With its beautiful architecture, streets steeped with history at every turn, and a constant wide range of events and festivals going on, Edinburgh provides the perfect venue for a short break. Whether you want to just relax in the summer sun, or soak up the wonderful atmosphere of the city in winter, Edinburgh really is a great destination the whole year through. Well served by national transport links and with a huge range of hotels to accommodate every taste and budget, finding the the perfect city break package in Edinburgh for you is easy. The only thing that makes your decision difficult is that there is so much too choose from!
The second largest city in Scotland, Edinburgh as a whole sprawls over a fairly large area. The city centre itself however is fairly compact. With majority of Edinburgh’s attractions crammed into the centre, a centrally located hotel will mean you’ll never have to travel far to see something of interest, and there are easily enough great things to see and do to fill up a weekend within walking distance. The main artery of Edinburgh is Princes Street running a mile long through the city centre and home to a lot of Edinburgh’s great shops, hotels and restaurants. Nearly all of the buildings are on just one side of Princes street, the opposite side overlooks Princes Street Gardens, a picturesque green park nestled amongst the bustle of the city, with the iconic Edinburgh Castle towering above. Edinburgh Castle itself is a fantastic way to spend a few hours and provides stunning views of the city it overlooks.
Edinburgh is famed for its Christmas and New Years celebrations for good reason and will provide you with a memorable winter break (depending on how much you drink!). It’s the one time of the year when accomodation becomes difficult to find with last minute deals being more difficult to get hold off so its advisable to plan well ahead if you are wanting to visit at that time of year. Other event highlights on Edinburghs calendar include the Edinburgh International Film Festival in mid June, the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival in early August and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo throughout the same month. There are so many different events and festivals throughout August in fact, that they are all placed under the umbrella of ‘The Edinburgh International Festival’. This also includes the famous Edinburgh Comedy Festival.
You probably won’t need a car if you are planning on visiting attractions within Edinburgh’s city centre as everything is within reasonable walking distance. If you want to visit attractions beyond the immediate centre, then traffic as a whole in Edinburgh is not to bad, however the city centre suffers from congestion and parking can be expensive unless you can find a hotel with free facilities. The quickest and easy way to visit Edinburgh is by train, with Waverley station being located right in the heart of the city, literally metres from Princes Street. With hotels, you have a huge range of options. Some of the more glamorous (and needless to say expensive) hotels are located along Princes Street and, if your budget allows, are the perfect accommodation for your trip. Beyond there are plenty of options still within the city centre from typical chain hotels through to boutiques and Bed and Breakfasts.