QUINTESSENTIALLY | Insider | City Guides

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Any visit to Scotland would not be truly complete without a visit to either of its great cities, the historical and refined Edinburgh or the buzzing and metropolitan Glasgow. With the train journey between the two a mere hour or so, a two-centre stop that can include both of them is perfectly possible. Although the cities have traditionally been regarded as being in contrast with one another, the goalposts are slowly being moved. Edinburgh now has more than its far share of exciting clubs, bars and cultural destinations, while Glasgow is capitalising as much on its historical and architectural glories as its reputation for being Scotland’s party city. Either way, the combination of the two makes for a fantastic trip.


GO THERE FOR

The Architecture – Edinburgh’s New Town has some of the most famous Georgian buildings in the world.

The Food – With a growing number of Michelin-starred restaurants, and young Scottish chefs excelling, there’s more here than haggis and deep-fried Mars bars.

The Culture – With endless world-class art galleries, museums, concert halls and cinemas, there’s literally something for everyone in these cities.

The Whisky – Scotland’s most famous drink can be found in great profusion throughout the bars and pubs of these two great places.


DON’T MISS

The Royal Mile, Edinburgh – Beginning with the Castle and ending with Holyrood House, this has more museums, bars, restaurants and fascinating historical monuments than virtually any other street in the world.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Glasgow – Delightfully eccentric and witty art gallery and museum that will appeal to adults and children alike, set in a magnificent building.

New Town, Edinburgh – The stunning architecture is matched by an equally amazing number of shops, small hotels and civilised bars.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Buildings, Glasgow – Mackintosh grew to become the dominant aesthetic influence on Scottish arts & crafts culture; he has designed many buildings around the city.

For first-person insider knowledge on cities around the world, check out www.quintessentially.com/insider


BASICS

Quintessentially:
10 Carlisle Street, London, W1D 3BR, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)845 299 4555
Email: askq@quintessentially.com

Country Code: +44,
Glasgow City Code: 0141, Edinburgh City Code: 0131
Emergency Services: 999
Directory Enquiries: 118 118
Electricity: 240 Volts standard, 50 V a/c, and plugs require a three-head pin.
Languages: English, Scottish and Gaelic
Currency: Great British Pound Sterling (GBP)
Time: GMT (UTC), Last Sunday March – Last Sunday October BST (UTC +1)
Glasgow Airport: +44 (0)844 481 5555, www.glasgowairport.com
Edinburgh Airport: +44 (0)844 481 8989, www.edinburghairport.com


GETTING THERE

By Air
Both cities are well served by international airports that have routes to a variety of destinations throughout Europe and America, as well as some as far afield as Dubai, Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro. Both also cater to a range of domestic carriers that make transferring from London easy. Edinburgh airport is around 25 minutes from the city centre, while Glasgow airport is about 30. Taxi fares to the centre from both should cost £20-£25, or alternatively there are a variety of buses and coaches that can be taken.

By Train
GNER runs the East Coast service from London up to Glasgow, calling at a variety of destinations along the way, including Edinburgh. A door to door journey takes around five and a half hours, or four and a half to Edinburgh. Alternatively Virgin Trains run a direct route to Glasgow, which takes around four and a half hours, but bypasses Edinburgh. Both main stations are located in the city centres; there are also a few subsidiary stations which mainly serve outlying districts.


WHEN TO GO

When travelling to Scotland, the weather can always be slightly unpredictable. However, summer is a better bet to visit. The longer days, higher average temperatures (average highs of 19˚C in July and August) and lower levels of rainfall (driest months April through July) make the Scottish summers a fine time to visit.

Public Holidays and Dates of Interest:
1st January - New Year's Day
25th January – Burns Night
Friday before Easter Sunday - Good Friday
Monday immediately after Easter Sunday - Easter Monday
First Monday in May - May Day Bank Holiday
Last Monday in May - Spring Holiday
August – Edinburgh Fringe Festival
First Monday in August - Summer Bank Holiday
30th November – St. Andrew’s Day
25th December - Christmas Day
26th December - Boxing Day
31st December - New Year's Eve
(If the date of a holiday falls on the weekend, than the holiday will be observed on the following Monday)


WHERE TO STAY

Edinburgh

The Balmoral (Quintessentially Members Benefits)
1 Princes Street, EH2
The most famous hotel in Edinburgh, and possibly the most famous in Scotland, the Balmoral, part of the Rocco Forte chain, is justly renowned for offering luxurious accommodation of the highest standards. The iconic building houses a variety of rooms, of which the suites are the most desirable. Rooms give stunning views over Edinburgh landmarks including the Castle, Princes Street and Arthur’s Seat, as well as every comfort and luxury. The hotel also boasts two restaurants, the informal Hadrian’s Brasserie and the Michelin-starred fine dining of Number One, which offers excellent meals to a discerning clientele including many local politicians and celebrities.

Prestonfield
Priestfield Road, EH16
Proudly describing itself as ‘Edinburgh’s country house hotel’, the Prestonfield is set in spectacular grounds that are home to both peacocks and Highland cattle. The hotel is decorated in a lavish style that borders on kitsch but is so comfortable and elegant that the building exudes charm. The guest and public rooms are decorated with antique furniture, pictures and prints as well as all the expected modern features of flat-screen TVs and DVD players. Each public room has its own subtle theme, including the ‘whisky room’ featuring chairs adorned with antlers. The excellent restaurant, Rhubarb, offers traditional Scottish cooking with a European twist, and a formidable wine list that may be navigated with the expert sommeliers’ assistance.

Glasgow

ABode
129 Bath Street G2
An increasingly popular small group of hotels has opened in Glasgow, and looks like becoming one of the most successful in the city. The rooms are graded into ‘comfortable’, ‘desirable’, ‘envious’ and ‘fabulous’, which translate roughly into ‘standard’, ‘deluxe’, ‘junior suite’ and ‘suite’. All are of a good standard and sensibly priced with regular special offers. There’s also a restaurant co-ordinated by Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines, who regularly appears to host dinners and special events.

Malmaison
278 West George Street, G2
The first in this perennially popular chain of boutique hotels is located slightly out of the main centre of Glasgow in a converted episcopal church. The hotel offers all of the comfortable accommodation that one expects from this company. While it’s possible to find the relentless attempts to make you buy more products slightly wearying, this is still the most reliable place in the city to stay, and the attached brasserie offers good value lunches and dinners, as well as an excellent breakfast.


WHERE TO EAT

Edinburgh

Forth Floor Harvey Nichols
30-34 St Andrews Square, EH2
Located within the Harvey Nichols building, a short walk from Princes Street, this excellent destination is divided into two sections. There is a bustling and more informal brasserie, which caters to weary but discerning shoppers, and a more formal adjoining restaurant, which offers spectacular views over the city, perhaps explaining the punning name. The quality of the food under executive chef Stuart Muir focuses heavily on local ingredients, with particular emphasis on fish; the John Dory and hake are particularly good. Make sure that you leave some room for the excellent desserts, such as chocolate and orange trifle, and enjoy the wine list, which has a huge variety of wines from around the world.

The Plumed Horse
50-54 Henderson Street, Leith EH6
Set in Leith, a couple of miles from the city centre, you’d be forgiven for being surprised that what looks like an unassuming neighbourhood restaurant can produce food of such consistently excellent quality. The Plumed Horse is so good that it deservedly holds a Michelin star for its chef/proprietor Tony Borthwick. Offering a good-value set lunch menu or a slightly more expensive à la carte option, the food eschews pretension for excellent cooking, such as fillet and belly of pork with honey and mustard salt, or a starter of exquisitely light salmon ravioli. Even the canapés show a fine and intelligent attention to detail. The wine list offers a good range of half bottles, specialising in French wines but covering a wide global selection.

Glasgow

Fifi And Ally
80 Wellington Street, G2
This upmarket bar, shop & restaurant is a kind of cousin to Edinburgh’s famous Valvona and Crolla delicatessen, but with a style all of its own. Open for lunch and dinner, it offers an excellent range of food ranging from light salads for the ladies-who-lunch who come here to more substantial main courses suited to more demanding appetites. The popular ‘after dark’ evening menu offers a fine range of local produce; a highlight is the starter Celtic ‘open board’ which features an absolutely stunning Salar smoked salmon, but leave some space for mains including Scottish sirloin and pan-fried Moroccan spiced chicken.


BARS, PUBS AND NIGHTLIFE

Edinburgh

Bow Bar
80 West Bow, Victoria Street, EH1
If you’re seeking a traditional Edinburgh bar, then you could do considerably worse than this place. Located just off the Grassmarket in the Old Town, it has resisted the temptation to become a tourist-led boozer in favour of keeping its focus on selling whiskies. Of the 145 varieties on offer, some are remarkably strong, others milder, but the vast majority are well worth trying, although not in one sitting.

The Dome
14 George Street, EH2
George Street is home to countless stylish and trendy bars, catering to Edinburgh’s young and fashionable. The Dome is the epitome of this scene, with a variety of vaguely Twenties-themed rooms decorated in an opulent style, and a huge range of wines, cocktails and spirits on offer. It’s not cheap, and there are other more cutting-edge places, but this has become synonymous with a certain kind of Edinburgh scene, and is well worth a visit to see what’s going on.

Glasgow

Babbity Bowser
16-18 Blackfriars Street, G1
Glasgow is less of a pub-oriented city than Edinburgh, and most of its central drinking establishments tend to be grand conversions of existing municipal buildings, or alternatively down-at-heel establishments which are usually best avoided. The Babbity Bowser is therefore a charming surprise, being a civilised, pleasant pub that serves a wide range of excellent food and drink, including the ubiquitous whiskies that are found in any decent watering hole around this city. It’s comparatively small, so getting a table might be tricky, but it’s well worth the effort of doing so.

Rogano
11 Exchange Place, G1
Something of a fixture within the Glasgow bar scene, Rogano is widely regarded as the city’s most stylish bar, with a  ‘20s Art Deco interior that owes an equal debt to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the décor of American speakeasies. Very much a cocktail place – the elegant eyebrows of the barmen would no doubt shoot up if you ordered a beer – it’s a great venue to order a Martini and take in the sumptuous surroundings.


WHERE TO SHOP

Edinburgh

Princes Street
Instantly recognisable to anyone who saw Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting as the location of the opening scene, featuring Ewan McGregor fleeing from security guards, Princes Street is less exceptional for its shops than for its stunning views, as a walk along the street gives an uninterrupted panoramic spectacle of Edinburgh Castle and the Princes Street Gardens. In terms of the actual retail opportunities, one of Scotland’s most famous shops, the department store Jenners, is on the street and well worth a visit.

Glasgow

Buchanan Street
Glasgow’s continued commitment to reinventing itself is best seen in the way in which Buchanan Street, which was once a faintly downmarket and scruffy area, is now the city’s leading shopping street. Buchanan Street has shops such as Apple, Hugo Boss and John Lewis, as well as the city’s Gallery of Modern Art and the Royal Concert Hall. The street also features a statue of Donald Dewar, Scotland’s former First Minister, who died unexpectedly in 2000.


HEALTH AND BEAUTY

Edinburgh

Zen Lifestyle
9 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, EH10 4HN
2-3 Teviot Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2QZ
This award winning spa and skin clinic has two locations in Edinburgh. A professional, relaxed yet professional ambiance greets customers ready to unwind and reenergise. With 100 treatments available for men and woman and the extended opening hours, seven days a week there is no excuse to miss this soothing destination.

One Spa
8 Conference Square, EH3 8AN
A full spa and fitness centre, loaded with a vast array of facilities including three different types of pools and baths, hammam, an aroma grotto, two different types of sauna, laconium, tepidarium and lifestyle showers. One Spa also offers treatments for every part of the body, which are designed to revitalize and relax the guest.

Glasgow

Carrick Spa
Cameron House, Loch Lomond, Dunbartonshire, G83 8QZ
Situated a mere 30 minutes from both Glasgow Airport and the centre of Glasgow, Carrick Spa is worth the trip. Located in Cameron House, the spa is on the shores of Loch Lomond and this most tranquil of spots adds to the soothing experience. Scotland’s Hotel Spa of the Year, for two years running, offers 17 wet and dry treatment rooms, gym and a rooftop terrace complete with infinity pool that offers breathtaking views.

Blythswood Square Hotel Spa
11 Blythswood Square, Glasgow, G2 4AD
Brand new for 2010, this spa offers 9 luxury treatment rooms, a thermal suite with a range of experiences, two relaxation pools, a relaxing lounge and café area. It is a calming and understated space with wellness as the key focus.


WHAT TO SEE

Edinburgh
As a city steeped in history, the obvious sights are the most striking.

The Castle and the Royal Mile - home to many of the great museums and historical buildings that define Edinburgh, but are also, along with the nearby art galleries off Princes Street, the major tourist attractions. This isn’t too bad out of season, but in summer can be unpleasantly crowded; during the famous festival in August – an event worth going to at least once in your life, whether as punter, performer or guest – you’re going to have trouble walking down the street.

Stockbridge - Some of the best places to spend time aren’t the most obvious tourist destinations, but those off the beaten track, such as the quaint, almost small-town feel of Stockbridge. The town is also home to many excellent antique shops and second-hand bookshops.

Leith – Leith is a small town creating a buzz in the world of cuisine as it features several Michelin-starred restaurants as well as some excellent nightlife.

Glasgow

There are several different sides to Glasgow, all of which are well worth investigating. Upon arriving in the centre, the buzzing atmosphere and many fashionable shops, restaurants and bars give an impression of the city as a metropolitan hub, without anything distinctively ‘Scottish’ standing out. A walk across town to the city’s West End, where the Kelvingrove Museum and the University are located, is not just a pleasant half-hour stroll, but also has an entirely different atmosphere; the buildings, with their monumental grey stone, feel more traditional, and the feel is one of both aesthetic and spiritual uplift.