Discover Edinburgh
With the help of the ALT Conference Committee, we have collated a number of suggestions to discover Edinburgh and make the most of your time in the city. Please share any additional suggestions you have using the comments below, or by tweeting with #altc. We’ve also included some of our guest posts about Edinburgh
About Edinburgh
- “Getting To and Getting Around Edinburgh” by Lizzie Seymour
- “Exploring Edinburgh” by Chris Sheridan
- “Things To Do In Edinburgh” by Lesley Diack
Activities
| Activity | Description | Price |
| The Three Bridges | See the 3 iconic bridges of the Firth of Forth on this bus tour, with live commentary. Runs regularly between 10am – 6pm | £25 per adult |
| Scottish Dancing | Scottish music and dancing every Tuesday, with Edinburgh’s top ceilidh bands | £7 |
| Curious Edinburgh | Download the app, and guide yourself through walking tours of the scientific, medical, and technological heritage of the city. | Free app |
| Dancing and Learning design | Explore patterns of learning and patterns of dancing | Free |
| Tour of the Scottish Parliament | Visit the vaults of the main hall and the Parliament for The People Exhibition on a self-guided tour. | Free |
| Personal Walking Tour | A great interactive walking tour of Edinburgh! | Free |
| Edinburgh Zoo | Lizzie Seymour has some new learning technologies to demonstrate Contact Lizzie: lseymour@rzss.org.uk | £7 per person, includes technology demo and full day entry to the zoo |
| St Cecilia’s Hall tours | Self guided tours of the concert room & music museum available – allow 60-90mins. Open Tues-Sat, 10am-5pm | Free |
| Walking Music Tours | A guided walking tour, telling the story of musicians who stayed, played, and made music in Edinburgh | £14 |
| ALT Arthurs Seat Run! | Wee walk/jog around the hill led by co-chair Keith! | Free |
Restaurant Suggestions
| Name | Location | Description |
| Contini | 103 George Street | Italian dishes, served in a former banking hall |
| The Elephant House | 21 George IV Bridge | Central coffee shop, where JK Rowling wrote her first Potter book |
| Ondine | 2 George IV Bridge | Seafood restaurant |
| Whiski | Royal Mile | Award winning whisky bar & Scottish restaurant |
| The Witchery | Castle Hill, Royal Mile | Serving Scottish dishes, including their legendary Angus beef steak tartare |
| David Bann | 56-58 St. Mary’s Street | Vegetarian & vegan restaurant |
| The Dome | George Street | |
| The Scran and Scallie | 1 Comely Bank Road | Award-winning gastro pub, serving scran, traditional ales, and artisan beers |
| Lasal | 22 Union Place | Authentic Spanish cuisine and very close to the University of Edinburgh. |
Bar/Pub suggestions
| Name | Location | Description |
| Deacon Brodies Tavern | 435 Lawn Market | Great historical pub |
| Signet Library | Parliament Square | Great for champagne and beer flights |
| Monteiths | 61 High Street | Great cocktails, real fire, comfy chairs |
| Hoot the Redeemer | 7 Hanover Street | Great drinks served in cinema seats with a fairground theme |
| Panda & Sons | 79 Queen Street | Is it a hairdresser or a bar? |
| Smith and Gertrude | 26 Hamilton Place | Daily wine specials, and weekly wine & cheese flights |
For even more information on the many things to do in Edinburgh, see our guest post by Lesley Diack.