My boyfriend and I recently took a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland and I have been dying to blog about it ever since.
We visited shortly after the Christmas holidays which was perfect timing. We stayed in the Alison House Hotel in Newington which was only a 20 minute walk from the centre. We were so impressed by this guesthouse and I loved the Georgian-style decor. We were a short walk away from the Abbey pub where we ate a full Scottish breakfast every morning... We couldn't help ourselves. A further 10 minute walk from the Abbey brought us right to the centre.
Attractions: We packed a lot into our trip but the first sight we took in was the stunning
Edinburgh Castle. Luckily enough the sun was shining and the sky was clear so we had an incredible view of the city.
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| Views from Edinburgh Castle |
After visiting the castle, we popped in to the
Scottish Whisky Experience on Castlehill. I really enjoyed this tour
(and that is a big statement coming from someone who doesn't like whiskey). During the first part of the tour you are fully immersed in the whiskey distilling experience on a relaxing barrel ride. Then we met our guide who talked us through the various regions of Scotland while showing incredible footage of the scenery. And of course we got to taste some whiskey. Whether you're a whiskey lover or not, I would definitely recommend taking this tour.
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| They weren't all for me I swear... |
We also decided to see the
Edinburgh Dungeons. This tour was quite expensive but we had such a laugh doing it, so I think it was worth it in the end. We were brought around the dungeons by various 'scary' characters.. Be prepared to get involved and volunteer - they seemed to enjoy picking on me and my boyfriend! I would describe this attraction as more funny than scary although there were a few moments that I almost jumped out of my skin from fright.. They like to creep up on you.
Because we visited at the start of January, we caught the last few days of the
Christmas Markets and they really were magical. We warmed ourselves up with hot drinks and got endless amounts of pic n mix and crepes. Then we relaxed in the cute and cosy bar with some mulled wine.
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| Stunning lights at the Christmas Markets |
Restaurants and Bars: As mentioned above, if you are looking for somewhere cheap and cheerful for a filling breakfast, go to
the Abbey. We went there every morning and I am almost certain that the staff knew our orders by heart.. Also, a restaurant I would 100% recommend is
Civerino's. They are a small laid-back pizzeria with huge hipster vibes, serving New York style sourdough pizzas. Their pesto pasta was to die for. We gravitated more towards cocktail bars at night time. We visited the
Sky Bar which is open to the public on the first Thursday of every month, providing amazing views of the castle. However their menu was quite limited and we couldn't see the castle due to the lights reflecting on the window
*cries.* However we did come across
the Dragonfly which was one of my favourite cocktail bars by far. They served really creative cocktails and their seating upstairs was so comfortable with a relaxed atmosphere.
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| Sipping bellinis in the Sky Bar |
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| Dragonfly concoctions |
I loved everything about Edinburgh. The architecture was beautiful and the people were so friendly and welcoming. I will definitely be back and hopefully next time I will climb Arthur's Seat!
