Edinburgh Castle with Cityscape from Calton Hill at dusk Scotland, UK ()

One two-hour direct flight away from Frankfurt Airport is Edinburgh, Scotland. Simply catch the train from Edinburgh Airport and make your way to the city center for a weekend of pub and tavern fun, castles and, of course, whisky.

Edinburgh sign ()

Castle Tour: Edinburgh Castle is like a miniature village all of its own. It features several small museums, whisky-tasting areas, old prisons, beautiful viewpoints and cafes. You can tour the castle grounds without a guide, but I recommend taking a guided tour to learn some behind-the-scenes information. I used the Get Your Guide app to find a historical tour that began about four minutes from the castle. Our guide David provided some great information about not only the castle, but the city as well, while also trying to keep up in the driest spots. He also came prepared with two extra umbrellas.

The Scotch Whisky Experience: What is a trip to Scotland without trying whiskey? There are over 150 whisky distilleries in the country. Close to the castle is the Scotch Whiskey Experience, which provides visitors with a great introduction to whisky making and the five different whisky regions of Scotland. They offer four different types of tours depending on how much time you have and how much whisky you want to try.

This was a surprise visit for us and we walked in less than an hour before closing, so we had to take the shortest, and last, tour of the day. My favorite part of the experience was the scratch-and-sniff card that introduced the different whisky regions of Scotland. I also gawked at the 20,000-pound bottle of whisky on display (and for sale) in their gift shop. I recommend booking in advance online or in person so you can get the most whisky and information for your dollar (well, pound).

Delicious Food: If you are in Scotland and want to try the national favorite, haggis, but have some reservations about it because of the ingredients (i.e. sheep stomach), make your way to the Copper Still. Here, they put haggis on a familiar favorite: nachos. It was fantastic! I give it a 10/10 and will eat haggis nachos again. The Copper Still is also conveniently located on the “Royal Mile” which is filled with plenty of shops and other restaurants to explore.

Haggis nachos ()

For a great pub experience, make your way to the Inn on the Mile. My spouse had fantastic fish and chips and I ate some cheesy macaroni and cheese with bacon. The Inn on the Mile makes wonderful seasonal cocktails and features live music most nights of the week. I can also recommend staying at the Inn. It was quite convenient to end our evening listening to the live guitar player, eating sticky toffee pudding and sipping a red wine before simply walking up a flight of stairs to our room.

Keep in mind that Edinburgh in wintertime requires a good winter coat and waterproof shoes, but don’t let that stop you. I could have spent many more days in Edinburgh (and may have Googled information about moving there), but if you only have a weekend, it is worth the trip.