Edinburgh: once you're here, nowhere else will feel like home! (Edinburgh in General)

Member Name: edindave

Product:	Edinburgh in General
Date:	10/06/09 (12 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Welcoming people, beautiful city, easy to get around.

Disadvantages: The weather is a little scary during the winter months

I remember the first time I came to Edinburgh. I caught the train from my hometown and alighted at Edinburgh Waverley. The station is smack in the centre of the city - you get off the train and emerge onto Princes Street, the main shopping street in the city. I have been to very few cities with such a well-placed central station.

Coming out of the station, you are faced with the side of the world-famous Balmoral Hotel and its beautiful clock tower. Immediately, it becomes apparent that this city is something special. The buildings are gorgeous - everywhere you look there is architecture that is hugely interesting.

Princes Street is a little like any other high street. There is the famous Jenners store, although now owned by House of Fraser and shops that you would expect to find in a cosmopolitan and modern city. Behind Princes Streets is George Street - the place to find the more high-end fashion stores and designer boutiques. Edinburgh has a Harvey Nichols store on Multree Walk with all of the designer goods that come with the store - there are also Louis Vuitton, Armani, Mulberry stores on this street, making it one of the most exclusive in the city.

Moving away from the shopping, the city is split into two main architectural districts - the Old Town and the New Town. The New Town is a world heritage site and probably the best example of Georgian architecture outside Bath. The Old Town has winding streets and is stacked full of history. Obviously the Castle cannot be ignored and one of the major streets in the Old Town is the Royal Mile that connects the Castle and Holyrood Palace, the Queen's official residence in Scotland. The Castle is a major tourist attraction and there are regular tours around it as well as the one o'clock cannon that is fired every day.

Holyrood Palace is also open to the public and just across the road is the new Scottish Parliament. The parliament building is in stark contrast to the conservative nature of the palace but both are beautiful in their own way and both are definitely not to be missed.

There are regular bus tours around the city with guides pointing out the main sights to see but I find wandering around the city and finding hidden gems off the beaten track is much more rewarding. The Royal Botanic Garden is well worth a visit and indeed could be an entire day in itself! It is situated in the New Town and is the best way to relax after a day of shopping/ sightseeing.

If you arrive other than by train, Edinburgh Airport is situated a little outside the city but there is a regular bus shuttle service for a couple of pounds that will drop you into the centre of the city - ironically at the train station!

There are countless restaurants and bars throughout the city. My personal favourite restaurant is Petit Paris on the Grassmarket in the Old Town - it is a gorgeous little French restaurant with French staff and the best French food this side of Paris. George Street is well known for having many high-end bars and footballers from the local teams as well as local celebrities can often be spotted in these bars on a weekend.

It is just this that makes me love Edinburgh so much. The mixture of the old and new ... Old Town/New Town, Georgian Architecture/cutting-edge bars and restaurants, history & culture/modernity and cosmopolitan. The castle and the palace and the lilted-accented Morningside give one impression but an entirely different Edinburgh exists in the annual Arts festival/fringe festival and in the novels of Ian Rankin and films like Trainspotting. Every aspect of Edinburgh is valid and every aspect makes it the city that it is.

I loved this city so much during my visits that I chose to come to university in Edinburgh and I never left. Edinburgh feels like my home more than the place where I grew up and spent my childhood. I think it almost becomes part of you and it is impossible to leave once you have let it in.

Summary: Edinburgh is a vibrant city with a lot to offer everyone - just bring an umbrella!