Holidays are approaching and we will travel with children to Edinburgh, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, with multiple attractions to enjoy with the family. Here we will get lost in its gardens, in its museums, in its parks, in the castle ... A few weeks ago we could discover this great city with the little ones and we will tell you the essential places.
Edinburgh is a city from which children will be delighted, as we will, of course. Probably tired of so much hustle and bustle (nobody said that traveling with children was easy) but satisfied to have approached the capital of Scotland, enjoying its cuisine, its culture, its landscapes.
The National Museum of Scotland
We start with a tour of the National Museum of Scotland that will take us to Scottish history and tradition, but it will also bring us closer to geology, biology, music and other cultural manifestations around the world.
In the National Museum of Scotland Children can dress up as Scottish nobles, they will dig up dinosaur bones, they will have to guess to which animals the sounds or skin touch correspond, they can be photographed with a Venetian mask or with their favorite animals, they will spin a large globe, they will contemplate to the very sheep Dolly, they will see the world's most amazing clock running…
It is a museum in which we could perfectly spend a whole day, since it is structured on several floors and in two adjoining buildings with many themes to discover. The entrance to the great hall impresses, with its sarcophagi, its huge headlight lenses ... it's just the appetizer.
When we opened the doors we started at the top floor and followed the downward path, which has the advantage that, if we go first, we will find the first rooms for ourselves (and it is not a small advantage if we consider which is one of the busiest museums in the city).
The Museum has six floors with an immense collection that brings us closer to the history, people, geology, fauna, flora and culture of Scotland. It is in the center of the city, in the Old Town, on Chambers Street. We found works of art, jewelry, weapons, minerals, stuffed animals, audiovisual assemblies, sculptures, costumes, machinery, masks, musical instruments, robots ... We loved the great Millennium Clock Tower, an animated clock that offers a show every hour to the visitors
After having walked through its rooms, we must not leave the National Museum of Scotland without looking out on the terrace on the seventh floor and get an excellent view of Edinburgh, with the castle, Calton Hill ... A time to scatter outdoors and take some pictures to remember.
Without at doubt it is a Museum designed for children (on the other hand, something common in museums in these parts), in which the "corseted" is not useful and in which, despite containing valuables behind the relevant display cases, most of the content is intended to interact, to experience, touch, smell, press buttons and spin wheels ...
We immediately understand why this great museum has become the second most visited in the United Kingdom (after the British Museum in London) and it is that in its six floors and in the two adjacent buildings we can get lost researching and learning about Scottish history and of the world.
The visit to the National Museum of Scotland is free (Like most museums in the city, which is fantastic for our pockets) and is in the center of Edinburgh, so we have no excuse to meet you as a family and spend a few hours without stopping to learn and have fun.
Edinburgh with children: The Botanical Garden
Now we move to the open sky. In Edinburgh there is a natural outdoor space that shows us the botany of Scotland, which takes us to distant China, to the Americas ... and offers great views of the city. On our trip to Edinburgh with children we visited the Botanical Garden.
The Royal Botanic Gardens are a world leader in botany and contain the largest collection of plants of Chinese origin outside the Asian country. Thousands of different species that acquire their greatest splendor in spring, but which are interesting at any time of the year.
This is another of the free visits that we can do in Edinburgh, highly recommended if we travel as a family, since it gives us the opportunity to spread in a fascinating natural environment, around 30 hectares in the open air in which the camera does not Stop working Maples, oaks, cherry trees, sequoyas, hedges, centuries-old beech trees ...
Children love getting lost in the garden of the queen or in the world famous “Rock Garden” o Jardin de las Rocas, which attracts us with its staircases, its waterfalls, its bridges and, of course, its plants. We also discover interesting places, such as the “Palm House” greenhouse or the corner where a harp stroked by the wind blows.
In the Gardens we can be guided by the information panels, the different signs or we can acquire a map of the place. I recommend you get carried away by one of the roads, moving forward and backward, resting on the grass, picnicking to regain strength or have a drink in one of its bars. The truth is that it is a place to spend an entire morning or an afternoon, if the weather is good.
In addition, it is an Eden with views, since from different points we get an excellent panoramic view of the city, which we will continue traveling with the children.
The visit to the Botanical Garden of Edinburgh is free and to reach this space from the city center, it is best to take a bus that takes us in a few minutes (urban lines 8, 23 or 27). An excursion that will not disappoint children or adults and of which we will have a wonderful memory.
Edinburgh with children: the Children's Museum
We thought we had too many dolls and toys at home, but there is nothing that can overcome the contents of this museum. If we go to Edinburgh with children we will love the visit to the Children's Museum, Museum of Childhood, a paradise for the little ones.
A very special museum in which thousands of games and toys are exhibited, along with mechanical devices, joke articles that surprise us. A space dedicated to childhood that goes through different times so that we know how the dolls that our grandparents played with or travel in space to learn how children from other cultures entertain themselves.
The Museum occupies three floors and five galleries in which to go through different times and types of toys. The collection includes teddy bears and dolls of the 18th century, puppets, toy soldiers, less giants, old textbooks, rudimentary pedal vehicles, a doll house with 21 rooms and more than 2,000 objects inside ...
Long before the video games arrived, there were a thousand ways to have fun and the good thing is that most of them continue to make many children happy in the world.
But let's not think that we will only find showcases with objects out of our reach. Many of these toys and dolls can be touched, we can make them work, there is even a room prepared for children to entertain themselves for a while with games of blocks, ingenuity, dolls ... They will not want to get out of there.
They can also take pictures in story scenarios or with dolls that exceed it in size, or direct a puppet and puppet show, inventing their stories, operating music machines, dressing like period dolls ... The difficult thing will be to get out of there without "chop" something in the souvenir shop.
Admission to the Edinburgh Children's Museum is free and the building is in a very central location, in the Royal Mile (42 High Street). Open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It occupies two contiguous buildings built in the 18th century.
He trip to Edinburgh with children offers many possibilities and certainly the visit to the Children's Museum They will love it. There is nothing like approaching those almost magical objects that blow your imagination, toys. It will cost us to tear them out of this museum, but we have to continue touring the city!
Museum on the Mound, the place to see a million pounds
What were the first coins like? How much does a million pounds occupy? How to coin our own currency? How is the oldest ticket in Scotland? Could our face stamp a ticket? With all these questions it is impossible that children do not dare to visit this special museum. The Museum on the Mound in Edinburgh is a great visit with the children and there we went on our recent trip to the Scottish capital.
The little ones enjoy this museum designed for them, in the fabulous building of the Bank of Scotland, where adults also have much to discover. Today in our travel guide to Edinburgh with children We take a tour of the Museum on the Mound, full of challenges for the little ones, with many curiosities and surprises.
Let's start by clarifying that his name is translated as "Museum on the mound", and it is because it is built on the famous "mound" or mound that was made artificially to join the upper and lower parts of Edinburgh. There, in the building of the Bank of Scotland, in a very central situation, we have very easy to approach to see it.
These are some of the most interesting stops on our visit to the Museum, which brings us closer to the history of money from various perspectives: art and design, technology, crime, commerce, security ...
We can see the evolution of the city of Edinburgh since 1600 to observe its changes in interactive maps.
The children have to build the model of the building of the Bank of Scotland. Also, they have to do it against the clock, will they be faster than us?
We can see a million pounds, behind a showcase and, yes, out of circulation, to scare away the poo ...
Will children be able to discover the combination of a safe to see what it hides? We can try it too.
The kids can print their own life insurance (and pick it up at the exit), writing their name, trade, travel plans, health ... Of course, inventing some things ...
When we were there, a special activity allowed the girls to coin their own silver coin, with the help of a monitor.
We can also make a fun "photocall" with our faces as protagonists of giant bills.
At the entrance they give the kids a fun book of activities in which they will have to help "Penny", a nice coin. A great memory to color, draw, complete hobbies ...
Anyway, if you go with family the visit with children to the Museum on the Mound in Edinburgh It will not disappoint you. In addition, admission is free. We invite you now to continue with more fun proposals for your trip to Edinburgh with children in the second part of our guide of this trip with kids.
Photos | Eva Paris
In Traveler's Diary | Ten free things to do in Edinburgh
In Babies and more | Travel with children
