Edinburgh and the Lothians Feature

Orientation Tours

The best way to get oriented in Edinburgh is to take a bus tour, most of which are operated by Lothian Buses. Its "City Sightseeing" open-top bus tours (£9) include multilingual commentary; its "MacTours" (£9) are conducted in vintage open-top vehicles. All tours take you to the main attractions, including Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Palace of Holyroodhouse, and museums and galleries. Buses depart from Waverley Bridge, and are hop-on/hop-off services, with tickets lasting 24 hours. Lothian Buses' 60-minute Majestic Tour (£12) operates with a professional guide, and takes you from Waverly Bridge to the New Town, past Charlotte Square, the Royal Botanic Garden, and Newhaven Heritage Museum until it reaches the royal yacht Britannia moored at Leith. Tickets for all tours are available from ticket sellers on Waverley Bridge or on the buses themselves.

Orientation Tours Contacts

Lothian Buses (0131/220-0770. www.edinburghtour.com.)

Personal Guides

Scottish Tourist Guides can supply guides (in 19 languages) who are fully qualified and will meet clients at any point of entry into the United Kingdom or Scotland. They can also tailor tours to your interests.

Personal Guide Contacts

Scottish Tourist Guides (18b Broad St., Stirling, FK8 1EF. 01786/451953. www.stga.co.uk.)

Walking Tours

Cadies and Witchery Tours, a member of the Scottish Tourist Guides Association, has built a reputation for combining entertainment and historical accuracy in its lively and enthusiastic Ghosts & Gore Tour and Murder & Mystery Tour (£7.50 each), which take you through the narrow Old Town alleyways and closes. Costumed guides and other theatrical characters show up en route. The Scottish Literary Tour Company takes you around Edinburgh's Old Town or New Town (£10 each), with guides invoking Scottish literary characters.

Walking Tour Contacts

Cadies and Witchery Tours (84 West Bow, Edinburgh, EH1 2HH. 0131/225-6745. www.witcherytours.com.)

Scottish Literary Tour Trust (5 Wellington Pl., Edinburgh, EH6 7EQ. 0131/226-6665. www.edinburghliterarypubtour.co.uk.)

Rabbie's Trail Burners (207 High St., Edinburgh, EH1 1PE. 0131/226-3133. www.rabbies.com.)