Other Highlights

Here we go – the list is endless and far too long to mention only a few ‘must visits’

Royal Yacht Britannia

This magnificent ship has played host to some of the most famous people in the world. But, above all, she was home to Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family. Now you are welcome on board to discover the heart and soul of this most special of royal residences. The Royal Yacht Britannia now moored at Ocean Terminal at Leith  is a five star visitor attraction, steeped in history and filled with artefacts from The Royal Collection – and with a superb  souvenir shop.

Theatres and cinemas

• The Festival Theatre and King's Theatre have an all year round exciting and varied programme. www.eft.co.uk
• Usher Hall is another Edinburgh Institution with classical and contemporary perfomances. www.usherhall.co.uk
• The Queens Hall Edinburgh offers a wide range of events to tempt you all year round -classical, jazz, blues, pop and much more. www.thequeenshall.net
• Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh. One of Scotland's most successful producing companies - offering high quality drama productions September to May. www.lyceum.org.uk
• Traverse Theatre. Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre is Scotland's new writing theatre with a record of excellence since 1963. www.traverse.org.uk
• Edinburgh Playhouse. The biggest long running Musical Hits are shown at the Playhouse. This site allows you to see what's on and you can book your tickets. www.ents24.com
• Filmhouse Edinburgh. Filmhouse is Scotland's foremost Independent Cinema, featuring Film Festivals, Art Films and generally very good movies. It also has a very welcoming Cafe Bar. www.filmhousecinema.com
• Dominion Cinema Edinburgh. A lovely and "old fashioned" cinema complex it has a very loyal following within the Southside of Edinburgh and beyond, it offers a contemporary programme - some screens have superior lounge seats. www.dominioncinemas.net
• Cameo Cinema Edinburgh. Another little gem of a Cinema with a good programme ( part of Picture House Cinemas), ideal if you want to avoid the huge cinema complexes. www.picturehouses.co.uk

Shopping

Edinburgh is now a shopper's paradise, and the range of goods on offer in the Edinburgh shops, is as diverse as the City of Edinburgh itself. Go shopping in Edinburgh on the Royal Mile, for shops that stock goods made in Scotland, and as Scotland is famous for it's knitwear, you will find specialist shopping for the likes of Scottish cashmere sweaters, and the finest of Scottish lambs wool, offered by any shop in the country. You can shop for antiques, Scottish CDs, tapes and records, gifts made in Scotland, Scottish bagpipes, kilts and tartan woollen products all made in Scotland. A great inexpensive gift from Scotland is Scottish shortbread which you will see in shops all over Edinburgh. Luxury or budget priced you will find it all in the shops of Edinburgh. Highlights are:

• Princes Street - There cannot be many cities in the world where the foremost shopping street has an uninterrupted view of an historic, medieval castle due to retail outlets being built along one side of the street. But that is Edinburgh's Princes Street!
• St James Shopping Centre - www.stjamesshopping.com
• Princes Mall Shopping Centre - www.princesmall-edinburgh.co.uk
• Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre - www.oceanterminal.com

The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre

The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre visitor attraction brings 300 years of Scotch Whisky history to life.

This unique interactive 5 star visitor attraction Edinburgh, allows you to experience the sights, sounds and smells of whisky, and the opportunity to discover how scotch whisky is made.

Others

• Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. Scotland's Premier Garden
• Royal Commonwealth Pool Edinburgh. A first class swimming and diving venue which also offers an excellent Pulse Centre Gym.
• Edinburgh Zoo. A great day out for all the family!
• Palace of Holyrood House. The Queen's Official Residence in Scotland, founded as a monastery in 1128.
• Dynamic Earth. A very popular attraction on the History of the Earth - great for adults and children alike!

Whats on

What’s on in Edinburgh? ‘What’s not on’ might be a better question, in a city of great vibrancy and diversity.

Major forthcoming events near the hotel include the superb Edinburgh International Film Festival - the longest continually running film festival in the world. To find out wahts on, look at www.edfilmfest.org.uk

For a comprehensive list of what’s on at the EICC, look at www.eicc.co.uk

An excellent compendium of events can also be found on www.edinburgh.org
where you can select events by type, category, name, date, type of audience, and there is a helpdesk.

Another very useful website is www.edinburghguide.com

To find out whats on in Edinburgh theatres, click here

To find out whats on in Edinburgh cinemas, click here