Tourist Information in Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is renowned for its theatres. Home to Opera, Ballet, Musicals, Pantomimes ("Oh no it isn't! Oh yes it is!") and the odd Pop Concert: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Royal Lyceum, The Edinburgh Playhouse and the Kings Theatre.

Edinburgh International Festival: The first few weeks in August is host to the world famous international festival. But there's not just one festival, there's loads! - the Military Tattoo, the International Fringe, the International Festival,
the International Book Festival, plus many more.

Cinemas: Edinburgh has many cinemas showing a wide variety of movies. The Filmhouse and The Cameo show arthouse and world films, whereas the major new releases and blockbusters can be viewed at a number of locations: Odeon Cinema Lothian Road, The Dominion in Morningside, the Warner Village at Greenside (5 mins walk from the apartment) and the Ster Century at Ocean Terminal, Leith. Don't forget the popcorn!

Edinburgh's Hogmanay - Scotland's New Year, celebrated on the 31st December. Celebrations start around the 27th and continue to around the 3rd January. For an idea of the festivities happening including the now world famous Street Party.

Eating Out: Edinburgh has many eating places, too many to be listed here!

Places of Interest:
The Edinburgh Dungeon - opened 13th April 2001 (spooky!), the Edinburgh Dungeons is a chamber of horrors reconstructing chapters in Scotland's book of the macabre, including Burke and Hare - the 19th Century body snatchers; and Mary Kings Close. The Dungeons is a scary treat indeed.
Dynamic Earth - this place is one of a kind. It tells the story of the planet, using very clever special effects and interactive technology. Visit the official site. Not to be missed!
Edinburgh Castle - home of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Edinburgh Castle stands proud on an inactive volcano. Centuries old, this is the visitors' favourite.
Holyrood Palace - where the Castle sits at the top end of the Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace stands impressively at the other end. This Royal residence has seen many dramatic events in the history of Scotland dating back to 1498.
Edinburgh Zoo - the children's favourite. See the penguins! See the lions and tigers! See the elephants and much, much more! Here's a preview of what you can see. A great day out for the family!
Royal Museum of Scotland - this fabulous museum was extended in 1998 to display the historic artifacts of Scotland. The museum also contains examples of wildlife, world history and science. Visit the museum's official site.
Edinburgh Ghost Tours - ever wanted to see what 18th century Edinburgh looked like? Now you can. Take a ghoulish walk in the underground vaults underneath the Old Town and learn about 18th Edinburgh, the rats and the plague. Can you feel those hairs on the back of your neck rise already? Visit the Mercat Tours site.

Shopping: Princes Street is great for shopping, especially at Christmas. The high street names list includes: Jenners (Scotland's Harrods); Marks & Spencers; House of Frasers; USC; Top Man and Top Girl; Waterstones; The Disney Store; Dixons; GAP; HMV and Virgin. And there's plenty cafes and restaurants nearby, to get a hot cup of coffee and relax those tired feet.
Also located on Princes Street, is newly named Princes Mall (formerly Waverly Market) contains over 60 different shops under one roof, from arts and crafts to whisky souvenirs, from women's fashion to music and videos. There's lot's to suit everyone, and there's even a food court, serving a range of worldly cuisine.
George Street runs parallel to Princes Street. Here you'll find the more up-market clothing stores such as Austin Reed, Karen Miller, Jigsaw and French Connection. This street also leads up to the Harvey Nicks department store in St Andrew's Square - go on, treat yourself.