Its nickname may be Auld Reekie, but Edinburgh is currently revelling in the sweet smell of success after being named second in a list of the top 10 UK destinations.
The only other Scottish location to make the chart which was compiled from TripAdvisor reviews was Glasgow, which squeezed in at 10th spot.
While it’s perhaps not surprising that Edinburgh polled so highly, there were some more surprising names on the list.
In third place was the Welsh seaside town of Llandudno, with Torquay and Blackpool also featuring in the top six. So what makes Edinburgh so good and why do people love those other places so much?
EDINBURGH
IT’S one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world. So it’s no wonder foreign tourists love it so much. Despite its residents having a reputation for putting on airs and graces or, as some would have it, being “all fur coat and nae knickers” there’s no denying its charms.
Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat and Princes St Gardens all feature on tourists’ to-do lists. But there’s something more intangible about the city that makes it so special. There’s an atmosphere that lingers like the haar that creeps in from the Forth. The orange glow of streetlights on the cobbles of the Old Town. The mysterious closes off the High Street.
Some may say Edinburgh is snooty, a bit cool. But there’s romance in those old walls, and a dark, brooding history at its heart. No wonder the world loves it.
BLACKPOOL
Blackpool it’s just stag nights, cheap rock, and stuff with fairy lights on, right? Wrong.
Fair enough, all those things do exist, but modern Blackpool is much more than that. Did you know, for instance, that director Tim Burton said he was “Blackpool’s number one fan”, Lady Gaga once ate lunch there and heartthrob George Clooney was (allegedly) spotted buying fish and chips? A-Listers don’t descend on any old tacky resort, so it must have something going for it.
It has a theme park, water park, zoo, waxworks and two theatres and the world’s first electric steel tramway, built in 1885, which is still in use. And don’t forget the tower one of the UK’s most easily recognisable landmarks.
Even Hitler ordered the town should be spared his bombs because he wanted to preserve it as his “personal playground”! Mind you, we’d rather meet George Clooney there, to be honest.
TORQUAY
Mention Torquay to anyone and probably the first thing they’ll think of is Fawlty Towers. John Cleese’s fictional hotel has coloured the views of generations towards the town. But perhaps the benefit of distance is the reason foreign TripAdvisor punters love the place. They can simply enjoy it for what it is. The mild microclimate has blessed the area with palm trees, giving it a Mediterranean feel on a hot day, with the azure sea in the bay adding to the attractive vista.
True, it attracts its fair share of blue-rinsed coach loads and is no stranger to stags and hens. But its climate, smart eateries and increasingly foodie credentials are drawing a trendier set. As for unusual things to do, how does an immense aviary sound? Or a world famous model village?
And while Agatha Christie was born and grew up there, it’s not really that much of a mystery that Torquay is finally shaking off the memory of Basil, Cybil and Manuel.
LLANDUDNO
If someone claims Llandudno is a Wonderland, they might be right. Stroll round the North Wales holiday hotspot and you’ll more than likely bump into the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit or a certain grinning feline.
That’s because Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s books, used to visit the town and there are statues of the characters dotted round the streets as part of the Alice Trail.
Along the trail, you’ll encounter the longest Pier in Wales and magnificent Victorian hotels. Then you can take the longest cable car in Britain up the Great Orme headland for a bird’s eye view of the town.
Perhaps because Llandudno has been in the public consciousness for such a long time, it conjures up quite old-fashioned images. Somehow it sounds like the kind of place George and Mildred would have gone on their hols.
But longevity doesn’t necessarily equal shabbiness. Llandudno is a charming place, full of grace and grandeur.
Sometimes feeling lost-in-time is to be treasured.
GLASGOW
Does Edinburgh deserve its place near the top of the “best of Britain” chart? Aye, right! Where’s its pulse? Is it hiding its “oomph” under Arthur’s Seat? It’s the grit in the oyster that makes the pearl, which is why Glasgow deserves to be the jewel of Scotland while there’s something decidedly fishy about Auld Reekie.
Okay, so Edinburgh looks the part, with its shortbread tin castle and wee gardens. But Glasgow is smiles better in every other department. It has a music scene, a sense of humour (try telling a wee Morningside madam a dirty joke and see if she cracks a smile). It has the shops, the eateries, the nightlife. The hustle and the bustle. Glasgow feels like a CITY, Edinburgh’s more like a town with ideas above its station.
Edinburgh may come over all “cultured”, but don’t let it fool you that it has sole claim to the stuff that fires the heart and broadens the mind. Glasgow has plenty to offer from the majestic Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum to the Gallery of Modern Art in the city centre. So Edinburgh has the bragging rights this time, but Glasgow has the music, the laughter and, most importantly, the soul.
And the rest . . .
No other city or town in Scotland got a look in on the TripAdvisor list.
DUNDEEStruggled with an image problem in the past, but is shaking off its reputation to emerge as a proud city with the new V&A set to be at its heart.
ABERDEENIt’s been named the best Scottish city to live in, and it’s a great place to visit too, with its broad streets, granite grandeur and a real buzz and a thrum about the place.
NEWCASTLEIts image may have been tainted by Geordie Shore. But great museums and galleries are scattered all over toon and new cafs and bars seem to be opening every week. And you can’t beat a Geordie welcome!
CARLISLEAny visitor will tell you it deserves to take its place among Britain’s best. From its magnificent castle, to the world-famous Hadrian’s Wall and Birdsoswald Roman Fort, Carlisle is steeped in history.
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