Was here for an improv festival and this is such a nice venue! Smart to have a cafe and hangout…read morearea for people to gather before or after shows and have a drink or a bite to eat. Lovely facility and very convenient being right on the Royal Mile.

Excellent story telling venue. We heard a Viking story called "Walk the Oars." If you get a…read morechance, don't miss it. You will participate in a story of an adventure from a fiord to Shetland. Quite an adventure, but my arms are tired from all the rowing!

This year I was able to visit Edinburgh during the fringe festival. The city's atmosphere is…read morefantastic, full of music and performers and of course drinks. Throughout the city center, Assembly set up outdoor beer gardens complete with food trucks and performance spaces. Two large bars occupy opposite corners of the square with many specialty drink stations along the way. This year Edinburgh Gin was a big sponsor of the festival so many fancy gin drinks were available (I love gin so this worked in my favor heavily). Food trucks line the outer perimeter with huge variety in cuisines (tacos, greek, pad thai). During the day, families can picnic on the "grass" with their kids rolling about. I even saw a few magician shows offered to appease your children while you continue to day drink. Once stumbling upon George Square, I made sure to return. They are open much later than many of the bars and offer a great relaxed space to end your night rather peacefully. If you're lucky, you are able to grab seating under one of the many heat lamps set up for the cold, Scottish, summer nights. If not, huddle up for warmth and get to drinking. Beers, wine and cocktails cost anywhere from 3-5 pounds.

This is one of my favourite gardens to hang out in during festival time, which is probably…read moresurprising given it has a decent sized kiddies play area which would usually drive me potty. Here though it's outweighed by the strength of the food offering, both the line of food vans outside the entrance lining the cobblestones and also inside the enclosure. A chicken pad thai from Pad BKK this year would set you back £6 and was a great pick-me-up (or maybe that was the effect of the chillies). The next day my mate enjoyed his Well Hung And Tender burger (as well as the name) whilst I grabbed a tasty veggie dumplings with sweet chilli sauce snack from the Wings vs Dumplings van nextdoor, which was making a new appearance for this year. There's enought variety to cover any fussy eater friends I would think. Another plus point is the toilets. Portaloos yes, but kept among the cleanest at the festival so well done them. The gardens also have 2 spacious bars, one at either end, as well as other counters serving coffee and cake type snacks - so the whole place lends itself nicely to all day chilling. The patio heaters scattered around are good to cosy up to when it gets a bit chilly, though there isn't much cover from the inevitable rain - but obviously you wouldn't leave the house without a cagoule and a brolly in Edinburgh now would you?! Best enjoyed with friends in the early evening when all the lovely coloured fairy lights around the edge turn on :)

Ok first off... it took me nearly a week to realize this was an upside down cow. I kid you not…read more From afar, I thought it was an octopus, so this review might be swayed by the fact that i'm just super happy I understand the name. ... good start Jody. ANYHOW, from how I understand it, this is a new location for this spot... stage... area. It's tucked amidst the chaos of George Square Gardens, which means, like every other place in and around Edinburgh: it's bloody crazy. However, the bars were quick to hand me beer and queue free, the picnic tables... are there, the people watching is excellent. Really, that's all you need for a decent day: beer, a place to sit and endless entertainment. It's got a laid back beer garden vibe to it, which makes me overlook the rather dive barish feel. But I also like dive bars. Rambling story short: i'm ok with the fact that it is a little rough around the edges. I also tip the hat to these folks as some of my favourite shows so far have been featured under the Underbelly name (sidenote: can someone please explain if it is Udder or Under... because their website uses both). Austentatious and Smoothed Face Gentlemen are both very much worth checking out, plus they play host to Barbu which is high on my list of "must sees". It's a giant inflatable cow that calls you towards beer and good theatre. Yeah, i'm a fan.

Iconic festival venue popular as a tourist base for beverages. Service at the bar will mature with…read moretime, but is endearing none the less. Intriguing loud noises from the cow spill onto the 'grassed' area and the atmosphere is charging, set for another August. Ideal place to read reviews, chat to artists, and make a festival plan. Inside the belly is a fantastic tiered stage which creates an intimate and emotionally charged feel for any show. Drop by the purple pig to absorb drinks, atmosphere, knowledge and people.

I just sort of stumbled upon the West End fair whilst I was walking past St John's across from…read morePrinces Street. The place was bustling with people, flitting around about 100 independent stalls on the grounds below. Each stall has something different to browse and we ended up spending a good whack of time there until the rain ruined our fun. Jewellery, clothing, original artwork, candles, stationary, clocks, glassware and loads more were set up in the grounds, all selling really gorgeous unique things that would make ideal gifts for others or yourself! My particular favourites were the jewellery stalls, of which there were many, including designs by Eclectic Shock, which uses vintage jewellery to make newer pieces, Jolly Good, a cutesy Kitsch stall using plastics and old scrabble pieces to make cool jewellery and Syrah Jay, really unique bracelets and necklaces made from beads and felt. I also loved the more artistic, hand-crafted stalls, with Stephen O'Neil being my absolute favourite with his bold digital art prints of landmarks in Edinburgh and Glasgow, including an Irn-Bru bottle and Tunnocks tea-cake! Another highlight were sheep and bull footstools which were beautiful, and made by The BoPeep Sheep Company. They were absolutely awesome! This wee festival is fantastic! There is a cafe on-site if you need to re-fuel and plenty of seating to take some tea outside and soak up the atmosphere. Hurry though because it only runs from the 7th to the 29th of August, 11am until 6pm.

Part jumble sale, part celebration of local street food, part musical festival. - The eclectic…read morenature of the Meadows Festival is exactly why I love it. You could wander and soak it all in for an hour or two. Many stalls are from local businesses, some from local charities and others turning out their pre-loved goods or clothes. Some stalls even have 20p and 50p tables. It is amazing to see what's on offer, and certainly makes for some fun hunting for treasure. There's a great energy and a family friendly atmosphere present, and there really is something for everyone. It's also over the whole weekend, so if you can't make the Saturday, you can pop down on Sunday instead. If you think the Meadows comes to life when the sun is shining, then the Meadows Fest is a whole other story. - One that I hope I can relive again and again.

Back in 2008 i found myself behind the big red door during the festival. I'd come straight from a…read moregig still wearing my suit and was greeted by a carnival of madly dressed revellers. Amongst the many visual treets were: Mazula Hula, a frankly stunning hula artist; a couple dressed as bedraggled beggers, who performed a shakespear soliloque whilst pole dancing; and the lovely Raise Your Hem performed a set. All in all a magical evening for me! fast forward to last tuesday, and i strolled up to the BRD to get involved in one of their many workshops. (details can be found here: http://bigreddoor.wordpress.com/workshop-program/ ) The tuesday event I choose to attend was their physical comedy & improvisation night (well why wouldnt I?) being led by Lisette Boxman a lovely dutch lady with many years of experience of physical comedy. We got doing a load of cool wee exercises and games working with differnet body parts and odd scenarios (I was incredibly happy I got to play zombie for a scene) All in all I had a grand time. don't be scared to go to any of the events alone, everyone there is super friendly and cool. Add to that the workshops are well cheap (about a fiver a pop for 2 hours, bargain!) so really i'd say you've NO reason not to check this place out

The Big Red Door is one of the most unique spaces in Edinburgh. There, they hold a variety of…read moreworkshops and events, from trapeze workshops to art shows and gigs. Other workshops include circus workshops, juggling, costume-making, drumming, acrobatics and stilting. It's the home of the tepooka group, who put on shows every year at the Edinburgh Fringe. Tepooka is a community arts charity, and you'll find that, like the Forest Cafe, the space is predominantly run by volunteers. There's also a bar that is open on the occasions that they have a liquor license, though they only serve beer, wine and cider. Very good beer, wine a cider. I.e. Williams Bros Ale and Cairn O'Mohr wine. Sometimes the events held are BYOB. For the last year, they've been in a financial rut, so become a member for under 5 pounds and that way you can attend members-only nights. And you'd be supporting a good cause. The space is absolutely stunning. It has three floors, and incredibly high ceilings. Definitely stop by and have a look.

I've no idea who designed this building, but it's must be up there with some of the most…read moreill-conceived designs in history. The huge dome roof helps to maintain greenhouse temperatures in summer and igloo temperatures in winter. Lucky, then, that it turns into one of the best festival venues during August. The Dome (Potterrow, for the rest of the year) plays host to a huge variety of shows - there's comedy, drama, music and dance. They get many of the top names - the shows are put on by the London based Pleasance theatre, and there's no shortage of quality. There's also bars, a festival version of the mosque kitchen (which you really shouldn't go to - as Alex C. says, the most is literally a minutes walk away and much cheaper) and lots of seating space. It's also open till 5am, and it's always nice walking home during daylight. 4* for the venue, 1* for the roof.

As an Edinburgh University student, Potterow, as it is known during the larger part of the year is…read moreprobably my least favourite union building. For one, it lacks any architectural attributes (in my opinion) and is usually the coldest during the long winter months. Funny enough, I can still picture it as the perfect festival venue. That ridiculous dome can finally be put to good use! It's fantastic location-wise, because the other venues are very close by (Teviot, George Square Theatre) forming part of what I like to call the performance hub! I have to bow to the organizers and say it's really been transformed into an attractive venue.

Just minutes away from the Grassmarket, in an area often dubbed the 'pubic triangle' due to the…read moreabundance of lap dancing clubs there, is Edinburgh's secret book district, the West Port, where shops full of fascinating and various aged tomes can be found. I love this part of town all year round, but especially at the end of June when it plays host to the West Port Book Festival, an awesome literary event that still has something of an underground feel. Providing a real contrast to the slickly commercial International Book Festival in August, this independent festival gives you the opportunity to experience local writers speaking about their work at close quarters. Most of the events take place in the West Port bookshops where audiences cram into tiny spaces, sitting on rickety stools or perching on a book ladder while listening to some Jamaican poetry, say, or a talk about Ancient Greece. The programme is pretty varied, and best of all, every event is free, so there's no excuse not to wander down to the West Port and perhaps discover something new.

The Westport Book Festival is delicious, in as far as a non-culinary festival can be delicious. It…read moretakes place every June, around the end of the month in the area sandwiched between Grassmarket and the Pubic Triangle (where they kind of overlap), that houses an amazing collection of second-hand bookshops. It is, in a nutshell, the second hand bookshop's response to the overly glamorous Edinburgh International Book Festival. How? It's free. It's intimate. And it has a sense of humour. When speaking to Colin Fraser, the festival social media guy, he told me about how he wanted to have events held, not only in the bookshops in the area, but in Edinburgh infamous Burke & Hare strip club. I'd totally attend. Would you?