Edinburgh england driver#

Edinburgh is really two cities, split down the middle by the castle and its ramparts. People Strolling along Cockburn Street in Old Town. Edinburgh is on the Uber map too, but check a map before ordering one: it might be much faster on foot. Skip the car: thanks to Edinburgh’s central layout-an awkward rectangle of busy streets laid around the castle and the gardens around it-traffic is a carousel of frustration, made even worse in the last few years with the new tram lines that locals love to complain about. Edinburgh is winding and steep in places, but most areas of interest are within walking distance. Also, May is usually better weather (read: dryer) than the June-August period. Hotels are cheaper, it’s not quite as crowded with summer visitors and festival-goers, and the weather is mild for Scotland. If you’re looking for a quiet, atmospheric pub, look elsewhere. When it comes to nightlife, the Cowgate is ground zero for students, cheap vodka shots, and what locals politely term “meat-market” clubs. Still, try to book restaurants in advance on weekends to avoid disappointment and hunger. The good news is that in Edinburgh, you’re never more than a few minutes’ walk away from quieter pockets-hidden gardens, squares, cemeteries, neighborhoods. The city is even considering the U.K’s first “tourist tax”-like the one implemented in Berlin and Venice-to cope with the surge in demand. From June-September, the city center, and especially the Royal Mile and Princes Street-the shopping avenue that forms a border between the castle gardens and the New Town-get busy with tartan-drunk visitors. It’s also a small city, so there are bottleneck areas. It’s the UK’s second most-visited city (after London) and gets busier every year.

And wear good shoes cobblestones and hills are not kind to the unsupported ankle.Įxpect crowds. Just prepare for all weather every time you leave the house.

Edinburgh england driver#

A taxi driver put it nicely once when he remarked on the downpour on a recent midsummer afternoon: “Just another miserable day in paradise!” But, when the sun does shine, and a late-summer sunset bathes the charcoal-colored buildings in orange and pink, it is perhaps the most glorious place on earth-and one I found difficult to leave after seven years of studying and working there. Wet, grey, and windy (and that’s just June). Its winding, often cobbled streets are loaded with excellent, non-pretentious restaurants, and cozy pubs you’ll want to live in. As Scotland’s capital, it’s open-minded and dynamic, but small enough to walk almost anywhere you need to go. It looks like no other place: smoky, gothic buildings grafted onto the shoulder of an extinct volcano, an imposing castle on rocky ramparts in the center, and the rest spilling out over seven hills.