Any Edinburgh locals on here? I’m entertaining some business visitors from Sudan next week and thought I’d take them up to Edinburgh for the day on the train. I guess they’d like to see the castle and the Royal Mile, I’d like to see the Royal Yacht, and for lunch we need a halal restaurant – or good fish and chips.

Any suggestions?

They might find the museum in Chambers Street of interest – especially the Scottish Galleries.

Aye museum is good – and go up onto the roof of the new bit, great views over the city. Get up there via the lift at the back (or ask someone if you can’t find it).

What is it? A museum of British colonial atrocities?

Just a museum – though the new part is focussed on Scottish history.

http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/national_museum.aspx

As I say the views are good. Though if it’s a nice day/fancy a walk then arthur’s seat is always a winner.

Cool thanks. Arriving by train (Waverley?) would we have time to do the Museum, the castle, the Royal Mile, lunch and possibly Britannia in, say, six hours?

Camera Obscura is good, just outside the castle entrance

Brittania is a good hour and a half to two hours, plus getting there.. no.22 bus takes you to Ocean terminal.. Takes 10-15 mins from Princes street

Miss out Brittania then I think it’s achievable. There’s a Halal restaurant (Kurushi’s I think) on Victoria St between the castle and the Museum

I’d skip the castle, hugely over-rated, best thing about it is the views and the views from Chamber St are about as good. Also Royal Mile is mostly tat shops near the top so I wouldn’t be spending too long there. That said, the Camera Obscura is excellent.
Also, although it may not be your visitor’s thing, Mary King’s Close was pretty cool (IMO). Advance booking required

+1 for camera obscura.

Surroundedbyhills will be able to confirm the halal restaurant…

Mary King’s Close looks good. Are Muslims likely to be afraid of ghosts?

+1 for Mary King’s Close. Also I think battered mars bar is Halal

Pretend you’re from Glasgow, and just get mortal for the day

Kushi in Victoria Street is long gone (a fire) and their other branches are in Leith (not far from Britannia) and opposite the Playhouse, rather upmarket now.

Museum is next to the Southside which is pretty much ethnic eating central though mainly not the traditional sort of places to impress business clients, but Sudanese may have more sensible views on that sort of thing, I’ve no idea of their culture.

You’ll find halal food in pretty much any part of Edinburgh. Can’t offhand think of a good sit-in chippy though [unless you want to take them to Glentress, there’s a good ‘un in Peebles :-)] so I’d like to hear too.

I bet you could get quite far along Rose Street in a 6 hour drinking fest. Or you could just do some of the above…

Thanks again all; they are un-pretentious Sudanese people and easily pleased, not big five-star hotel business ogas!

I work on the Royal Mile but am not responsible for tourist tat or bagpipers. High Art only daaahlihing…

1 – Yes to the Castle best tourist attraction Scotland has but will be hoaching so get there first thing.
2 – Mary Kings Close much more interesting though
3 – Camera Obscura is worth it on a nice clear day when the thing works well – but it’s diversionary at best.
4 – Scottish Museum has exhibition on loan from Iran at present (IIRC)
5 – Scottish Parliment is a bit left field but good nonetheless
6 – Scott Monumnent – climb to the top get good photos

RY Brittania is good but you’ll waste an amount of time getting there and it is all there is, so maybe skip it

Hannams Restaurant on Johnston Terrace at the top of Royal Mile is Halal and excellent book ahead – BYOB though.

Hannams

+1 to this – been there a few times.

They’re tourists so do the tourist thing, Castle and (part of) the Museum plus a decent lunch (I’d book somewhere).

And Mary Kings Close is good, but you’ll probably need to book that too – is their English good enough for the tour?

Yes, OK English.

All this is excellent info because Mrs Gti wants to go there for a family weekend soon anyway, whether or not I take the Sudanese guys.

Kushi in Victoria Street is long gone (a fire)

Oops, I thought it had been re-built. Must pay more attention.

There have been so many rumours/stories that who knows?

They seem to be settled in Leith Street now with the (even more) upmarket version down in Leith. Not sure about the one under the Pear Tree. I was in the Leith Street one last week for the first time – OK, but none of the locations have ever had the ambience of the Drummond Street place which should have been subject to a preservation order!

Just down from the Castle is National Gallery of Scotland which is small but packed full of great art if thats your thing.

Just do the upstairs rooms at both ends 15 mins of culture then a quick cafe stop next door.

If arts not your thing then don’t bother 🙂

Pretty good views from the top of the museum. What about the Mosque Kitchen for lunch?

Do you mean the Mosque Kitchen or the Mosque Kitchen? There seems to have been a schism.

The Mosque Kitchen at Nicolson Square is awful. Greasy rubbish. Not been to the original Mosque Kitchen since it re-opened.