Cultural Programme

 

Welcome to Edinburgh!

Edinburgh, with its long and majestic history, is home to a vast array of places to visit including castles, palaces, museums and gardens. In order to give us the greatest access and flexibility we will be utilizing the Edinburgh tour “Royal Edinburgh Ticket”. This will give each of us unlimited transportation access on any of the four different Hop-On/Hop-Off bus routes for 48 hours, beginning Monday afternoon when we first use our tickets. This ticket also includes admission to Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyrood and The Royal Yacht Britannia.

Royal Edinburgh Ticket Price

Adults 

£ 51

 

Seniors (60+) 

£ 45

 

Child     

£ 28

                                            

If you decide to participate, the most convenient way of purchasing your ticket is on-line, in advance. Here is the link:

http://edinburghtour.com/ticket-offers/the-royal-edinburgh-ticket 

Once you have completed your purchase, print the vouchers and bring them with you to the conference. We will exchange them for the admission tickets on Monday. The 48 hour timeframe will be activated with our first bus ride.

 

Please send an email to Cultural@Contacts2016.com  by 12th May 2016 with any questions and to let us know if you are interested in joining us for:

 

1.      Holyrood Palace Tour

Yes____

No____

2.      Britannia Tour

Yes____

No____

3.      Tuesday lunch

Yes____

No____

4.      Edinburgh Castle

Yes____

No____

5.      Forth Boat Tour

Yes____

No____

 

 

 

Itinerary

 

Monday - 6th June 2016

 

City Sightseeing Tour of Central Edinburgh and Tour of Holyrood Palace

 

After the ICEC Opening Session those of us not attending the technical sessions will meet and then walk together to the Lothian Road Bus Stop # 2 where we will take the City Sightseeing Tour bus, with a multi-language audio guide, to Stop #10. Here we will disembark and tour Holyrood Palace, complete with self-guided multi-language audio guide. Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland and has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scotland since the 16th century. In honor of Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday there is a special showing “90 Years of Style from the Queens’ Wardrobe” available for viewing in addition to the regular tour. You are free to continue exploring on your own for the remainder of the afternoon.

                                            

Duration: 2 ½ hours

Palace of Holyrood house©

 

 

 

Tuesday – 7th June 2016

 

Tour of Royal Yacht Britannia and Edinburgh Castle (optional)

 

At 9:00 am we meet in the Sheraton and make our way to Waverly Bridge where we will take the Majestic Tour bus, with multi-language audio guide to stop #7.  Here we will disembark and tour the Royal Yacht Britannia – multi language audio guide included. The Britannia is the former royal yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in service from 1954 – 1997.  Afterwards we will enjoy lunch together (self-pay) at a restaurant near Britannia. In the afternoon we go to Waverly Bridge via the Majestic Tour bus where we can transfer to the City Sightseeing bus and return to the hotel at Stop #2 or continue on to Stop #6 and tour Edinburgh Castle.

 

Duration: 3+ hours                                                                                          Afternoon option:

                      

HMY Britannia©                                                                                          Edinburgh Castle©

 

 

 

Wednesday – 8th June 2016

 

Forth Bridges Bus and Boat Tour (weather permitting)

 

At 9:00 am we meet in the Sheraton and make our way to Waverly Bridge and catch the 10:30 am Forth Bridges Bus. The tour includes a 1 ½ hour boat cruise on the Firth of Forth passing under the iconic Forth Bridge, an 1890 cantilever railway bridge considered a symbol of Scotland and a UNESCO World Heritage site. We will return to Waverly Bridge by 1:40 pm.

 

Forth Railway Bridge©

 

Price payable Wednesday 8th June

Adults 

£ 20

upon boarding the bus

Seniors (60+) 

£ 18

Cash or credit cards accepted

Child     

£ 10

 

                                                                          

                                                                            

Additional Information

 

All conference delegates will be receiving the Edinburgh Reward Passport http://www.edinburghrewards.com/  for use by delegates and their families. The Passport is filled with information, exclusive discounts and a city map.

Here are two additional web sites with information to help in planning your Edinburgh visit:

http://thisisedinburgh.com/

http://edinburghtour.com/

 

© Picture images curtesy of Marketing Edinburgh, convention_edinburgh