Visiting Edinburgh at Christmas has been on my bucket list for a long time. So, with COVID continuing to make travel abroad more difficult, we decided that 2021 would be the year to finally tick it off.
What I didn’t account for was COVID also having a noticeable impact on even that trip. The upside of this? The beautiful cobbled streets were almost deserted, where they would normally be thrumming with tourists (like us) at that time of year. The downside? That incredible Christmas market I’d heard so much about (and one of the main reasons for our visit)? Replaced by a much smaller one that could be found in any UK city (including our own). That amazing ice skating rink overlooked by the Scott Monument? Moved to George Street (not quite as iconic).
So, whilst it was still a really beautiful place to visit, and whilst Christmas time definitely did make the city more magical – it wasn’t quite the trip we’d had in mind! Although, that’s not to say that we didn’t have a lovely time.
If you’re planning your own Christmas trip to Edinburgh and want some inspiration, or are just interested in what we got up to whilst we were there, I’ve put together a list of some things to do when visiting Edinburgh at Christmas time below:
Stay at The Scotsman Hotel
This is a really beautiful hotel that's very centrally located, so great for walking anywhere you want to explore within the main city. Having said that, our room (whilst nice) wasn’t overly impressive for a 4* hotel (although we were left a free bottle of prosecco and shots of whisky in the room – so, swings and roundabouts). On our first night there, we ended up back in the hotel bar after a night of exploring, where we had the place to ourselves and indulged in some cocktails and a cheeseboard before heading back to our room. The next morning, we ordered a very fancy selection of breakfasts to bed – including eggs royale with caviar!
Have Dinner at The Witchery
This is somewhere that was recommended to us by a friend when we first visited Edinburgh together a few years ago, but we couldn’t get in as it was fully booked up months in advance. So, this time, we made sure to make reservations as soon as we booked the trip. Situated just next to Edinburgh castle, The Witchery is a Gothically beautiful restaurant and 5* hotel (described by Andrew Lloyd Webber as the “prettiest restaurant ever”) that is known as Scotland’s most famous restaurant. It was candle-lit; extremely romantic and the food (although small-portioned and expensive) was absolutely delicious! As The Witchery is internationally renowned for its wine list, gaining a reputation as one of the world’s finest restaurant cellars and winning multiple awards, we couldn’t not get a bottle to share whilst we were there. All I can say is that those awards were very well deserved and it was one of the most delicious red wines I have ever tasted! I would definitely recommend a visit to The Witchery whilst in Edinburgh if budget allows. (And if you don’t mind the small portion sizes – this is the same night that we finished off with the hotel cheeseboard!)
Visit the Christmas Markets
Hopefully when you visit, the real one will have returned! Having said that, there was nothing wrong with the one we visited aside from it being the same as every other Christmas market in the UK. That didn’t stop us from sampling all of the delicious food (spiralised potatoes on sticks; bratwurst hot dogs and mini Biscoff pancakes all in the same day? Yes, please!) and accidentally spending a small fortune on a Christmas tree decoration to remember it all by.
Go Ice Skating
As already mentioned, the picturesque Edinburgh ice skating rink that’s usually on Prince’s Street wasn’t there when we went to visit. However, we did have a lot of fun skating at its replacement on George Street. Even though it wasn’t as pretty, I’ve never been on an ice rink that spans the whole length of a street before, so it was a lot of fun having this extra room to skate up and down!
Buy a Book at Topping & Company
This is the most beautiful bookstore I have ever been in. It’s such a quaint shop, with an amazing selection of books; complete with sliding ladders to let me live out all my Beauty and the Beast fantasies! We spent a long time in there, looking through all the shelves and wishing that I could live a million lifetimes just so that I could read every book ever written. I’m also aware that this is actually a chain bookstore, so if you’re a book nerd like me and there’s one in your area, I would definitely recommend giving it a visit!
Have Lunch at Scotts Kitchen
We just happened to stumble across this restaurant when looking for somewhere to have lunch on Victoria Street, and I genuinely haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since! The food was absolutely incredible and, if we had one in Leeds, I think I would be there every weekend. I’m so sad that it’s not a chain! The best thing about Scotts Kitchen is the selection of mini dishes you can mix and match to create your main. I got a burger, but Nick went for this option and was rewarded with the most delicious bread and dip selection I have ever tasted, as well as a whole bowl of chorizo! I know I try not to eat meat as much as possible, but chorizo is my biggest vice (and, naturally, one of the worst possible meats for you…) so this was like heaven in a bowl for me. If I lived in Edinburgh, I’d want to keep going back and sampling each possible rotation of those mini dishes as they all looked so good. I can’t recommend this place enough!
Pay Your Family a Visit
Obviously, this is a bit of a niche one as it only applies if you actually have family based in Edinburgh. My brother lives in Edinburgh with his girlfriend and they bought their first flat together last year. So, one of the highlights of our trip was definitely being able to go and visit them in their new flat and have a cup of tea!
And those are the main things we got up to during our trip... We already have an extra special trip planned for Christmas this year, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it once it’s happened!
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