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Edinburgh’s population doubles during August as thousands of performers, tourists and festival workers look to play their part in one of the finest cultural events on the planet.
You can join the Edinburgh festivals veterans by getting ‘tooled up’ with all the event programme literature detailing every show taking place in town.
This is an incredibly exciting time to visit the city – so embrace the madness and be ready to be ‘performed at’ and ‘flyered’ to within an inch of of your life while walking down the street.
Street performances ©-Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
Once armed with the programmes for the Edinburgh Fringe, Assembly Rooms, Gilded Balloon, the Edinburgh International Festival, Underbelly, Traverse, Summerhall and the FreeFringe – to name but a few – you can then begin trawling through the many thousands of shows to decide what to see.
Now you’ve selected you’re 5-star show and secured your tickets, the inevitable accompanying lunch and day out with friends can be constructed around the main event.
So to assist you with your Festival planning, here are a few wee tips for doing the Edinburgh Festivals on a budget or in style.
Where to stay in Edinburgh?
Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh
Like any world-class event, there is a great demand for Edinburgh festival accommodation during August – prices are high and availability is low.
Accommodation that is outside the city centre is well worth considering and opens up some of the city’s most pleasant neighbourhoods – while you’re still within a short walk or bus journey of all the action.
Properties in this bracket: include the Best Western Braid Hills Hotel in Morningside, the Best Western Bruntsfield Hotel in Bruntsfield, Channings Hotel in Comely Bank, Royal Ettrick Hotel in Merchiston or The Dunstane and the Holiday Inn Edinburgh which sit just to the west of the city centre.
One of the best value options, whether staying for a weekend or for those seeking to stay for the entire duration of the Festival period is to go for city centre student accommodation.
Today’s halls of residence are a world away from the pokey single rooms with shared bathroom and kitchen facilities that many would envisage. Nowadays much student accommodation is purpose built with the intention of operating as a hotel in the summer months, with comfy king-size double beds, lovely en-suite amenities and private kitchens.
Properties such as Citylivein and Edinburgh First offer a wide variety of options from studios to apartments with two to six bedrooms.
Where to stay near Edinburgh?
Falkirk Wheel via Scottish Canals
If you’re looking for a great deal, you could get out of town completely, as you’ll find significant savings on hotels near Edinburgh.
Falkirk sits just over 20 miles north-west of Edinburgh, and is less than an hour away by train or car. It’s in the Forth Valley, near the meeting point of Union and Forth & Clyde canals (make sure you take a ride on the impressive Falkirk Wheel – see image above).
You could also explore sites like the ancient Antonine Wall or the rather more modern Helix area with the gigantic Kelpies.
Find Falkirk hotels
The Kelpies. Image by Steven Straiton via Flickr Creative Commons
Between Falkirk and Edinburgh sits Linlithgow, arguably one of Scotland’s most historic places to stay.
The town is home to Linlithgow Palace, which dates back to the 15th century, and some of Scotland’s oldest pubs.
Find Linlithgow hotels
The biggest city in Scotland, Glasgow, is only just over an hour from Edinburgh by train, and is also home to one of the UK’s most exciting arts and music scenes.
Find Glasgow hotels
However if you do decide to stay in Edinburgh you can also escape from the city with one of these great day trip ideas.
Getting around Edinburgh
Edinburgh is a bit like a village, it feels pretty safe, it is easy to find your way around and generally offers a very pleasant experience when exploring.
Plus, with so much of the festival action concentrated into a few key areas that are within easy walking distance, transport is often not required.
When it is, for example when the heavens open and the famous ‘four seasons in one day’ weather occur, then Edinburgh has a superb public transport network.
Buses cost just £1.60 for a single journey and £4 for a day ticket allowing as many journeys as you like (Note that buses in Edinburgh do not give change so having the exact money ready before you get on will save the embarrassment of holding up a bus full of passengers).
There is a reliable night bus service on all key routes too.
Links from Edinburgh Airport to the city are well served with the AirLink bus service and the tram.
Black taxis are readily available but with inflated festival pricing and heavy traffic congestion you often end up paying a pretty sum to go a few yards at a time.
Better value alternatives are services like Uber or local private hire firms that offer 20% off all pre-booked fares.
Where to eat in Edinburgh?
Food Festival Gardens (c) Edinburgh Food Festival
You’re never far away from good quality sustenance and liquid refreshment in Edinburgh – get a copy of ‘The List 2016 Eating & Drinking Guide’ for a useful companion in this area.
Over the years Edinburgh has seen every imaginable site becoming a festival venue, with shows performed in all manner locations from church halls to pubs, from inside elevators to the back of taxis.
Around these pop-up venues are many temporary bars and food outlets clustered together – these “Festival hubs” include The Pleasance, George Square Gardens, George Street, St. Andrews Square and, of course, the Mound and Royal Mile.
It is worth being aware that many pubs that are normally open until 1am can extend their opening times until 3am, likewise venues normally open until 3am can extend opening to 5am.
This can make for insanely long nights out with daylight journeys home.
What shows to see in Edinburgh?
© Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
There are so many shows on that it is rather overwhelming and very hard to decide what to go to see, so it is well worth checking out reviews and seeing what shows have been 5-star sell-outs in previous years or at other Fringe festivals like Adelaide and Montreal.
In recent years there has been a huge increase in the number of free shows. Check out www.freefestival.co.uk and www.freefringe.org.uk for more information.
Also, the Virgin Money Half Price Hut on the Mound opens from 10th August 2016 and is well worth a look each day.
Big name comedians ‘off the telly’ all flock to Edinburgh to boost their coffers and tend to be in the larger venues with bigger ticket prices.
These familiar faces are a relatively safe bet but sometimes you can catch someone, a little less well established, doing a more intimate venue.
Anything else?
It is definitely wise to take a waterproof that can be compressed into a pouch and popped away in a bag. You may very well encounter one of those days where the rain is off and on repeatedly – sometimes up to half a dozen times in one afternoon.
Failing that overpriced ill-fitting ponchos are available from every tourist shop.
Most of all have fun and make the most of the time you have in the city!
Inspired to check out the festival?
Edinburgh Bus Tours
We’ve got plenty of places to stay in Edinburgh – take a look at our range of Edinburgh hotels and Edinburgh city breaks.
Edinburgh is filled with fascinating historic sights to explore – and we’ve found 100 Edinburgh things to get you started.
Also check out our guide on different ways to see the city – including some of the best Edinburgh walking tours.
You’ll also find tickets to some of the biggest stars of the Fringe in our Comedy section.
We’re sponsoring the world-famous Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2016, and will be showcasing the winners and nominees at the Lyric Theatre, London throughout October.
Are you a festival veteran?
We’d love to hear your tips about visiting the city during the full on festival season.
Tell us by leaving a comment below.
The post Centre Or The Fringes? Where To Stay For The Edinburgh Festivals appeared first on lastminute.com Blog.
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