Buenos Aires, Argentina Hotels and City Guide

Buenos Aires - Entertainment

Theatre in Edinburgh

Europe’s largest theatre, the 3,000-seat Edinburgh Playhouse (top of Leith Walk, New Town) hosts major West End shows as does the King’s Theatre (Leven Street). The Festival Theatre (Old Town) frequently hosts opera and ballet, while the Usher Hall (Lothian Road), the premier venue for classicial music, has weekly orchestral concerts all year round with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. The Queen's Hall (South Clerk Street, Old Town) is home to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The Royal Lyceum Theatre (Grindlay Street) has its own theatre company, the Church Hill Theatre (Morningside Road) stages musicals, while the Traverse Theatre (10 Cambridge Street) presents a more contemporary programme of plays.

Amateur theatre companies’ productions are staged at the Bedlam Theatre (Bristo Place, Old Town). Other halls staging music and theatre include The Hub, the Assembly Rooms, and occasional large gigs are staged at Murrayfield and Meadowbank.

Experience traditional Folk Music at one of the pubs in the Old Town or Leith which hold regular sessions. Take part in a ceilidh!

Edinburgh After Dark: Bars and Night Life

The nightlife scene in Edinburgh is vibrant; there are 400-odd pubs. Old-style pubs rub shoulders with chic bars and clubs. Live music pours out of most watering holes on weekends, particularly folk, blues, and jazz. Well-known artists perform at some of the larger venues. The List magazine, available at newsstands, gives locations, dates, times, and prices. Most pubs and bars are open weekdays and Saturday from 11am to midnight, and from 12:30pm to midnight on Sunday.

Edinburgh Annual Events and Festivals

Edinburgh in the summer becomes "festival city" when very many major national and international arts festivals are hosted by the city. Most of these occur virtually simultaneously in August. These cater for a wide variety of interests and include:

The Edinburgh International Festival - the original that spawned all the rest. Founded in 1947 it is still seen as more cultural than any of its offspring. It is a world-renowned festival celebrating all the arts. Surprisingly, tickets are often priced more reasonably than for many Fringe shows.

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - The massed pipes and drums are ever popular while the haunting skirl of a lone piper illuminated on the castle’s battlements is guaranteed to get the blood pulsing through your veins.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival - The “Fringe” offers more alternative performances with an emphasis on comedy and avant-garde; it is now the largest arts festival in the world while the “Edge” is a festival of music.

Other festivals in August celebrate Jazz & Blues, International Books, International Television (industry professionals only) the multi-cultural Mela in Leith; other summer festivals include the Imaginate International of children’s theatre (May/June), International Films (June), while the spring festival of International Science takes place in April/May.

Hogmanay
Edinburgh in the winter festive season is also exciting: whole sections of central Edinburgh are roped off and accessible only by ticket for the age-old Scottish New Year Celebrations known as Hogmanay when whisky flows, bands play and fireworks light up the dark skies. A hundred thousand people turn up in the freezing cold in Princes Street to the country’s biggest 3-day street party. Not too many wake up sober the next day!

First footing is a Scottish custom; the first person to cross the threshold of a household after midnight on 31 December should traditionally be a tall, dark, handsome man bearing a lump of coal but nowadays a black bun, whisky or shortbread will suffice. The First Footer’s role is to bring luck and prosperity to that household for the year ahead. Remember you can never go wrong in Scotland if you arrive anywhere bearing a bottle of single malt Scotch!

Beltane Fire Festival
The Beltane Fire Festival takes place every year on Calton Hill on 30 April. It originates from Scottish and Irish Gaelic pre-Christian times to celebrate the beginning of summer. It’s a dramatic revival of an ancient Celtic fertility rite where the May Queen plays the leading role. Drums, fire, pagan ritual and nudity are all part of this festival. (Hope for a warm night!)

Sport in Edinburgh

See a Six Nations Rugby match at Murrayfield Stadium (Edinburgh West). The Six Nations is the European championship which takes place every spring between Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Italy and England. The teams play each other once per year, alternating home and away games. On the weekend of a home match, Edinburgh is full to bursting, with a fantastic atmosphere especially if Wales or Ireland are in town. If you plan to visit in February or March, check the fixtures and book accommodation well in advance if your trip coincides with a home match.

Take in a football match at Hibernian F.C.'s Easter Road Stadium (Leith), or Heart of Midlothian FC's Tynecastle Park (Edinburgh West).

Hotels in Buenos Aires, Argentina