Edinburgh on a budget - things to see and do

Edinburgh Castle

As I mentioned in the beginning of this series, Edinburgh is a tourist town and a lot of things are quite pricey. And the tourist attractions are no exception of course. You pay around £15 for one person for the Edinburgh Castle and that doesn't even include a guided tour or refreshments, the same goes for Holyrood Palace or Mary King's Close. There are a few occasions like St. Andrew's Day or The Edinburgh Advent Calender where at least some of the main attractions are free but of course they are over crowded and it can be a pain wanting to see them.


Here are my favourite free things to do in and around Edinburgh:

The National Museum
No matter if you are all grown up, still in contact with your inner child or even traveling with children, there is interesting stuff for everyone. Of course you can learn about Scotland's history, but also Animals, Space, Geology and lot's more. And there are things do to for kids in every room. One time I went in there with a 5 year old kid I was babysitting and I had to drag her out of there at 5pm when they closed, because she had so much fun. And the best thing: IT'S FREE (unless it is special, limited exhibitions).

The National Gallery
Located right next to Princess Street the National Gallery is spread out over two Roman (or is it Greek?) looking temples with big columns. The building closer to the Old Town shows pictures from all major Masters: Rubens, van Gogh, Titian... you name it, they have it. I am by no means an art expert but I was impressed by the collection, especially since just like the Museum it's FREE!
In the lower part of the same building you find the Scottish collection which also hosts some impressive paintings, some of personal favorites are among them. 
The other building hosts modern art. I have to admit I haven't been in that one yet, as the first one already almost an entire day to explore, but from what I have heard it is just as impressive as the the one with the old masters.
There are other Galleries in Edinburgh, some of them are free as well and worth visiting in my opinion like the Portrait Gallery and the Dean Gallery. There is even a shuttle bus going between the different galleries and they also offer classes with renown artists (which are not free unfortunately).

The Free Walking Tour
Actually there is more than just one company but New Europe are the original and have been doing free tours in Edinburgh since for ever, so they are the ones I recommend. They meet twice - in summer three times - a day in front of the Tron Kirk from where they start their tour which covers some the most interesting stories from Edinburgh's history as well as the most important sights in Edinburgh's upper Old Town, the Grassmarket and area aroung Greyfriar's Kirkyard. The guys who do these tours do that for a living, so they expect a little tip at the end of their tour. Give generously if you can so they can keep doing a good job.

Carlton Hill

View from Carlton Hill towards north

If you walk around Edinburgh's city centre you will at some point see the strange temple like structure or the tower up on Carlton Hill. It is a popular view point for tourists as you get amazing views over the city, Arthur's Seat, the Pentland hills and even down to the Firth of Fourth, many festivities happen up there like Beltane and the end of the torch procession a day before New Year's Eve.
In summer people like to sit in the grass or on the benches, having a picnic. And the good thing is that it is by far not as exhausting to get up there as to it's big brother Arthur's Seat.

Arthur's Seat

Arthur's Seat is the biggest hill down in Holyrood Park. Too steep and narrow and too many cliffs make it impossible to build houses on it has become the mini Highlands in Edinburgh's city centre. People use it as free gym, view point for all kinds of occasions, to walk their dogs or just to go and see something green between all the grey and more grey of the city.
In one story we learn that Arthur's Seat was the seat of a giant named Arthur who had a party on the Isle of Skye who threw his seat all the way to Edinburgh and that's where it still is to this day. More modern interpretations are that it is an inactive volcano (which is quite exciting in my opinion as well).



Portobello

Fun times in Portobello

Portobello is a small coastal town to the north east of Edinburgh
but is so close that you can easily walk there (takes about an hour from the Royal Mile) or take he local bus. In fact many people consider it part of Edinburgh. With it's beach and little shops in the town centre it is perfect for a lazy afternoon away. Take the kids, if you have any, build a sandcastle, have some ice cream and collect some shells. It's a little holiday from your holiday.



Cramond Island
It's a little Island in the Firth of Fourth but further to the west then Portobello. Take bus no.41 to Cramond from there you can walk across a causway to the Island, if the tide is low. Make sure to check the times of the tide, as you don't want to get stuck on the Island or even worse get caught in the returning water on the causeway. I also recommend proper shoes, like trainers because the causeway for one is from World War II and slowly crumbling away and the Island itself has a few lumps and bumps. But it is a cool little Island with some medieval ruins covered in trees and a bunch of World War II buildings which are now abandoned and used by locals during parties on the Island.
Since the 80s the punk scene takes over the Island for one weekend in August where they carry instruments, generators, amps, food and drinks across the causeway for a one of a kind DIY festival.

Forest Cafe
If you are looking for evening entertainment have a look what's going on at the Forest Cafe. Quite often they have (live) music and usually it's free. You can bring your own booze but have to pay a little fee per bottle you bring in.

Banshee Labyrinth
A really cool and spooky kind of venue half way between pub and club which has often free live music and parties but also a free cinema, where they show a variety of films. From good old Ghost Busters to the Avengers...

Edinburgh on a budget - accommodation

Traveling can be expensive, especially if the place you are traveling to is a very touristy place. And Edinburgh is certainly one of those places. I am not sure how many people actually come over here every year but especially in summer you see more tourists than locals on some streets. Of course the local and not so local businesses have discovered that a lot of tourists still want to see and do things even, if they cost a wee bit more.

But what about people who want to see this amazing city but are not able or willing to spend a lot of money? Here is the first part of a little guide for people with a small budget:  

Accommodation


1. Don't come in August, don't come for New Years!
Edinburgh hosts a ton of festivals in August, the Fringe, the International Festival, the book Festival, the Comedy Festival and maybe a few more I don't remember and each of them last for several weeks. Hostels and hotels charge up to three times as much during the entire month of August, long distance transport and even some pubs charge more than they usually would.
New Years, or Hogmany as they call it here, sees one of the biggest street parties in the world and again, from accommodation to booze everything is just crazy expensive and there ten thousands of exremly drunk people on the streets. I always try to get out of the city actually.

2. Make sure there are no other events.
There is always something going on, not only in August. In July there is the Blues and Jazz Festival, in January-March we host a couple of Rugby matches and in June there is the Edinburgh Marathon. And whenever there is a big event like these you can bet, that the prices for accommodation will go up by a lot and it will be next to impossible to find a last minute bed. You can check on here what's going on.

3. Affordable accommodation.

 most important rule in hostels!

I think the best time to come to Edinburgh is between March and June. The chances that the weather is decent are quite good (pack a rain coat anyways!), you have a lot of daylight and it's not too busy yet, which means prices are low. No matter, if you are looking for a private room or just a bed in a hostel, Edinburgh has it all. There are at least 15 different hostels and a ton of cheap hotels and even more B&Bs and holiday apartments. It makes sense to compare prices on websites like http://www.hostelworld.com/ or http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ but it is often cheaper to book through the properties own website.

Beds in hostels are available from £10, and the cheapest hotels sometimes only charge £30 for a double room when it's off season. If you are traveling with more people it might be worth looking into renting an apartment, some are as cheap as £50 and can fit more than just 2 people (all these prices are  per night).
Of course there is also always the option to use https://www.couchsurfing.org/. If you haven't heard about it yet:
it's a huge network of people from all over the globe, it basically works like a car share website but for accommodation. You can rate each other, so it's quite easy to avoid the weirdos. And these people have often lived in the place you are going to and can tell and show you things, you might not experience other wise. And the best thing it's FREE!

No matter what type of accommodation you book, be aware that some areas will get really noisy especially at night. Pretty much everywhere in the Old Town as well as Rose and George Street are full of pubs and night clubs and at 3am when they close the party often continues on the streets. On The other hand accommodation in these areas can be cheaper because of that...