Edinburgh Christmas Markets, Scotland

You can fly directly to Edinburgh, walk through the airport and you will find trams and buses taking you to the city center quickly, easily and cheaply.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city. I like the place a lot. It does seem to be unreasonably expensive. Accommodation here is a bit crazy, and some of the drink prices were wild. That aside, it is a great city break and going at Christmas time is a bonus.

I don't think I have ever seen such a queue for a Christmas Market. The queue here was insane. The market is held on Princes Street, around the Scottish Monument and you queue up on the square close to Waverley train station at Waverley Bridge. The market is between the road and the slope or moat from the castle or Royal Mile. I don’t think it is a moat, as I think it's natural and rather the castle and Royal Mile were built on a hill. But it looks very much like a moat. What this means for the markets being in this location - they have a narrow piece of land to be on. Naturally you are restricted with space, so the entrance is limited and controlled to ensure safety.

From Waverley Bridge you go in and sort of only have a one aisle/road to look down. At the start they had some traditional, old school, fairground rides, fun for children and adults, like the helter skelter and big wheel, with other rides dotted around. You continue down and it is a bit like a fun fair at this point, with that style of food, like toffee apples, chocolate fruit etc. As you continue, eventually you get to where the area opens up, at the Royal Scottish Academy, here it is more than just one road and it's a small square. As you get to the square it becomes more Christmas Market like, with stands going up and down selling gifts.

The queue to get in on Saturday went zig zagging all over the train station square, then continued down Princes Street the entire length of the markets. Speaking to the security guy he declared a 2 hour wait, which I thought was perhaps optimistic. For us, such a queue made it prohibitive, and we didn’t go on the Saturday. We did go on Sunday, and it was relatively free flowing, maybe 20 to 30 minute queue. My suggestion is to either go earlier in the day or avoid Friday and Saturday evenings.

The market is ok, not amazing, there are some nice gifts and food and drink stalls, it's worth a look and with all the rides there, they make a nice effort. The city at this time of year is pretty cool. The shops have the decorations up and Edinburgh do have Scottish specific gifts which are nice souvenirs or presents for people. Walking along the Royal Mile is a good way to spend a day. Visiting the Cathedral and the Castle, near the castle is the Whisky experience if anyone has time and inclination.

An absolute must in my opinion is a visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia. This is a bus ride from town to Leith. You enter via a shopping mall. Royal Yacht Britannia was the late Queen Elizabeth’s floating palace. A self guided tour here is totally worth it and you should go. We treated ourselves and enjoyed a champagne and cake in the coffee shop on board to celebrate such a nice weekend.

Back in town and at the markets, down Princes Street from the main market, is a second Christmas themed area on West Princes Street Gardens. This is specifically for the kids. There are more fair ground rides, ice skating and some food and drinks stands. Small children like this and seems to be the place to hang out if you’re a teenie.

What I really liked here, and you will need to book it to ensure a place. The visit to Santa Claus. The attraction is called Santa’s Stories. 20 or so kids go into the theatre/room, with their parents, the kids sit down at the front with Santa and Mrs. Claus, chatting and interacting, having fun and listening to stories Santa has to tell. At the end you parents can get a picture of your child with the big man himself and the children receive an age specific gift. It does need booking, the sooner the better, I wuld say a minimum of 24 hours in advance but possibly more, there is a bit of a charge, however it is probably the best dressed Santa I have seen, in a very nice environment and the gift is decent, ours got a nice book which he reads still several years after going, and despite being A Christmas Carol, he still reads it in summer. I liked this Santa Visit a lot, my negative was the number of kids each time being let in and it seemed a little rushed. I know they sort of have to, in order to see everyone and the bottom line, make money, but it just seemed like they could slow it down a little - do remember that's an adult saying this, for the kids they love it and enjoy the time with him, they don't seem to notice it being rushed. For them I do think its amazing.

My child is older now and we have already been once before; would we go again? Definitely! This was extremely nice and festive.

Please be aware and note that from the time I visited until now, there has been some changes. St Andrews Square is the new location of Santa’s Stories, and I imagine they will have some other fun attractions there. When I visited, St Andrews Square, before this new arrangement, had some light installation and a small Christmas attraction, it seems to be growing as part of a city wide expansion project for festive run up and Christmas Markets.

Away from the Christmas attractions and discussing the city, what would I suggest? A comedy walking tour if you are without kids, or they are old enough to join and enjoy. A visit and tour of Mary King’s Close. As mentioned, the Royal Yacht Britannia. The castle. And otherwise just the usual, shopping, some old bars and a slow meander. For me I like the city a lot.

And UK Christmas shopping be it for food or gifts – I am a fan!