10 Things to Do in Edinburgh in April

Apart from the rain, April in Edinburgh is spring and the temperatures are starting to rise. The days are also longer, and the city is starting to fill up with tourist attractions to suit all tastes.

Of course, you're going to have to count on the possibility of rain. In this respect, if you are lucky with the weather, you will probably be able to enjoy some outdoor activities. However, I will offer you several proposals indoors.

If you're a film buff, you can't miss one of **Edinburgh'**s film tours. They are good options because the mild and friendly spring weather is a good ally for the walks proposed by these tours, especially in the open-air sites where these incredible fictions were filmed.

These types of tours are characterised by offering a first-person visit to the locations of several popular series and films. You can choose from several options, for example:

• Harry Potter tours, which include amazing indoor and outdoor rides, with options to even travel on the Hogwarts Express. On these tours, you'll see the places that inspired J.K Rowling. It's mind-blowing.
• The Outlanders location tours, for fans of the Netflix series. Includes castles, palaces and mansions.
• Da Vinci Code tours, for fans of the film or Dan Brown's books, among abbeys and chapels.
• Tours that include Anwic Castle will take you to another filming location for Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. Exhibitions from both films are available for fans.

April is an ideal time to book one of the Highlands and Loch Ness tours, although you'll need to pay particular attention to the weather and make sure it's not raining, let alone snowing. If this is the case, it will be ideal, as spring days are very, very nice days to visit the loch.

Although there are several ways to get to Loch Ness from Edinburgh, perhaps the best option is to book one of the Highlands and Loch Ness tours from the city.

In April, the opening hours for the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition also increase to 5pm. In previous months, you can only visit until 3.30pm. In addition, Urquhart Castle, one of its main attractions, extends its opening hours to 6pm. If you're interested in castles, be sure to read this article on the top 10 castles in Edinburgh.

If you want, you can use one of your April days in Edinburgh to travel to St Andrews, a seaside town bordering Edinburgh to the north-west. The two towns are about an hour and twenty minutes apart.

As a coastal town, I recommend booking your trip to St Andrew's if you travel to Edinburgh in April or summer, but not in the other seasons, as you'll lose some of its appeal by having to take shelter from the low temperatures. And they are really low.

If you like this option, here's how to get from Edinburgh to St Andrews and find out for sure.

If it's raining, a great way to take shelter from the weather is to book a tour of Edinburgh's underground. You'll see the famous crypts hidden beneath South Bridge in Edinburgh's Old Town.

This tour is guided, and you'll be told the most macabre details of antiquity. I'm telling you, it'll make your hair stand on end, so do come along for the ride. If you do, by the way, I also recommend you check out the best ghost and mystery tours in Edinburgh.

The Galashiels Walking Festival is an April festival of walking in Galashiels, an hour from the city of Edinburgh.

It's a great way to get out and about and see the countryside, meeting people who, like you, are looking for a group walk in the Scottish countryside.

Details of each year's walk are usually announced in January. The scenery you and your group will pass through is sure to dazzle.

The first three weeks of April in the city you can visit the activities offered by the Edinburgh Science Festival, an ideal set of plans if your trip to Edinburgh in April is with children. Here are 10 other activities to do in Edinburgh with children.

As part of the celebrations for science in Edinburgh, you can visit the Ances-tour, every day at Edinburgh Zoo, free of charge.

As well as the Ances-tour, there are numerous activities for all the family to enjoy throughout most of the month. From talks given by the experts themselves, to screenings, workshops and interactive exhibitions for all tastes and ages.

You can visit the Japanese Garden at Lauriston Castle all year round, but if you travel to Edinburgh in April, I highly recommend it, because in the middle of the month, it is full of colours.

It is a space where you can enjoy a lot of peace and quiet, near Cramond Island, and it is ideal to visit early in the morning. As you can see, it is one of the best options for tours and excursions in Edinburgh.

If the rain doesn't put a damper on your plans, in April in Edinburgh you have the great option of having a beautiful picnic outdoors somewhere you particularly like. Just make sure it doesn't rain, pack some snacks and don't forget to bring a blanket. The rest is taken care of by **Edinburgh'**s incredible nature.

There are plenty of other options: Edinburgh is a place full of the great outdoors and you're bound to find somewhere you'll love. Some of the places I recommend you consider are:

• Princes Street Gardens: A colourful and wonderfully ideal setting in Edinburgh's Old Town. Plus, there's always an ice cream truck close by, so you won't have to worry about dessert!
• The Meadows Park: This setting is so peaceful, you can even take a nap and enjoy the calmness of the place. Of course, there will be all kinds of people: groups of friends, families, people doing sport. The days are in bloom, and you'll be looking for some greenery. Nearby, I recommend the homemade ice cream from Luca's shop.

Although not as intensely celebrated as in the rest of the world, due to its largely Protestant religion, Easter still offers some attractions for those travelling to Edinburgh in April, especially if you're travelling with children. Especially if you're travelling with children.

For starters, you'll find the shops full of Easter bunny chocolates. And there are activities for all families, as the locals themselves will want to enjoy their own and their children's holidays.

In addition, the city often organises a number of activities for children at this time of year, such as Easter egg decorating workshops or hidden egg hunts.

Egg-rolling or egg-racing

One of the biggest traditions of this time of year in Edinburgh is the egg-rolling race. On this occasion, the little ones decorate their Easter eggs to let them fall down a gently sloping hill. They watch the eggs roll down the hillside and compete to see which one goes the furthest without breaking.

One of the places you can do this is Arthur's Seat mountain. If you spend Easter Monday there, you can come and watch the children chase their colourful eggs.

The Edinburgh S ightseeing Bus will be an ideal choice when you travel to Edinburgh in April. It's a double-decker bus with incredible views.

The best thing about this bus is that you can hop on and off as many times as you like. So it's a great way to make the most of some of the spring days on your days in Edinburgh in April.

The whole route takes about half an hour. It departs every 20 minutes and tickets are valid for 24, 48 or 72 hours (depending on which option you choose) from the first time you get on. It's ideal if you're not quite sure where you want to go yet - let us guide you.

April in Edinburgh is early spring. So you start to see the first sunny pictures, the first warm weather and quite a lot of blossom in Edinburgh's squares and parks.

There are usually about eight rainy days in the month, so you're likely to get some. Temperatures in Edinburgh in April range between 4°C and 8°C.

Because of the weather I've already mentioned, ideally, if you're travelling to Edinburgh in April to enjoy what to see and do in Edinburgh, you'll want to pack a mix of items so that you won't be caught out by any temperature surprises.

My recommendation is that, whatever you bring, you should bring a change of cool clothes, a warm coat, a windbreaker or mackintosh, and some comfortable shoes, both for the cold and the heat.

If you are travelling with your family, you can also bring a game or two to save the day if an insistent rain doesn't allow them to go out for a walk.

Within the above mentioned plans, there are several that you can choose from if it rains and you need to protect yourself from the rain when you travel to Edinburgh in April.

In case you haven't had enough, here are a few others:

• Visit the inside of Edinburgh Castle: here you can access all the information you need about visiting Edinburgh Castle.
• Take the Edinburgh Ghost and Horror Tour: Old Town, Cemetery and Underground Vaults. It lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes and is ideal, as long as you don't get too scared.
• Edinburgh Hard Rock Café Dinner: Includes a two or three-course dinner with refreshments.