edinburgh vouchers

normandleigh

hi
coming up to edinburgh in august on a tight budget with 2 kids, has anyone seen any vouchers for the zoo, camera obscura or the real mary kings close please. or have any suggestions for anywhere good to take a 10 & 12 year old for a few hours TIA x

stormbreaker

http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/national_museum.aspx

Free! well worth a visit.

GlynD

Unfortunately with Edinburgh everything costs money but other sites you can see are:

The Royal Yacht Britannia (moored in Leith).
*The Castle - a must for kids. Even a walk along the tombstones on the esplanade has great views of the city and is educational.
*The Palace of Holyrood -more for the adults but has a brilliant bloodstain on the floor in Mary Queen of Scots bedroom, where David Rizzo was murdered hundreds of years ago.
Princes Street Gardens - FREE
*The Tron Kirk, with ancient streets buried under floor level - FREE
*St Giles Cathedral - FREE
Greyfriars Kirk and the statue of Greyfriars Bobby - FREE
Calton Hill - the observatory and the (unfinished) Nelson Monument. Great views.

* - all in the High Street or as visitors call it, the Royal Mile.

There's also this fantastic ship http://thecruz.co.uk/ where you can go for lunch or drinks. It's 100 years old and full of character. Just floating by the bridge at the Water of Leith, near the Royal Yacht.

scotsbob

August is when the Festival is on and there will be lots of free street entertainment.

The castle is quite expensive but you can get free entry if you ask to go to the National War Memorial because you have a relative who died in the war, no matter how tenuous the relationship

It used to be possible to get a free tour of the Scotsman offices to see a newspaper being produced, worth a call to see if they still offer that.

vfish

GlynD wrote: »

* - all in the High Street or as visitors call it, the Royal Mile.

Actually (born and bred here) High Street is only the bit between Castlehill and Canongate - so neither the Castle or the Palace are on the High Street. I use Royal Mile when I mean Royal Mile!
normandleigh - if you do come - don't be worried by the name changes on the road signs- just ask people and they'll point you in the right direction - Castle uphill, Palace down!

mumof30_3

http://www.museumonthemound.com/ never been but have heard it is good.

http://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/Venues/Museum-of-Childhood visit this place every year and the kids love it.

http://www.edinburgh.org/see-do/free-attractions/

GlynD

vfish wrote: »

Actually (born and bred here) High Street is only the bit between Castlehill and Canongate - so neither the Castle or the Palace are on the High Street. I use Royal Mile when I mean Royal Mile!
normandleigh - if you do come - don't be worried by the name changes on the road signs- just ask people and they'll point you in the right direction - Castle uphill, Palace down!

I was rather hoping to avoid semantics. Just trying to help the OP.

vfish

GlynD wrote: »

Just trying to help the OP.

So was I. I hate going to strange cities with big long streets that change their name loads of times. If I'd specifically been told to look for the High Street rather than Royal Mile, I'd be anxious when street signs changed from High Street, Royal Mile to Canongate, Royal Mile and I couldn't even see the Palace. I'd worry I'd missed it somehow. Maybe that's just me though.

GlynD

vfish wrote: »

So was I. I hate going to strange cities with big long streets that change their name loads of times. If I'd specifically been told to look for the High Street rather than Royal Mile, I'd be anxious when street signs changed from High Street, Royal Mile to Canongate, Royal Mile and I couldn't even see the Palace. I'd worry I'd missed it somehow. Maybe that's just me though.

It's just you. I lived in Edinburgh for 20 years until quite recently.

podperson

If you pick up a brochure for the zoo in any of the tourist stands they usually have a £1 off entrance but that tends to be the best you can get for it. Also, if you want to see the pandas there make sure you book before as the slots can all be gone on the day, especially in busy periods like August.
As already mentioned the fringe festival and the tattoo are on in August so it's one of the city's busiest times and prices tend to go up rather then down. However the festival itself provides lots of free shows and events, plus street performers etc are fun to watch.
The National/Natural History museums (in the same building) are free and really good.
Hope you enjoy your visit.

vfish

GlynD wrote: »

It's just you. I lived in Edinburgh for 20 years until quite recently.

I think it was quite clear I didn't mean here in Edinburgh, I've lived here a lot longer than 20 years. When I went to Copenhagen for example, like Edinburgh it has long streets which are the same street but have different names. I was very reliant on knowing the correct name for the part of the street I wanted as the street itself might be about a mile long and have 3 names and I needed to know whether I was anywhere near where I wanted to be - that's why I think it's useful to know what the part of the street you want to be on is called.

As you are deliberately misunderstanding me now, I think we should draw a line under it.

I was hoping to give the OP the information to let them enjoy their holiday and find their way around easily and without confusion and I'm sure you wish them the same.