Well, due to a bit of medical emergency, I’ve got charge of my 2 year old niece for the weekend and we are in a flat just off the royal mile with no access to a car. So any top tips on stuff I can do with her to stop her getting really bored!

Can’t go wrong with a trip to the museum. Plenty of stuff to look at, even for a 2-yr old

Cheers eemy, any one in particular? We did the whole walking every inch of the city centre yesterday, but due the fact i’d left Manchester at about 2am to get myself up here, I forgot to do the picking up leaflets or noting what we could do today bit….

The main one on Chambers St.

There certainly used to be a guide on Edinburgh for kids…you have googled?

National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street. 5min walk from the Royal Mile. It’ll be busy on a weekend, but free entry and absolutely loads to see and do.

Camera Obscura fascinated my 3-year old, very close to where you are.

Camera Obscura

Failing that, the zoo, see the penguins!

Thank’s all sounding good, I am also going to employ the power of Google ‘al, but a bit of local knowledge and real person help and advice is welcomed and much appreciated 🙂 this really wasn’t a planned trip sadly.

There’s a bridge over the railway in Princes Street gardens that has clear plastic sides. Wave and the drivers often honk for kids. Endless diversion for two-year-old boys and it might work for your niece, too.

As already mentioned, the National Museum on Chambers Street and the Camera Obscura are good. Get no. 100 bus to the zoo from Waverley Bridge -about fifteen minutes I reckon.

Short train trip from Waverley if she fancies a ride on the choo-choo?

I can pick you up and chuck her in soft play with my toddler for an hour if you like!

Hope the medical emergency comes out okay.

Feed ducks, play park, open top bus, museum. Maybe someone on here could lend you a Croozer/chariot and you could do a loop of GT Blue??

Thanks again, and gordy that was a fantastic offer! But we are having to be a bit flexible with our schedule.

Hi, on the Royal mile, museum of childhood
http://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/Venues/Museum-of-Childhood

Open top bus tour?

toddle and carry up Arthur s seat in the spring sun it is never too soon to start them climbing hills

City farm in gorgie – bus ride away from princes street

Edinburgh zoo – pandas?

Is the Gorgie City Farm not shit? Or maybe I just saw it at the wrong time of year. 🙂

She probably will like the pandas but you still have to book a slot at the moment. It doesn’t cost any extra though.

Gordy – im not sure you are their target audience!

Its a drop in type place that might suit their flexible timetable. It’s shit as an adult but I did a wee job there last summer and the place was full of kids – seemed to be enjoying it!

Botanical Gardens. Take some nuts to feed the squirrels. Pop in to The Bike Chain on your way down. Mark just loves having toddlers running around the shop and moving around all his displays.

Really.

LOL – there just wasn’t anything to see when we went but it was winter. May well be awesome in summer.

Squirrel feeding’s a good shout. Now you mention it, I’ll have to take the youth to do that again soon.

The Science Festival is currently in full swing. Lots of great stuff for kids in the City Arts Centre here: http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on/venues/city-art-centre

chips, salt n sauce

The playpark at the east end of the measows is excellent
Mollys at ocean terminal is a pretty good soft play
Leith waterworld or commie poll for swimming
Botanics/inverleith park.
Leith links.
Think M&Ds funfair is at Ocean terminal over Easter hols
Calton hill for a picnic (less of a mission to the top than Arthurs Seat with a toddler and closer to shops etc. if you need to bail).

Portobello has a nice beach, some decent play parks and amusements..
Weather dependant obviously but it was scorching a couple of weeks ago when the missus and I took our 2 year old son. Lots of nice wee coffee shops too.

there’s a book full of stuff!

http://www.edinburghforunderfives.co.uk/

Just to say thanks to all, we did the national museum and fed some ducks and had a pinic. Sadly, looks like Iike I’ll be uncle buck for at least a few more days if not longer, so will have a crack at everything suggested.

Hope it works out ok!

When I was sitting my 2yo nephew his dream day out was coming to stay with us in Edinburgh.

2 yo top tips (for boys though): bus to Waverly, train to South Queensferry – watch the trains go over the bridge – lunch in the cafe with the model trains – back on the real train – over the bridge – visit deep sea world – stare at the escalator thing and ignore the sharks etc – go around that at least twice – visit the cafe in north queensferry with the model train, get back on the real train (resit getting off at south queensferry again), sleep. Job done. Still talks about it years later.