Edinburgh entertainment for 5 women on a short break

icookalot4u

Myself and 4 friends from NI are visiting Edinburgh for 3 nights from Monday 25th Nov. We have booked an apartment on the Royal Mile. We have never been to Edinburgh before and don't want to spend the time shopping.

Is there any offers on the usual tourist attractions, Belfast has loads of groupons and offers via other sites for reduced entry, bus tours etc.

Anyone have any suggestions on what to do or go to see that's not the usual museums etc?

The only theatre event i can see is The Lion KIng, any suggestions on events in other venues?

Much appreciated

icookalot4u

Oh dear, 61 views and no suggestions, perhaps Edinburgh wasn't such a good idea after all.
Come on all you local moneysavers, share your suggestions :-)

Kinski

icookalot4u wrote: »

Oh dear, 61 views and no suggestions, perhaps Edinburgh wasn't such a good idea after all.
Come on all you local moneysavers, share your suggestions :-)

Edinburgh's a great place to come to, I'm to old to know where the best places to go are though, give me a botle of wine and a good horror film and I'm happy.

regprentice

http://www.list.co.uk/ is a good source for events.

At this time of year the christmas lights and christmas market should be on. (or at least just starting...). Where your flat is is very central so a large proportion of what you want to see will be available to you on foot.

The stand comedy club has a cheap night on mondays which is popular - £2 a ticket to see newish comedians. went to this night once and saw dylan moran unexpectedly as the headliner.

The botanic gardens (but not the glasshouses) are free, south queensferry is where the famous rail and road crossings are (scenic village and bridges, pubs restaurants arts/craft shops) and is accessible by bus.

Plenty of walkways, parks, gardens etc. climb arthurs seat (a big hill) climb the royal mile (a big hill) visit edinburgh zoo (a big hill) ... plenty of hills if thats what you like.

If you really do cookalot you might like http://thekitchin.com/. while not cheap some friends tell me lunch is worthwhile from a cost vs treat pov.

Oh and warp up warm... had to scrape the frost off my car yesterday and they are predicting a bad winter.

edit ... my sil is a chef and when she came she wanted to visit http://www.chop-chop.co.uk/about/ which was a finalist in some gordon ramsay program. again, useful if you really do liketocook

scotsbob

icookalot4u wrote: »

Is there any offers on the usual tourist attractions, Belfast has loads of groupons and offers via other sites for reduced entry, bus tours etc.

Compared to other cities Edinburgh tourist sites offer very few discounts or coupons.

It's not widely known but you can get free entry to the castle if you turn up and say you want to visit the Scottish National War Memorial (which is inside.) Take a spare poppy with you to make it look authentic.

slbhill

Lots of things to do, at various prices but you don't say anything about what kind of things interest you so it's hard to know where to start. History? Fresh air? Museums to look at or to press buttons?

regprentice wrote: »

south queensferry is where the famous rail and road crossings are (scenic village and bridges, pubs restaurants arts/craft shops) and is accessible by bus.

Definitely worth a visit - good ice cream along the high street (and a tiny municipal museum which I think is free), or warm up with a meal or drink at the Hawes Inn almost under the rail bridge (where the workers on the Bridge used to go for a pint after their shift - the barmen lined up 100 pints on the bar ready for them!, also where RL Stevenson hung out when he was writing one of his famous books, possibly Kidnapped although I can't quite remember). If you're up for a walk and the weather is up to it then I'd recommend getting the train over to North Queensferry from Edinburgh and then walking back over the road bridge, come down into South Queensferry (rail station is Dalmeny) and do your thing before heading back into town. You're not allowed to walk across if it's very windy though.

The Georgian House (national trust for scotland) in Charlotte Square is apparently very good if you like that sort of thing, set up as a house would have been in those days. If you have any national trust / heritage organisation memberships then bring your cards, many of them have reciprocal agreements.

The Museum on the Mound is fascinating (the history of money - and you can see £1million cash on display) and free. National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street is newly refurbished, I've not been since but I hear it's got some good stuff.

the Christmas stuff will have just started - https://www.edinburghschristmas.com/shows/%20/%20/%20/1385337600/1385337600 New for this year is a big wheel (not sure how this is "new", presumably it's bigger than last year's!) which gives a great view.

If you don't want to pay to go in the castle then go up to the Esplanade anyway, it's worth it for the views (weather dependent).

Theatres-wise there is the Edinburgh Festival Theatre & the Kings (both run by the same people - I think it's Gang Show week at the Kings so if you want to see 100 or so scouts & guides doing their thing then here's your chance), presumably Lion King is at the Playhouse which is the other big mainstream place. You could also have a look at the Usher Hall (mostly big classical or Scottish folk), or the Queen's Hall (smaller venue, mix of amateur and small pro groups). Occasionally also the Assembly Rooms on George Street.

If you're into art there are several big galleries - the National Gallery of Scotland, and the National Portrait Gallery are both right in the middle of town. There is a museum of Modern Art further out.

Oh, and the other big hill reg didn't mention is Calton Hill - complete with its Acropolis which gave Edinburgh its nickname of The Athens of the North. Worth a wander if you can face the climb.

Personally one of my favourites is the Camera Obscura, up next to the castle. Great fun. It's not cheap but you can use Tesco clubcard "days out" vouchers there if that's any use to you (or you could last time I went, at least).

Pubs-wise the Grassmarket is the famous pub crawl, although you'll find more tourists and students than locals there. But wherever you are in town there are plenty of pubs :beer:

Enjoy !

slbhill

Previous thread asking more-or-less the same question

scotsbob

slbhill wrote: »

Previous thread asking more-or-less the same question

The OP is asking if anyone knows of special offers. The thread you reference isn't about offers and was started 8 years ago. Hardly relevant.

carebabe

some free events here :- Previously... Scotland's History Festival

Amys

http://www.theghostbustours.com/edn/edinburgh.html


I would also recommend Camera Obscura


You can also do whisky distillery tours, but they are a bit out of the city

slbhill

icookalot4u wrote: »

...
Anyone have any suggestions on what to do or go to see that's not the usual museums etc?
...

slbhill wrote: »

Previous thread asking more-or-less the same question

scotsbob wrote: »

The OP is asking if anyone knows of special offers. The thread you reference isn't about offers and was started 8 years ago. Hardly relevant.

It is totally relevant to the 2nd part of the OP.
Also quite a few posts on there about long-term offers.
And while it was started years back it was last added to 6 months ago.
So there.

:rotfl: