Bed and breakfast accommodation in Edinburgh Monasteries

Edinburgh is filled with so many attractions and sights to see, you will have plenty to do! 

Scotland’s most famous landmark is the Edinburgh Castle, you can walk up to the castle which stands tall on a hill, and there are beautiful sights across Edinburgh City along the way.

The Holyrood house is the Queen’s official Edinburgh residence, built in 1678. During the weeks when the Queen is away as she only visits during the Royal Week in the summer, there is public access permitted to the beautiful historic apartments and the great gallery where you can see portraits. 

You can climb 820 feet to the highest point in Holyrood Park and see Arthur’s Seat, with spectacular views of the whole city from the top.

The perfect place for some shopping is the busy Princes Street in the New Town, extending for almost a mile filled with different shops and colourful gardens. You can also head into the Princes Mall with plenty more shops to browse, including a wide selection of restaurants. 

For an experience to remember, head to the Camera Obscura & World of Illusions for a different perspective of Edinburgh’s history, with its centerpiece set in a victorian rooftop room projecting live moving images, which has been entertaining people since 1853.

Travel 

From Edinburgh Airport you can get a tram that runs every 7 minutes directly to the City Centre and takes about 35 minutes to get there. There is also a Bus service into the City Centre, with buses every 210 minutes and takes approx. 30 minutes.

There are several Car Hire companies that you can take advantage of from the Airport to be able to get around the City at your own pace. 

There are two Rail stations, Waverley and Haymarket Stations, both located in the City Centre, connecting you to cities all over Scotland and the UK. 

Edinburgh is a compact city so it’s very easy to find your way around! One of the best ways to explore Edinburgh and discover the city is by walking. You can reach some of the further afield attractions in 45 minutes at most. 

You can also get around by biking, as there are cycle routes to take advantage of. 

If you prefer to travel by transport, there is a Bus service with routes covering the entire city and its outskirts, running throughout the day or by a Taxi Service. 

Edinburgh has a rich history dating back to 8500 BC, and both its Old Town and New Town are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site which has been managed since 1999. 

Edinburgh was made the royal capital of Scotland during the 15th Century, and the Palace of Holyrood was built between 1671-1678 for Charles II.

The Flodden Wall was built around Edinburgh to protect it from the English, after the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Due to the City being surrounded by the wall, many buildings were built as stone high-rise buildings and sometimes up to 12 stories high. When this wasn’t enough, the citizens built wooden houses on top of the stone houses. 

Edinburgh castle sits high above the city on top of an extinct volcano. It also houses Edinburgh’s oldest building, St Margaret’s Chapel which was built in 1130 by King David I and named in honour of his mother. 

One of the most well known parts of the history of Edinburgh is the tale of Greyfriars Bobby, the Terrier dog who guarded his master’s grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard for 14 years until his own death in 1872. Both are buried in the graveyard and a statue was built to represent this in 1873, standing opposite the graveyard gates.

In 1670 the Royal Botanic Garden was built, being the second oldest garden in Britain. It’s one of the largest and has an impressive 13,200 varieties of plant species.

St Giles Cathedral was built in the 1300s, with an impressive 161-foot-tall central tower and eight arched buttresses forming a huge crown. It holds a memorial in the interior for the dead that fought in WWI.