This was my first time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (can you believe) and I felt like a bit of a rabbit in the headlights not knowing how it all worked. So I’ve decided to give you my top tips on coping with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!
- Get a taxi from the train station to your hotel (even if Google maps only says it’s a ten minute walk) because Edinburgh is an old city and there are lots of steep hills and old staircases throughout the city that are hard enough to deal with without the added issue of a suit case to contend with!
- Plan what shows you want to see and book in advance as a lot of things do sell out before the day of the show.
- If you need to collect your tickets before the show get there early as there can be long queues at the box office as people can be queuing for multiple shows.
- Leave plenty of time to get from venue to venue. The streets will be busy and hot footing it around the city isn’t easy.
- Make sure you go to the correct venue!! Some big venues like the Pleasance have a few different venues dotted around the city. Make sure you know exactly which one you are supposed to be going to, as if you are running from one show to the next only to find out you’re at the wrong venue then there is a chance you won’t be able to make it over to the right place in time! (This happened to me!)
- Most venues are churning shows out all day long and so there is likely to be a different show ending five minutes before your show starts. Because of this the audience will line up outside the venue before the show and then the show will start very shortly after you are allowed in. Get there early if you want to get a good seat and queue up.
- Eat and drink when you can. If you’re packing your days with as many shows as you can (you could do up to five or six a day if you wanted to and many people do) then going for a nice lunch or dinner somewhere may be difficult. Luckily there are lots of food stalls and bars inside a lot of the venue complexes so finding it isn’t a problem. Just grab something on the go.
- Bring a coat. Despite being August, this is Scotland and even on the warmest of days the weather can suddenly turn grey and start to rain. It also gets pretty windy so prepare for all eventualities.
So there are a few top tips for you if you’re travelling to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the first time. I was only there for three days this year and it flew by so fast. Hopefully next year I will stay for longer!
West End Wilma