Edinburgh tops travel awards

Edinburgh has topped a prestigious poll of the UK’s best cities for the eighth year running, by being named ‘Favourite UK City’ in the Guardian Travel Awards. With it’s stunning architecture, stylish hotels, great restaurants and world class galleries, museums and festivals, Edinburgh topped the poll again this year with an impressive score of 90.4 per cent, based on the quality that visitors felt they received during their holiday.

VisitScotland have pulled together some top tips for making the most of your trip to the UK’s favourite city.

• Discover Edinburgh on foot – Edinburgh is an extremely walkable city – it’s compact, which makes it easy to get from place to place and you’ll miss the beautiful cityscape and lots of hidden gems if your not on foot.
• Remember Edinburgh is a year-round destination – we can’t guarantee the sunshine all year, but Edinburgh is equally beautiful with it’s thousands of Christmas lights as it is during the buzz of the summer festivals and the atmosphere and warm welcome last all year round!
• Explore Edinburgh’s Green Spaces – Edinburgh is built on a series of extinct volcanos making the landscape dramatic with some great viewpoints – check out Arthur’s Seat or Calton Hill for some of the best views or chill out in the Botanics for a less well known vista of Edinburgh.
• Find out why Edinburgh is a UNESCO City of Literature – Edinburgh’s literary past is extensive with greats such as Robert Burns, Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson all taking their inspiration from the capital – and the literary tradition continues through modern authors Ian Rankin, JK Rowling and Alexander McCall Smith. Climb the Scott Monument, visit the Writers Museum or just browse the numerous second hand book stores.
• Get great value with an Edinburgh Pass - which includes free entry into more than 30 attractions, travel on the Airlink from the airport to the city, bus travel around Edinburgh and discounts in shops and restaurants. Pass holders also get a handy pocket size guide book, with city centre and transport route maps and details of all the attractions and offers.
• Check out Edinburgh’s Winter Festivals – Edinburgh truly sparkles in the winter months and the Winter Festivals programme has just been launched – including the great Scottish Santa Run, the Highland Village Christmas Market and the Winter Wonderland – not to mention the biggest New Year’s celebration on the 31st of December with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.

Edinburgh has also recently been voted ‘Best Place to Live in the UK’ by the hit Channel 4 series Location Location Location and was runner up in the Conde Nast Traveller Awards ‘Best UK City’.

For more information and great value accommodation deals, log onto Visitscotland.com/citybreaks for more information on Edinburgh’s festivals, check out Visitscotland.com/liveit.