The city: Pubs & Bars
Posted on Sunday, September 19 @ 07:28:30 PDT by poster
Edinburgh has always been a drinker's city. The 18th-century poets Robert Fergusson and Robert Burns spent much of their time in - and drew inspiration from - Edinburgh's public houses, and rather than attend his law lectures at Edinburgh University, the young Robert Louis Stevenson preferred to haunt the city's many howffs (drinking dens) - a practice perpetuated by many Edinburgh students to this day.
Although many city-centre pubs have been 'themed' or converted into vast drinking halls catering to office workers unwinding at the end of the day, the local, neighbourhood bar is still a social centre, where you can meet friends, watch the football on TV, listen to live music or take part in the Tuesday night quiz. Edinburgh has over 700 bars that are as varied as the population... everything from Victorian palaces to rough-and-ready drinking dens, and from real-ale howffs to trendy cocktail bars.
Bars generally open from 11am to 11pm, Monday to Saturday, and 12.30pm to 11pm on Sunday. Many have a late licence on Friday and Saturday, when they stay open till midnight or 1am, while a few party on until 3am. The bell for last orders rings about 15 minutes before closing time and you're allowed 15 minutes' drinking-up time after the bar closes.
