FAST FACTS - Edinburgh and Glasgow - page 261

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FAST FACTS

EDINBURGH & GLASGOW

American Express The American Express office in Edinburgh
exchanges money and traveler's checks as well as performing other ser-
vices for cardholders. It is at 69 George St. ( & 0131/718-2501; Bus: 13, 19,
or 41). It's open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5:30pm and Saturday
from 9am to 5pm; on Wednesday, the office opens at 9:30am. In Glasgow,
the office is at 66 Gordon St. ( & 0141/225-2905 ), Monday to Friday from
8:30am to 5:30pm and Saturday 9am to noon.
Area Codes The city code for Edinburgh is 0131, and for Glasgow it's
0141. These codes cover some of the surrounding towns. Regional area codes
in Scotland are 5 digits long (including the zero). The country code for Scot-
land is 44. When phoning from outside the U.K., you drop the zero from the
local code.
To make international calls from Scotland, dial 00 and then the country
code, local code, and telephone number. The U.S. and Canadian country
code is 1, Australia is 61, and New Zealand is 63. If you can't find a num-
ber, a directory is available by dialing a variety of numbers (thanks to
privatization of the service), including & 118-118 or & 118-800 for domes-
tic numbers and & 118-505 for international numbers. To make collect
calls outside the U.K., dial 155 for an international operator.
Business Hours Most businesses are open Monday through Saturday
from 9 or 9:30am to 5 or 5:30pm, with some exceptions. Many businesses
and shops are closed Sunday, although several shops in the cities open on
Sunday afternoons. Most cities also have extended shopping hours on Thurs-
day until 8pm. Outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow, businesses may close for
lunch, generally from 12:30 to 1:30pm.
Banks are normally open from 9 or 10am until about 5pm on weekdays.
Banks are good places to exchange currency and get credit card cash
advances.
Car Rentals For a list of agency websites, see p. 265.
Cash Points/ATM Networks See “Money & Costs,” p. 27.
Dentists If you have a dental emergency, go to the Edinburgh Dental
Institute, 39 Lauriston Place ( & 0131/536-4900; Bus: 35), open Monday
through Friday from 9am to 3pm. In Glasgow, go to the Accident and
Emergency Department of Glasgow Dental Hospital, 378 Sauchiehall St.
( & 0141/211-9600 ). Its hours are Monday to Friday 9:15am to 3:15pm and
Sunday and public holidays 10:30am to noon. For additional assistance, call
the National Health Service line ( & 0800/224-488 ).
Doctors You can seek help from the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, 1 Lau-
riston Place ( & 0131/536-1000; Bus: 35). The emergency department is
open 24 hours. In Glasgow, the main hospital for emergency treatment (24