Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Day 2: New Town & Scotland's National Galleries
Having a grip on Edinburgh's Old Town, it's time to move to the city's
New
Town,
which dates to the late 1700s. Begin with the
Princes Street Gardens
(p. 101) and then move on to
George Street,
with its panoply of shops and
stylish bars. Climb up to
Calton Hill
(p. 100) at the eastern end of New Town
for the views, and from the western side of the district, take in
Charlotte
Square
(p. 118) or wander down to
Stockbridge
on the Water of Leith. If
you're still going strong, you can follow a path along the Water of Leith to the
Dean Gallery
(p. 95), part of the capital
National Galleries of Scotland
(p. 95). Catch the shuttle bus to any of the others, including the
National
Portrait Gallery
(p. 96) or the main
National Gallery of Scotland
(p. 95),
back on Princes Street Gardens.
Day 3: To Leith & the Southside
It's your last day, so let's move out of the city center and head to the sea. First
stop, however, is the marvelous
Royal Botanic Garden
(p. 101), where you
might well spend a few hours wandering about the verdant paths. In
Leith
(p. 121) you'll find the original port of Edinburgh, once an independent town
in its own right. Two big attractions of Leith are its pubs and restaurants—sev-
eral of which are considered to be among the city's finest. Come back toward
central Edinburgh, but detour south to the
Meadows
and see some of the fine
residential neighborhoods of Marchmont or Bruntsfield and get an idea of how
Edinburghers live.
4
GLASGOW IN 3 DAYS
Even with only 3 days, you can still see a good portion of Scotland's largest city.
While Glasgow is much larger than Edinburgh, most of the important attractions are
in the city center, and those that aren't are easily accessible. A quick trip on the
underground takes you to the West End, the most desirable district of the city, while
a bus ride across the river brings you to the Southside, with its key destination, the
Burrell Collection.
Day 1: Central Glasgow
Start off in the heart of Glasgow. The bustling
city center
offers a host of
monumental Victorian buildings and a couple of landmarks designed by the
great
Charles Rennie Mackintosh,
such as his
Glasgow School of Art
(p. 198). The city also boasts another great 19th-century design genius,
Alex-
ander “Greek” Thomson.
Have a gander at his
St. Vincent Street Church
(p. 199) with its exotic mix of Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterra-
nean influences. Just east of the city's commercial center is
Merchant City,
with its trendy bars, good restaurants, art galleries—such as the
Glasgow
Print Studio
(p. 231)—and performance spaces such as the
City Halls
(p. 238). This is the historic core of the city, but alas most of its historic build-
ings are long gone. The strongest-surviving remnant of Glasgow's rich medieval
history is
Glasgow Cathedral
(p. 198).
