great day at the zoo ( been to Edinburgh 3 times so far ) Its a lovely compact zoo and they have pigmy Hippos ( Hippos are my favourite wild animal )

And we spent a morning down at Queensferry - walking across and admiring the bridges - we love engineering and architecture

Some amazing graveyards to wander about, cant mind the name of the one at the bottom of Carlton hill , but its just amazing

Watching the sun go down from Carlton Hill before wandering back down and finding dinner

It’s Calton Hill, don’t know why it bothers me so much but everyone gets it wrong 😑

The tunnels under the Royal Mile
the Royal Yacht Britannia
Dynamic Earth was excellent

Get the train to South Queensferry and you can walk over the forth road bridge and it's got some nice restaurants.

the National museum of Scotland in particular the Cold War in Scotland exhibit if you are a child of the 70s or 80s it will make sense if some memories.
If you are a national trust member you can visit the National trust for Scotland properties for free and there are two great ones Gladstone’s land on the Royal Mile you need to book a time slot here, but you get a really good look in to a Royal Mike tennament. Then the Georgian house in Charlotte Square is also lovely.
Good value food Makers Mash at the bottom of makers yard where the writers museum is.

Wrong way round: train to North Queensferry, walk over the bridge to South Queensferry where there are restaurants and a nice high street. Train back from Dalmeny.

North Queensferry is a pretty village but there’s only one restaurant and one cafe there.

Is The Real Mary King’s Close the tunnels under the Royal Mile that PPs have mentioned?

On one of your days nip on the train to Glasgow if you haven't been
So much to see and do there.
4 days in Edinburgh is too long

The Real Mary King’s Close is underground streets off the Royal Mile, they weren’t originally underground (17thC) but have been built over in subsequent times. The tour guides sort of act the part of a period resident but it doesn’t really work IMO, I’d rather they did straight guiding and drop the pretend part. However having said that it is fascinating and definitely worth going. I booked two days ahead when I went.

The castle is interesting too, and great views, I watched the 1 o’clock cannon last time I went and found the Scottish War Memorial building inside the castle grounds deeply moving. I booked the day before and got in free with English Heritage membership. It does sell out on the day even out of high season.

If you are going this month the Andy Goldsworthy exhibition at the National Art Gallery is really impressive, as is the Cold War exhibition in the National Museum mentioned by a pp (the whole museum is superb but I haven’t got a great head for heights and there are a lot of balconies and atrium areas which I find a bit tricky). The Museum on the Mound (museum of banking) is interesting too. And The Royal Yacht, Calton Hill, Victoria Street and South Queensferry although with my head for heights there is NO WAY I’m going on the bridges. I want to go again now! I disagree that 4 days in Edinburgh is too long, agree with going to Glasgow but it deserves more than a day too.

Mary’s kings close underground tour is fantastic!

The royal college of physicians/surgeons museum on Nicolson Street is really good if you like all things medical/human biology etc

4 days is too long? It’s sounds like it’s not going to be long enough!

Four days is not too long at all.

We did 3 full days first trip, went back a few months later for 4 full days and will be going another trip of 3 or 4 days

If you are doing a TikTok city break, probably 2 days is enough - walk or bus past and take a snap. You actually go and enjoy what the city offers, takes forever. Best is so much is free so some places you might think not worth it if paying, cos it's free, you go in and enjoy it. We Spent 2 hours in the the Royal Bank of Scotland Museum for example, really enjoyed it, but would haven't had bothered if we had to pay in

We enjoyed the HOHO bus one of the routes takes you to the yacht Britannia . Make sure you pick the one with the live commentary not the recorded one . We very much enjoyed the walking tour . We stayed near Haymarket station where restaurants etc are a bit cheaper and got the train into Waverley which was brilliant.

Surgeons museum is fantastic if you aren't squeamish about body parts. Also, if you are remotely immature it makes for a fun game of spot the boaby 😳.

Worth checking out if there are any shows you fancy seeing at The Playhouse.

Just be savvy where you buy water/juice etc as the smaller shops around 'The Bridges' and The Royal Mile are no better than highway robbers. One tried to charge me £4 for a small bottle of water. This Scottish lass told him to give me the real price not the tourist rip off price.

Kind of. Mary King's is a specific part under the Council Chambers. You go through with a guide with whatever romantic tale they're telling nowadays. It's very much the social history of those times and you get to see some interesting Victorian plumbing😆. It's a great thing to do, I loved it.

There are also separate underground vault tours, generally at night with a ghost theme and tales of Burke and Hare hiding in the shadows. Totally interesting but can be a pain if you are in a group with lots of screaming girls as they tend to switch the lights off for dramatic effect and its literally black dark down there. I totally don't do ghosts but 100% swear something came up and stood behind me 👻. Some of the vaults are still used by pubs/clubs as storage or function rooms. Not sure if its still the case but one was used for hosting BDSM events.....

You could do both as they have a very different vibe.

4 days in Edinburgh will barely scratch the surface,
it’s definitely not too long!!

With the disclaimer I live in Edinburgh, I recently did a outdoor “escape room” walking trail with friends that was a lot of fun- you can stop for lunch or a drink while you work out the clues.
Barnton Bunker is an old disused Cold War bunker that has been refurbished for tours- think it books up quite quickly though.
Jupiter Artland is lovely.
There is a cafe at the top of Carlton Hill - I went in its old iteration as a restaurant and the views are spectacular.