Top tips for a city break in Edinburgh

It’s time for another travel guide, this time covering the fantastic city of Edinburgh. Chris has to go to the Scottish capital for work several times a year, and we’ve been talking about combining it with a weekend break for ages. We finally made it happen last month, so I wanted to share my top tips on where to stay, eat, drink, shop and explore.

I’d actually been to Edinburgh twice before – once as a student, when some friends and I found cheap flights and went up to celebrate the end of our exams, and once with Chris a few years ago – and it’s always a city I enjoy. It’s spectacularly beautiful, with the mountains and sea visible in the distance, and I love the contrast between the medieval Old Town and the elegant Georgian New Town. It also has thriving food, art and design scenes, and it reminds me of Bristol in a way – it doesn’t feel like a faceless urban sprawl, more a series of villages each with their own vibe and character.

This time around, we travelled up on the Saturday and spent the Sunday sightseeing together. I then pottered around happily on my own while Chris was in meetings on the Monday and Tuesday. Throughout, we were treated to crisp November sunshine and cold, frosty mornings – perfect for exploring, before warming up with coffee and cake.

In a bid to be more sustainable, we took the train on the way there, although we flew back as Chris’ work schedule didn’t really allow for anything else. It’s a long journey from the south (almost seven hours from Bristol), but I’d certainly recommend it as an alternative to the plane if you have enough time. Sitting back with a book, watching the UK whizz past the window, made for a very relaxing start to the trip, and we saw some wonderful scenery en route – especially in Northumberland, where the railway hugs the coast for a stretch.

Stay at:

Market Street Hotel, 6 Market Street, EH1 1DE

Our base for this trip was Market Street Hotel, which opened earlier this year. Ideally placed between the Old and New Towns, it’s the first Scottish member of the Design Hotels group and occupies a contemporary sandstone building just behind Waverley Station. I loved the way the interiors incorporate traditional tartans, local stone and Scottish art alongside sleek Scandinavian pieces, and the calm, clean-lined rooms are a minimalist’s dream. There are also lots of little touches that make staying here a real treat, including welcome glasses of champagne on arrival, free minibars, coffee makers with speciality pods from a local roaster, Roberts radios, Apple TV, Votary toiletries, and stacks of books and design magazines to browse. Perhaps best of all are the sweeping views over the city, which are particularly spectacular from the top-floor bar – more on that below.

Eden Locke, 127 George Street, EH2 4JN

Also highly recommended is Eden Locke. I haven’t stayed there myself but I popped in for coffee in the ground-floor café (again, see below), and it gets rave reviews from past guests. Set in a smart Georgian townhouse, it consists of 72 studio apartments decorated in soft, powdery pastels and furnished with contemporary pieces by the likes of HAY and Muuto. Each has a kitchenette so you can cook your own meals, and the atmosphere is stylish yet laid-back. The New Town location is also very handy, with restaurants, shops and bars all around.

Explore:

The Old Town

A protected UNESCO World Heritage site, the Old Town is an atmospheric jumble of turrets, tenements, spires and steep, narrow lanes known as Closes. It’s crowned by Edinburgh Castle, which is impressive to look at but which I found a little boring inside. Much more interesting in my view are two places that give an insight into everyday Edinburgh life in years past: Gladstone’s Land, a National Trust-run tenement dressed as it would have been in the 17th century, and The Real Mary Kings Close, a historic (and supposedly haunted!) alley that was frozen in time when the Royal Exchange was built on top of it in the 1750s.

Greyfriars Kirkyard, Greyfriars Place, EH1 2QQ

It may sound strange, but I love visiting graveyards – they’re so peaceful, and they’re full of interesting stories. Greyfriars Kirkyard in the heart of the Old Town is particularly beautiful and particularly fascinating – not only is it famous for ‘Greyfriars Bobby’, a Skye Terrier who guarded his owner’s grave for 14 years, it’s also said to have inspired JK Rowling and many of the headstones bear names similar to characters in Harry Potter. It attracts quite a few tour groups as a result, but it still feels remarkably tranquil and I spent more than an hour there, strolling around and soaking up the atmosphere.

Stockbridge

Another lovely place for a wander is Stockbridge, which lies just to the north of the city centre and has a gentle, village-like atmosphere. There are elegant squares, pretty little lanes lined with cottages (included Circus Lane, which is probably one of the most Instagrammed streets in Edinburgh), and a multitude of independent boutiques, cafes and restaurants. Visit on a Sunday and you’ll also find a market brimming with street food and local produce – the gyoza stand is especially good and worth the long queue.

Stockbridge is bisected by the river and if you want you can join the ‘Water of Leith’ footpath for a peaceful meander along the banks, past ivy-entwined bridges, woodland glades and even life-size Antony Gormley figures standing silently in the the shallows.

Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, EH3 5NZ

I love botanic gardens and I’ve visited them all over the world, but Edinburgh’s is one of the best I’ve seen yet. In fact I liked it so much that I’m going to do a separate blog post about it, but here’s a little taster. There are 10 glasshouses, as well as 72 acres of lawns, woodland and lakes to explore, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 73-75 Belford Road, EH4 3DR

Edinburgh’s contemporary art museum has a vast collection spanning the 1900s to the present day, including works by Scottish artists and international names such as Matisse, Picasso and Tracey Emin. It actually encompasses two separate galleries, Modern One and Modern Two, as well as a sculpture park and a performance venue. It’s a 15-minute walk from the city centre, or you can access it via the riverside path from Stockbridge.

Calton Hill

Watching sunset from the top of Calton Hill (a short but steep walk from the end of Princes Street) is the perfect way to end a day in Edinburgh. The views stretch out in every direction, over the Old and New Towns to the mountains and the Firth of Forth beyond, and the buildings beneath seem to glow rose-gold in the light. It’s a popular photography spot so you’ll be sharing it with hundreds of others, but that doesn’t dampen the magic.

Eat & drink at:

Nor’ Loft, 6 Market Street, EH1 1DE

Perched at the top of Market Street Hotel and named after the loch that once sat beneath it, Nor’ Loft bills itself as a rooftop champagne lounge. It’s actually a lot less pretentious and a lot more varied than that description makes it sound, with a vast selection of drinks, tapas-style small plates, delicious afternoon teas, tasty breakfasts and a wonderfully laid-back vibe. Grab an Arne Jacobsen chair by one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and gaze out over Calton Hill, or curl up in a secluded nook by the crackling contemporary fireplace.

Söderberg, various locations 

This Swedish-style café and bakery has now expanded to London, but Edinburgh is where it all began. There are seven branches dotted across the city, all serving brunch, lunch, coffee, cardamon buns, cakes and more. The flagship Söderberg Pavilion on Lister Square also has an evening menu encompassing smörrebröd, savoury waffles, pizzas and cocktails with a Swedish twist (try the signature ‘Fika Martini’ or the lingonberry Cosmopolitan).

The Gardener’s Cottage, 1 Royal Terrace Gardens, London Road, EH7 5DX

This little restaurant sits in a 19th-century cottage built for the gardener of Edinburgh’s Royal Terrace Gardens, and a meal here is unmissable. The decor is simple, with long wooden tables and flickering candles, but the food is stunning. There’s no menu; instead, the chef creates daily-changing dishes made from seasonal, sustainably sourced produce, including plenty of home-grown fruit, vegetables and herbs. We splashed out on the six-course tasting option (£60 per head) and every mouthful was delicious – from the smoked butternut squash and ricotta starter to the sea buckthorn, dark chocolate and honeycomb dessert. There are also cheaper three-course versions, as well as a daily set lunch menu.

127, 127 George Street, EH2 4JN

Eden Locke’s café is a great place to linger over homemade cakes (some of them vegan), coffee from Edinburgh roasters Common Coffee, and loose-leaf tea. The atmosphere is relaxed and the decor understated yet stylish, with leafy plants, rattan chairs and brass HAY tables against mint-green walls and concrete tiles. There’s also a programme of cultural events, from art exhibitions to craft workshops.

Twelve Triangles, 90 Brunswick Street, EH7 5HU

If you’re staying in the city centre then it’s a bit of a walk out to this tiny, plant-filled café and bakery, but trust me: it’s worth it. The coffee is top-notch, as are the breads, pastries and cakes. Don’t miss the doughnuts, which come with all sorts of weird and wonderful fillings – I had a pumpkin-cheesecake one, along with a delicious cheese and kimchi swirl. There are also branches in Leith and Portobello, on the edge of the city.

Also highly recommended, although I didn’t have chance to visit myself, are Taisteal, Timberyard, The Devil’s Advocate, Brew Lab, The Little Chartroom and Le Roi Fou.

Shop at:

Catalog, 2-4 Stephen Place, EH3 5AJ

This Stockbridge-based design shop has a wonderful range of furniture, lighting and accessories from Scandinavia and elsewhere, as well as candles, chocolate and stationery. Owner Dixie is very welcoming and really knows her stuff – I’ve been chatting to her on Instagram for years and we keep missing each other at events like the Stockholm Furniture Fair, so it was great to finally meet in person!

Lifestory, 53 London Street, EH3 6LX

Another great destination for Scandinavian design is this little boutique in the city’s East End. You’ll find lifestyle products, home accessories, stationery and jewellery from both Nordic and British brands, and the Ferm Living, HAY and Lindform selections are particularly good. I spent ages browsing, before finally treating myself to a pair of minimalist earrings from Wolf & Moon.

All photography by Abi Dare