Fall in love with Edinburgh

The land of William Wallace is the ideal place for an Erasmus year (or even not for Erasmus). For the lovers of nature, the Harry Potter saga, and for any self-respecting traveller, there is no better place.

Transport and accommodation

Edinburgh airport is perfectly connected to the centre. There is a bus network (airlink 100) that picks up from the centre 24 hours a day for £4. 50 per journey. There is also a bus route (number 35), which makes several stops including in the old part of the city (Old Town), but only during the day. Both buses have room for suitcases.

In case anyone is interested, a taxi to the centre costs around £22 and a taxi to Herriot Watt costs around £12.

Edinburgh is a city with a perfect bus network. They run frequently (depending on the route), they are comfy and quick. The price of the buses is £1. 60 or £3 at night. Caution: bus drivers don't carry change so you must have the exact amount.

If you use transport daily, the most recommendable pass is the ridacard, which is a card that for a monthly cost of £54 (£45 for students) you can catch both day and night buses, trams, and the airlink to the airport as many times as you want (https://lothianbuses.co.uk/tickets/ridacard).

Another option is to download the bus company's app, where you can buy the number of tickets that you need.

The issue of accommodation in Edinburgh is a little complicated. I opted for student accommodation and in the long run, it was the best choice. To begin with, you must physically look for a flat when you're in the city which means an initial expenditure on hostels, B&Bs etc. The majority of agencies are looking for tenants who are professionals or people who can offer at least 6 months deposit which complicates things a lot.

I have to say that renting in Edinburgh is not cheap, although having said that for a capital city it is not that bad in comparison with others. Normally, rent costs in the range of £350-500 per month for a room. Student accommodation is usually more expensive, but like I said before the search for a flat is a lot more complicated.

At Herriot Watt University they offer various types of rooms (you can choose whether you want a private bathroom, with lunch included, with a shared kitchen between X amount of people etc. ). The idea of student accommodation here is like small, shared apartments and each tenant has their own room and key. Therefore, there is no problem with entering or leaving or who can get into your room.

The city: what to do and see

The centre of Edinburgh is basically divided into 2 parts: the Old Town and the New Town. They are separated by the main street, "Princes Street (which is full of shops) and marvellous gardens. From there, you can visit Edinburgh Castle which is the city's main tourist attraction and the entry fee is around £16.

Edinburgh has numerous tourist attractions like Holyrood Palace, HMY Britannia, the National Museum (this is a must for the views up on the terrace). All of these are free to enter except the museum, but this costs a similar or lesser amount than the castle.

However, the city also has lots of attractions that are totally free. Firstly, doing one of the free tours is highly recommended. The daily tours usually start on the Royal Mile, one of the most well-known streets in the city. From there the tour will pass through all the most important streets, cemeteries, and most emblematic places of the city. They also offer free night tours or Ghost Tours.

The climb to Calton Hill is essential. It offers spectacular views of the city, especially at sunset.

For lovers of nature and walking, the climb to Arthur's Seat, which consists of a walk along the Water of Leith trail or through the Pentlands is a must!

(Views from Arthur's Seat)

Other lesser known places like Dean Village, Portobello beach and Cramond Island are also definitely worth a visit.

Gastronomy

British food is not something to highlight. However, in Edinburgh, there are some nice, cheap restaurants with good food. For example:

• Standing Order: an ideal restaurant for a burger or sandwich, or to try a traditional Scottish breakfast. It is also a good place to go to for a beer or cider. The restaurant is in the New Town and used to be an old bank, so it is worth visiting.
• Oink: this restaurant serves pork sandwiches which are amazing and they only cost around £5.
• Nandos: a chicken restaurant cooked to the taste of the consumer (spicy, with herbs, with mango etc. )
• Cosmo: a free international food buffet.

Edinburgh nightlife

Edinburgh has numerous pubs that tend to get full earlier in the evening. Finnegans is highly recommended, which is on Victoria Street where they also do discounts for students (depending on the day a pint of beer can cost between £2-4), and where there are always live performances. Other good places are The Three Sisters, Whistlebinkies or The Tron.

The busiest area at night is Cowgate, but remember that except for August and December the clubs close at 3 am and the pubs usually close at 1 am.

In terms of clubs, there are lots to choose from in Edinburgh, there's something for all tastes.

In "Silk", they usually have international parties on Fridays so they play a bit of all types of music. They also usually have cheap drinks.

For the lovers of latino and reggeton music, there's nothing like El Barrio or Boteco.

For those who prefer more heavy music, I recommend "Opium".

Another of the most popular nightclubs in Edinburgh is "Why Not".

Weather

I have to say that I expected it to be worse. In my head, I imagined Scottish weather to be cold, rainy and volatile all the time. From my experience living here, the winter is quite cold but I did get used to it in the end. The worst part about the weather is the few hours of sun in December and January. During the winter it doesn't rain much. It obviously rains but it can go a couple of weeks with no rain at all. Without a doubt the best months are April-May, when it's a bit warmer, it rains less and there are more hours of sun. The weather in summer is pretty unstable. Between June and August you can experience all four seasons in one day.

Advice and opinions

I would definitely do my Erasmus experience again in this city. I wouldn't even have to think twice about it (in fact I'm living here at the moment so if you have any questions, feel free to contact me).

If you are here in December, although the winter is cold, it is definitely worth the temperatures just to see the Christmas atmosphere and Christmas market.

Once you're here, make the most of travelling. Visit everywhere you can in the UK. Flights to London and Dublin can be as cheap as £20. Scotland has lots of cities that are well connected to Edinburgh that are also worth visiting, such as Glasgow and Stirling. There are also spectacular landscapes like the Highlands and the Isle of Skye.

Finding work is extremely easy and you don't need a high level of English either. There are also lots of part-time jobs that offer work of 20 hours a week. The minimum wage is £7. 50 per hour.

The accent here is really difficult to understand at first, but if you understand a Scottish accent you truly know English. Generally, the Scots are very kind and will try to help you if they can.

One of the best things about studying here is the multicultural environment, there is lots of diversity with people from other countries, cultures and religions.

Throughout August the Fringe is celebrated, which is a festival that attracts more than a million tourists to the city every year.

The cemeteries in this country are like parks, people go walking through them and even take picnics.

For Harry Potter fans, you will find lots of places that you will love and there are also tours dedicated to it.