USEFUL LINKS

By Charles James
Getting there by
Air:
Edinburgh International Airport (www.baa.com) 8 miles west of the city. Excellent Airlink Coach and taxi connections. Coaches to city centre every 8 minutes. Taxis cost approximately £12. Over 40 flights from London airports daily with good links to other major UK cities
www.ba.com www.easyjet.co.uk www.flybmi.com www.flybe.com
Rail:
Great North Eastern Railway (www.gner.co.uk) and Virgin trains (www.virgintrains.co.uk) link Edinburgh and London (4½ hours); York, Aberdeen and Inverness (2 hours) (National enquiries: www.rail.co.uk). Within Scotland: www.scotrail.co.uk
Road:
A first-class road network makes Edinburgh very accessible. The A1 main east coast road comes from the south; the M8 from Glasgow - linked to the A74 (M) - the M90 from Perth and M9 from Stirling.
Ferry:
Regular services between Hull, Newcastle and Zeebrugge (www.superfast.com) to Rosyth, a 30 minutes drive away.

Where to stay - A wide choice of hotels at all price ranges
Apex International, 31-35 Grassmarket (Tel: 0131 300 3456; www.apexhotels.co.uk). Contemporary, castle views, 175 bedrooms, 6 meeting rooms.
The Balmoral, 1 Princes Street (Tel: 0131 556 2414; www.roccofortehotels.com). Refined, relaxing, luxurious. 168 guest rooms, 20 suites, 10 stunning conference and banqueting suites accommodating 450.
Caledonia Hilton, Princess Street (Tel: 0131 222 8888; www.hilton.com). Five star elegance and dignity, refined comfort, 249 bedrooms, 12 unique, versatile function suites accommodating 300.
The Scotsman, 20 North Bridge (Tel: 0131 556 5565; www.thescotsmanhotel.co.uk). A baronial building with 56 guest rooms and 12 suites, health club and spa.
Sheraton Grand, 1 Festival Square (Tel: 0131 229 9131; www.sheraton.com/grandedinburgh). Five star, tailored to the incentive market, 11 function rooms for up to 485, three restaurants.

Conference venues - Venues to suit every type and size of event include
Edinburgh International Conference Centre, The Exchange (Tel: 0131 300 3000; www.eicc.co.uk).
Edinburgh Castle, Salisbury Place (Tel: 0131 668 8640; www.historic-scotland.gov.uk). Exclusive venue with evening receptions for up to 1,000 guests. 19th century Gatehouse Suite available for daytime meetings.
The Hub, Castlehill, Royal Mile (Tel: 0131 473 2015). Unique interior, ideal for conferences, dinners and special events which demand a creative edge.
Edinburgh Conference Centre, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton (Tel: 0131 451 3115; www.eccscotland.com). Specialises in hosting large residential events.
Royal Museum, Chambers Street (Tel: 0131 247 4113; www.nms.ac.uk). Glass roofed main hall seats 650 (dinner) or 1,500 (reception), with a lecture theatre accommodating 276.

Eating out - A profusion of good restaurants cater for all tastes and all budgets, including...
Expensive:
Tower Restaurant and Terrace, Museum Street, 1 Festival Square (Tel: 0131 225 3003). Rooftop with castle views. Excellent steaks and shellfish.
The Witchery by the Castle, Castlehill, Royal Mile (Tel: 0131 225 5613). Historic, unique, traditional Scottish cuisine; Moderate.
Moderate
Howies Restaurants, 29 Waterloo Place (Tel: 0131 556 5766) and 1014 Victoria Street (Tel: 0131 225 1721). Innovative menus.
Creelers Seafood Bistro & Restaurant, 3 Hunter Square, Royal Mile (Tel: 0131 220 4447). Fish caught from owners' boat.
Inexpensive:
Nicholsons, 6a Nicholson Street (Tel: 0131 557 4567). Bistro opposite the Old College where author J.K. Rowling thought up Harry Potter.
Café Hub, The Hub, Castlehill. (Tel: 0131 473 2067). Delicious, innovative lunches. Cutting edge and quirky.

Useful web sites
www.edinburgh.org/conference Edinburgh Convention Bureau
www.edinburgh.org Edinburgh and Lothians Tourist Board
www.conventionscotland.com Visit Scotland Business Tourism
www.conventionscotland.com Scottish Convention Bureau

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