24 hours in Edinburgh, Scotland

Traveling from Newcastle to Edinburgh is simple enough, as there is a high speed train service from newcastle central to Waverley station, and it takes just 2 hours. I arrived in Edinburgh around 9am.When coming out of  Waverley, the main train station in Edinburgh,  you can see the castle sitting up on a rock above the city centre

I walked up the Royal Mile, the main street leading up through the old town directly to Edinburgh castle.The Royal Mile is the main thoroughfare through Old Town, and consists of streets that existed since the 16th century where various Edinburgh landmarks can be seen such as the High Kirk of St. Giles, John Knox’s House, Scottish Parliament and Palace of Holyrood house. All the streets in the old city are cobbled, giving a real sense of what it would have been like.

I finally made my way up to Edinburgh Castle. The Castle is huge and was crowded, but worth seeing. The views from the top were amazing

Streets in Old Town

Statue of the economist Adam Smith,

St. Giles Cathedral

Next stop, naturally - when in Scotland  is to do The Scotch Whisky Experience. The Whisky Experience is just down the road from the castle. It has the world's largest collection of scotch.Unfortunately it wasn't open yet, so I had to skip it.   Along the  Royal Mile leading upto Edinburgh Castle there are numerous 'closes' which are kinda like alleyways that often lead to steps going down to the next 'level' of the town. There are multiple levels to the city .

Then I walked downhill towards the bottom of the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace. This is where the Queen stays when she is in town. Also along the mile are the souvenir shops, cafes and bars and tailors ready to make a kilt for you.

Scotch Whiskey Experience

Next I walked across the other side, to the New Town, making my way to Princes street, which is one of the main thoroughfares in Edinburgh and the main shopping street, there are some nice views of the Edinburgh castle. Wandering down into the Princes street gardens is a nicer walk away from the traffic. These large and beautiful gardens form the barrier between the Old Town and New Town

There are no shortages of pubs in Edinburgh. Lotz of traditional looking pubs

I spent the entire day walking through Edinburgh and visiting as many nooks and crannies of the city as I could. Edinburgh is beautiful, it somehow manages to seem huge and compact at the same time. It is filled with well-maintained old sandstone buildings and every other building looks like a castle or some such.