Why Go to Edinburgh? by AA Gill

Things to do in EdinburghEdinburgh is a city of two distinct halves - the old and the new. Of course there’s nothing radical about that, except that here both halves are equally impressive, from the inspirational public housing projects to the sublime grandeur of the Royal Mile. This is a city made for walking.

One of the finest ways to arrive is by sleeper - you board in the smoky, irritable grime of Euston to emerge fresh and rested in the heart of the city, unlike so many European city stations where you get dumped in the heart of some horrible suburb. Here, you are greeted by Scott’s monument, and rising up 800 feet above the city like some giant’s fist is Arthur’s seat - a ruddy, brooding presence cleaving the city in two...

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All the fishing ports built by the Victorians on the East Coast are wonderful. Go out to North Berwick, see the Bass Rock entirely covered in birds and go for an icy paddle in the North Sea.

Come for...

The view from Arthurs’ Seat - spectacular.
The Pubs. Edinburgh’s pub scene is legendary. In fact it’s one of the last places left in Britain where the pub culture is still lively and fun.

For the most concentrated experience...

The festival, obviously, is the greatest pull to Edinburgh. There’s nothing like it in Europe; it’s just the most horrific fun and unlike most festivals, new things actually do come out of it. At Edinburgh every year you can be sure that there’ll be four or five cultural markers; it has a high hit rate for emerging new talent.
Don’t miss the National Gallery. It houses one of the least known, greatest collections of art in the world.
Eat cake. Scottish baking is superb, apart from the obvious shortbread; pies, scones, buns, fruit cake.
Tweed and Tartan. Tartan is a tourist industry, but tweed is the real thing, and Edinburgh is the place to get it.
One of my favourite places in the world is Princes Street Gardens. The city has many lovely gardens, including the Botanicals, but Princes Street is the one I go back to.
Sit in a teashop near Greyfriar’s Churchyard, eat buns and Dundee cake and read a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It’s magic to sit there and read a novel so close to where the author actually wrote.
Tea in Scotland tastes better than it does anywhere else in the world because of the soft water. And with the cakes on offer in Edinburgh, this is the best place to enjoy it.
Kippers and kedgeree in the Caledonian Hotel.

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