list.co.uk/aroundtown
just above Waverley Station. ■ EDINBURGH ZOO Corstorphine Road, 334 9171, edinburghzoo.org.uk Daily 9am–4.30pm (last entry 3.30pm). £16.50 (£14; under 16s £12; under 3s free; family £36.45– £62.10). Visitors can see the headline- grabbing giant pandas, the famous Penguin Parade and over 1000 other rare and interesting animals and birds at this site three miles west of the city centre.
■ HOLYROOD PARK Holyrood Park Road, 652 8150, historic- scotland.gov.uk Open at all times; Holyrood Lodge Information Centre daily 9.30am–3pm. The main entrance to this large royal park, east of the city centre, is flanked by the Palace of Holyrood House and the Scottish Parliament Building. Its main feature is Arthur’s Seat, an 823-foot hill which has a number of smaller peaks and ponds surrounding it. ■ MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD 42 High Street, 529 4142, edinburghmuseums.org.uk Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun noon–5pm. Kids can learn about the toys, clothes and lifestyles of children of the past in this Royal Mile museum. Nostalgia for grown-ups guaranteed.
■ MUSEUM ON THE MOUND The Mound, 243 5464, museumonthemound.com Tue–Fri 10am–5pm; Sat & Sun 1–5pm; closed Mon. Hosted inside the Bank of Scotland’s head office, this museum is all about money. Learn how money has evolved over the past 4000 years or try cracking a safe. ■ NATIONAL MINING MUSEUM SCOTLAND Lady Victoria Colliery, Newtongrange, 663 7519, scottishminingmuseum.com Daily 10am–4pm. £8.50 (£6.50; children
Museums & Attractions | AROUND TOWN
and India during the 18th and 19th century, in which period India went from being a fiefdom of the privately-owned East India Company to being directly ruled as part of the British Empire. FREE Beyond Endurance An exhibition commemorating 100 years since Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance sailed to Antarctica. On display is the personal collection of books and papers of expedition geologist Sir James Mann Wordie. ■ OUR DYNAMIC EARTH Holyrood Road, 550 7800, dynamicearth. co.uk Wed-Sun 10am–5.30pm (last entry 4pm). Closed Mon & Tue. £11–£12.50 (£9.25–£10.50; under 16s £7.25–£7.95; under 3s free). Take an interactive journey through the history of the earth. Go to the tundra or the bottom of the ocean, never being more than a stone’s throw from the Scottish Parliament and Arthur’s Seat.
■ PALACE OF HOLYROODHOUSE Royal Mile, 556 5100, royalcollection. org.uk Daily 9.30am–4.30pm(last entry 3.15pm). £11.30 (£10.30; under 17s £6.80; under 5s free; family £29.40). The official Scottish residence of the Queen, this baroque palace was once home to Mary, Queen of Scots and now houses the great artworks and tapestries of its regal residents. A Royal Christmas The State Apartments in the Palace are given seasonal decorations, with the table in the Royal Dining Room laid with a silver service that was presented to George V and Queen Mary in 1935 to mark their Silver Jubilee.
■ REAL MARY KING’S CLOSE 2 Warriston’s Close, High St, 0845 070 6244, realmarykingsclose.com Mon–Thu & Sun 10am–5pm; Fri & Sat 10am–9pm. £12.95 (£11.45; children £7.45). Beneath the Royal Mile lies a warren of hidden closes where citizens of Edinburgh lived
GIRLS’ DAY OUT The women’s lifestyle, health, beauty and fashion event returns to Scotland with its biggest show yet. There’s a whopping 180 of your favourite and most recognisable brands just waiting for you to get your grubby little hands on them – think Benefit, Kurt Geiger, Mango and more – plus cooking demos, cocktail displays, dancing and music. Steel your credit cards . . . ■ SECC, Glasgow, Fri 28 & Sat 29–Sun 30 Nov.
free). Nine miles south of Edinburgh, this museum is one of the best-preserved Victorian collieries in Europe. Learn about the life of a miner by taking a tour around the site. ■ NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789, nms. ac.uk Daily 10am–5pm. Renovated in 2011, this national beacon of culture has exhibitions on natural history, science
and technology, Scottish history, art and design and world cultures in galleries surrounding a beautiful naturally lit atrium space. Ming: The Golden Empire An overview of the legacy of the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China from 1368 to 1644. See original artifacts from the Nanjing Museum in the only UK showing of this major exhibition. Indian Encounters An exploration of the changing relationship between Britain
You’ll be amazed at what’s in store. shopek.co.uk