I was quite excited when I first noticed the Chocolatarium museum in Edinburgh. I mentioned it on my food tours, but I knew I needed to visit myself. Now that I’ve been, I can definitely recommend it as an awesome attraction in Scotland’s capital.
I first arrived in Edinburgh in April 2015 and almost immediately decided to make it my home base. I usually end up there each year, and I spent most of the pandemic stuck in the beautiful city. I’d like to pass on the information I learned about being an expat in Edinburgh.
Three times I’ve been to Paris, but I’ve yet to explore the city. On my most recent trip, we had a 24-hour layover at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) on our route from Edinburgh to Cancun, Mexico. Well, it wasn’t just the night, but rather a full 20 hours stuck in Terminal 2E. Don’t worry, it really wasn’t that bad. In fact, Charles de Gaulle airport is where a man spent 18 years living in Terminal 1, which is the true story which Tom Hank’s The Terminal is based on.
For years, I’ve had camping in the Pentlands on my bucket list, but I only managed to check it off this year while being stuck in Edinburgh. The Pentland Hills Regional Park is located 7 miles south of Edinburgh and covers 35 square miles. The park is full of forests, streams, pastures, waterfalls, reservoirs, and, of course, lots and lots of hills.
I can’t figure out how I’ve never written a guide for spending 48 hours in Edinburgh, considering this is my favorite city, my home base, and the place where I’ve spent more time than anywhere else since I started traveling the world. Maybe it’s because I could never decide how to cram everything into just two days (considering I’ve been exploring this city for months and am still finding new gems all the time), or maybe because I’ve already written journal-type posts about days I’ve spent here. Whatever the reason, here’s my recommendation on how to spend your weekend (or week-day) city break in the capital of Scotland.