Things to do in Edinburgh
Vacation Ideas

This was not my first time there and I was looking forward to seeing the city again and all the great Edinburgh tourist attractions. As it turned out, this would be my most memorable vacation idea.

I stayed in one of the fine bed and breakfast establishments in the city. There are many of them, with various price ranges. I chose a place called the Alba House.

It was a lovely place, comfortable and very reasonably priced. I also loved the fact that the bus was close by. This is a cheap and fast way to get right to downtown and access all the wonderful things to in Edinburgh.

I planned this vacation for the middle of July so the weather was warm and it was mostly sunny throughout my visit.

I found that spending time on Princes Street was one of my favorite things to do in Edinburgh.

This is the main street of the city and it is lined with loads of department stores, restaurants, and tourist stores and interesting attractions.

One of the most beautiful spots I found here is The Princes Street Gardens. This is a very lovely park area right off of Princes Street.

Up on a hill overlooking the park is the historical Edinburgh Castle. Sitting down in the park and looking up at the old stonework of the castle, I could easily imagine that I was in medieval times.

The Edinburgh Castle is one of the most well known and popular Edinburgh tourist attractions. There was no way that I was going to pass up the opportunity for a tour of the castle. All I can say is Wow! I loved it. The whole time I was expecting to turn a corner and bump into a medieval king or queen or knight in armor.

My favorite experience from this visit to Edinburgh was taking a ghost tour of the city’s haunted spots. When I was here as a child, my parents wouldn’t let me go on the ghost tour. I guess they thought it would be too scary.

But now I really wanted to do it. I have a profound interest in European history plus an interest in the paranormal so this was definitely high on my list of things to do in Edinburgh.

After meeting at a prearranged spot, the ghost tour guide led us through some of the older neighborhoods that had experienced the horrors of the black plague outbreak in Europe.

Then the ghost tour continued through the so-called “dungeons” below the city. This was a lot of fun because these old stone vault passageways are vast and especially eerie when maneuvered in the dark.

We were also informed about the city’s most infamous grave robbers-turned-murderers, Burke and Hare, and were shown a relic from that time period, one of only seven books bound in the skin of Burke after his conviction and execution.

There are other tours that visit different parts of the city as well, but this was the one that interested me the most.

Edinburgh is also a student town, with many colleges in the area so there is a lively nightlife. One of the fun things to do in Edinburgh is head out in the evening and hit the numerous clubs and bars.

Overall, for great vacation ideas in Scotland, Edinburgh is a good spot for anyone interested in traveling, and I would go again in a heartbeat.

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