Why other UK cities might as well give up and go home (Edinburgh in General)

Member Name: Bel Ludovic

Product:	Edinburgh in General
Date:	04/11/02 (145 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: breathtaking architecture, topography and spaces, incredible choice of cafes, restaurants, bistros, etc., cultured and sophisticated populace

Disadvantages: like most capitals it can be expensive, can look forbidding in the rain, makes you feel depressed about where you live, which will seem rubbish after Edinburgh

If Edinburgh is the first place on any first time visitor to the UK's itinerary, then expect the rest of your trip to disappoint; and if it is the last place, then it's a good spot to ponder the unfairness of life: some people - and places - really have it all. This is a spectacular city that impresses even those with the high expectations borne of the hype that perennially surrounds Edinburgh. Even as far as capitals go, it is supremely gifted. Foremost among its literal embarrassment of riches is supremely elegant architecture and stunning town planning, with a wide array of monuments and historic buildings, and an enviably low ugly building quotient. But what makes Edinburgh special - magical, romantic - is its astonishing topography and natural geography. The city is pockmarked with hills, valleys and remarkable stretches of open space overlooked by tenements. Tenements are the main living format in Edinburgh - basically, they're old, high-density apartment blocks which help give the city a very continental feel that low-density English cities fail to achieve because of the affinity of the English for back gardens and suburbia. The other thing that makes Edinburgh more a city of Europe than of the UK is its liberal licensing laws, meaning nights out start and end later. And you'll never get bored in Edinburgh - the city is bestowed with a seemingly endless selection of superb restaurants, bars, cafés, pubs, clubs and bistros. Indeed, one of the delights of Edinburgh is the vast array of small, independent shops and cafés of great character, including some of the best delicatessens in Britain. Another noticeable difference from England is the care Edinburgh's council takes over the city's remarkable environment: not just in terms of an absence of vandalism and litter but also in terms of taking great care to construct new buildings and urban spaces to very high standards of design. This is not unique to Edinburgh - all of Scotland is renow
ned for this sensitivity.

If arriving by train, Waverley Station nestles discreetly in a tight valley with the Old Town on one side and the New Town on the other, with Edinburgh Castle at the head of this space and Calton Hill at the foot. The New Town is a masterpiece of town planning, and more than a little reminiscent of other cities of the same era, such as Bath and parts of Bristol. Block after block of elegant terraces are the order of the day. Princes Street is Edinburgh's Oxford Street, commanding great views of the city's landmarks and defining the southern boundary of the New Town. Parallel to Princes Street is perhaps the New Town's most appealing street, George Street, where some good boutiques and bars can be found. And parallel still but further back is Queen Street - a stark, sheer line of terraces that's a little austere for my liking. The New Town, especially towards Princes Street, contains many of the chains that you'll find in any British city but in considerably grander surroundings. And besides, there's Jenners, Edinburgh's unique department store. Away from the shopping, there are handsome squares and crescents galore, all carrying a composed, formal air.

The New Town is connected to the Old Town by bridges. Below, you might think there's a river. No - it's Waverley Station and Princes Street Gardens. Walk along North Bridge and marvel at the views. The Old Town is, as you might expect, rather more intimate than the New. The joy of it is that it's laid out on two different levels based upon the natural gradient of the hilltop on which it is built, leading to a playful, if slightly confusing area of bridges, canyons and steps. This area is much stronger if you're after interesting coffee shops and independent stores - for example, Victoria Street, which is beautiful. (But then, everything in Edinburgh is beautiful - it's a given.) Other well-known streets in the Old Town include
the Grassmarket, an attractive space increasingly known for pubs (and which does feel uncannily like the Netherlands; that's a compliment) and of course the Royal Mile, tourist central, which runs from the Castle down to the Queen's residence at Holyrood. Here's a tip: once at Hollyrood, bear vaguely right for Arthur's Seat, an astonishing slab of mountainscape and wonderful wide open space surrounded by the city, or bear vaguely left for Calton Hill, a hill crowned with various monuments that commands spectacular views of Edinburgh, with the Castle and Princes Street standing out in a unique skyline.

There's more - so much more - but those are the basics. There's enough here to devote a week to, and that's not mentioning the beautiful, wild coast of East Lothian. There are some criticisms that people levy at Edinburgh: it's quite conservative and lacks the edgy innovation of Glasgow; it's not a multicultural city - indeed, it's very white; the people are said to be a little cold and reserved (though they seemed fine to me); and on a grey, rainy day the type of stone used in almost all of Edinburgh's tenements can seem dispiritingly dark and gloomy. But truly, this is a proud, sublime capital city that can take its place amongst Prague, Venice and Paris as one of the most stunning, sophisticated and cosmopolitan cities in Europe. Just expect to return to your home town feeling elated at the experience you've just had, and glum at how rubbish your home town probably seems by comparison!

Summary: