9 Mistakes People Make When Visiting Edinburgh
What Not to Do in Edinburgh on Your 1st Visit
Steeped in history and culture, Edinburgh is a wonderful city to visit, but its distinctiveness also presents a lot of opportunities for some common mistakes people make when visiting. If you’re planning to follow the old adage of “when in Rome, do as the Romans do,” you might be surprised to find that a lot of people here don’t do what you might think they do.
Generally speaking, the worst you’ll get from repeating any of the following mistakes is a common cold and maybe a few weary looks from the locals. However, being prepared could help you save a little money and avoid some confusion, as well as giving you a more enjoyable experience of the Scottish capital.
9 mistakes people make when visiting Edinburgh
- Mispronouncing place names
- Forgetting to bring a raincoat
- Overlooking the local bus service
- Underestimating the long summer days
- Only hitting the tourist bars
- Trying to fake a Scottish accent
- Rubbing the nose of Greyfriars Bobby
- Buying your family’s traditional tartan
- Being unprepared for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
1. Mispronouncing place names
It’s not “Edin-berg”
Categoría: Parejas, Familias
Mispronouncing place names is a common mistake in many places, and the same goes for Edinburgh. The city’s name is not pronounced as “Edin-berg” or “Edin-burrow.” It’s “Edin-bura,” or “Edin-bra” if you say it fast enough. Getting this wrong will really get on the nerves of locals.
There are also some street names visitors often get wrong, which can cause some confusion when it comes to getting around. Make sure you get the following correct, or you might end up in a totally different place than what you had planned: Princes Street is “Prince’s Street” (not “Princess Street”), Cockburn is “Coe-burn,” and Buccleuch is “buh-clue.”
Mispronouncing place names
2. Forgetting to bring a raincoat
Even in summer
Categoría: Parejas, Familias
Scottish weather is notoriously unreliable, and forgetting to bring a raincoat can really dampen the vacation mood. It’s said that you shouldn’t trust either a blue sky or a cloudy one because you can never tell what it’s going to do.
Even if you’re visiting Edinburgh in the height of summer, it’s best to carry a good waterproof raincoat with you, or else risk a soaking. Don’t bother trying to manage with an umbrella as it won’t last long in the often-fierce winds.
Forgetting to bring a raincoat
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3. Overlooking the local bus service
And not having the exact change
Categoría: Económico, Parejas, Familias
It’s tempting to use the hop-on-hop-off buses to get around Edinburgh and overlooking the local bus service. However, Lothian Buses (the local municipal bus service) are arguably better and a fraction of the cost. They even have a mobile app you can use to find which buses you should board to get where you’re going. The only downside is that you need to have the exact change if you’re paying with cash. You can, however, avoid this by paying using the Transport for Edinburgh app.
Of course, walking around is even cheaper, but Edinburgh is extremely hilly. If you want to avoid the exhaustion, make sure to research the bus service.
Overlooking the local bus service
4. Underestimating the long summer days
And long winter nights
Categoría: Parejas, Familias, Vida nocturna
In a metropolitan city like Edinburgh, it’s quite easy to forget just how far north Scotland actually is, underestimating the long summer days and long winter nights. It’s not quite in the Arctic Circle, but it really isn’t that far off. You can even see the Northern Lights in some parts of the country.
Being so far from the equator means that the length of the days changes a lot from season to season. Sunset can be as late as 10 pm in summer or as early as 3.40 pm in winter. In other words, don’t be surprised to find shops closing, people having dinner, and the city’s nightlife kicking off well before it’s actually nighttime.
Underestimating the long summer days
5. Only hitting the tourist bars
They can be fun, but they’re not “local”
Categoría: Parejas, Vida nocturna
Only hitting the tourist bars can give you a skewed perspective of Edinburgh’s vibrant pub culture. Scots are famously big drinkers and, if you want to really connect with the locals, the pub is the best place to start. However, the establishments on or around the main attractions and streets are mostly tourist joints, often shunned and avoided by Edinburghers.
The tourist bars are also usually extremely busy, so you might even struggle just to get served, let alone have an authentic local experience. Instead, look for the smaller places down unassuming side streets and listen for the sounds of Scottish folk music emanating from their doors.
Only hitting the tourist bars
6. Trying to fake a Scottish accent
Or claiming that you’re part-Scottish
Categoría: Exótico, Historia
You wouldn’t try to fake a Chinese or Indian accent so please don’t try to fake a Scottish accent either; you’ll just embarrass yourself and everyone around you. Claiming to be 1/16th Scottish doesn’t make it acceptable.
On that note, the immense amount of migration out of Scotland over the past few centuries means that a lot of people can claim to be a tiny fraction Scottish. Locals really don’t care if your grandmother’s cousin’s nephew’s step-sister was from the Highlands. They’ve heard it a million times and were just as unimpressed the other 999,999 times. Instead, focus on enjoying the culture and making genuine connections.
Trying to fake a Scottish accent
7. Rubbing the nose of Greyfriars Bobby
It’s not lucky
Categoría: Exótico, Historia
Rubbing the nose of Greyfriars Bobby is a misguided tradition. Greyfriars Bobby is the tale of a Skye terrier so loyal to his owner that he sat waiting for him by his grave for 14 years. A statue was erected outside Greyfriars Kirk to commemorate this heart-warming story of canine loyalty.
Unfortunately, someone began the myth that rubbing the nose of the statue would bring good luck. Locals have never believed this and actually get frustrated with people doing it because it wears down the bronze of the statue. So, appreciate the statue without touching it. Más información
Rubbing the nose of Greyfriars Bobby
8. Buying your family’s traditional tartan
It’s probably not traditional
Categoría: Familias, Ir de compras
Many shops make bold claims about having the tartans of hundreds of different clans in stock, and buying your family’s traditional tartan may seem like the perfect souvenir. No matter how far from Scotland your home is, there’s almost certainly a tartan with your family name on it. In reality, a very small number of Highland clans ever had their own pattern and most are just invented to help sales.
Incidentally, deciding to actually wear a kilt of that tartan around town is…well, not technically a mistake as increasingly more young Edinburghers are doing it, but it’s definitely brave. If you choose to wear one, be prepared for a draughty experience, as the city’s climate won’t be kind.
Buying your family’s traditional tartan
9. Being unprepared for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
It’s almost the whole of August
Categoría: Parejas, Familias, Vida nocturna
Being unprepared for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a significant oversight, as it’s one of the world’s largest cultural festivals. If you’re planning a simple, quiet visit to the city for the summer, you certainly won’t get that in August. Instead, you can expect the streets, hotels, public transportation, theaters, and bars to be packed most days.
What if that’s what you’re coming for? Well, you’ll need to be prepared for the sheer scale of it. There can be over 53,000 performances spread across 300 venues. It’s physically impossible for you to see absolutely everything, so pick your priorities with care.
Being unprepared for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
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