Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and the seventh most popular city in the United Kingdom. Historically the city has been for a long time a center of education but quickly it turned into a historical and cultural attraction. A lot of people might know Edinburgh also from Harry Potter, as J.K. Rowling got her inspiration from that city.

Edinburgh is full with old buildings and churches, which makes it very charming. At every corner there is a Scotsman playing on a bagpipe. The whole atmosphere will put you immediately in a real Scotland feeling. You simply have to love this amazing city.

Not only the historical monuments are worth seeing but also from a nature and geological aspect, Edinburgh has also something to offer. You are able to stand on two extinct volcanos. How exciting is this?

Edinburgh Castle

When speaking about two extinct volcanos, the Edinburgh Castle is standing one of them. So when you are visiting the beautiful Edinburgh Castle, you are standing on a real extinct volcano.

So whenever you plan to visit the Edinburgh Castle, I recommend you to book your tickets online in advance. It will save you a lot of time. The castle is opened almost everyday from 9.30 am to 18.00 pm.

Arthur’s Seat

Arthur’s Seat is the other extinct volcano that you can conquer. It is a hill or mountain with 251 meters of hight, which is reachable for everyone even if you’re not in a good shape. If you want to get more information about hiking to Arthur’s Seat, have a look at Arthur’s Seat – an extinct volcano in Edinburgh Scotland.

Whenever you are planning to hike up to the summit, be sure to have enough water with you. There is no other possibility to buy something to drink once you started your walk.

When you are hiking on a clear day, you’ll have an amazing view over Edinburgh but weather can change very quickly. When we started our hike, the weather was not that bad, but as soon as we arrived up on the summit, we found ourself enclosed in a cloud. Although we did not see much, it was worth it to climb up Arthur’s Seat.

Scotch Whisky Experience

The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh is definitely a must do whenever you are visiting this city. Even if you are not a whisky drinker, you will enjoy the tour.

You can chose between 4 different tours, the Silver Tour, the Gold Tour, the Platinum Tour and the Taste of Scotland Tour. We went for the last one, the Taste of Scotland Tour, which includes a dinner in the Amber Restaurant. For more information, have a look at Taste of Scotland – The Scotch Whisky Experience Edinburgh

So when you are choosing to do this experience, buy your tickets online because the tour is often fully book and be on time.

Calton Hill

The Calton Hill, together with Arthur’s Seat and Edinburgh Castle, is also part of the volcano site in Edinburgh. This hill is often used for photographs and paintings of the city.

There are a lot of iconic monuments and buildings up the hill as for example the Scottish Government, the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the old Royal High School, the Robert Burns Monument, the Political Martyrs‘ Monument and finally the City Observatory.

Contrary to Arthur’s Seat, Calton Hill is reachable by car and so everyone can visit it without hiking. Although there is no veritable hike up there, you can easily reach it by foot. You don’t need a car.

The World’s End

The World’s End is a pub located on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. It is called the World’s End because in the 16th century, Edinburgh was a walled city and the gates to the city were situated just outside the pub. For the people living in Edinburgh, the world behind the gates were no longer theirs and so the pub was the end of their world. Therefore it got the name The World’s End.

If you want to eat there, be sure to be on time, around 18.00 or 19.00 because the places are limited and they are very well visited. If you get the chance to enter and get a table, it is quite normal to wait around 30 minutes to get the table. But this waiting time is definitely worth the waiting.

I chose the Fish & Chips and it was delicious. I would return to this pub and definitely wait to get a table.

Eat Haggis

Most people are rather disaffected by Haggis and don’t want to give it a try. When you think about the ingredients, it doesn’t sound very yummy. I have to admit that I was rather critical too but as soon as I tried it, I changed my mind.

Basically Haggis is a savoury pudding containing the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep. This is minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt. Traditionally this is all encased in the stomach of the animal, but today it is mostly made artificially.

Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is certainly the most famous street in Edinburgh. It is the main thoroughfare of the Old Town in Edinburgh and approximately one Scots mile long. Basically the street connects the Edinburgh Castle and the Holyrood Palace.

The Royal Mile is composed of a lot of smaller streets, the Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street, the Canongate and Abbey Strand.

During our stay in Edinburgh we walked everyday on the Royal Mile because it is the central street in Edinburgh and leads almost to every attraction. I really enjoyed walking the road up and down because there are lovely small shops and pubs in the streets.

Whenever you’re in Edinburgh, you simply can’t miss this street.

Elephant House

For all of the Harry Potter fans outside, the Elephant House is the birthplace of Harry Potter. It is the place where J.K. Rowling wrote the magical books.

Since then, every day people visit this café to see where the idol of their childhood was born.

Greyfriars Kirkyard

This place is also for Harry Potter fans although it is a graveyard. It is located at the southern end f the Old Town next to George Heriot’s School.

As the Greyfriars graveyard is located close to the Elephant House, it is said that J.K. Rowling walked over the graveyard to get inspiration for the names for her books. This is also the reason why you’ll find the grave of Thomas Riddle on the Greyfriar Kirkyard.

It is also said that she got the inspiration for Hogwarts from the school beside the graveyard. This building is composed of 4 towers, which could represent the four houses in Harry Potter.

So whatever the truth of all the stories that are told around J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter might be, it is a must for all  Harry Potter fans.

All in one, I really fell in love with Edinburgh and I would return every time to this amazing Scottish capital city. Have you ever been to Edinburgh? Did you like it as much as I did?

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