Scottish city among best in world for family-friendly winter holidays

A SCOTTISH city has been named one of the world’s best family-friendly winter holiday destinations.

With Christmas fast approaching, many of us are booking a last-minute trip away or thinking about how to escape the dreary January weather.

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With this in mind, travel experts at SkyParkSecure analysed the top places to visit this festive season.

The study narrowed down the top destinations across the globe based on nine factors:

• Crime rate
• Average cost for a meal for four
• Number of family-friendly hotels
• Number of activities that are good for kids
• Pollution levels
• Average cost of transport
• Number of family friendly restaurants
• Number of activities with free entry
• Number of parks

Researchers gave each location a total score and created a list of the best areas in the world to visit with your family during winter.

Edinburgh made it into eighth place, with 909 family-friendly hotels, 899 restaurants, and 477 free attractions.

Kids will love the free Potter Trail that takes you past key sights from the Harry Potter books and movies.

Youngsters can take a trip down Diagon Alley, and see the cafes where JK Rowling wrote much of the iconic series.

If you’re with the whole family, you can also take a trip to The Chocolatarium where you can make your own creations, or the Wild West Cowboy Street, where visitors are transported to an old western movie, featuring cowboys and saloons.

On the other side of the globe, Tokyo placed second, with 130 parks to visit and 2858 family friendly hotels to choose from.

London took the top spot for the best winter family holiday destination, however.

The UK capital has the greatest number of family friendly hotels and the second highest number of restaurants, according to the study.

The Big Smoke boasts the best place for kids’ activities at 707; as well as 1,000 attractions offering free entry – the most on the list, which is perfect if you’re trying to have fun on a budget.

The full ranking is as follows:

1. London, UK – 64
2. Tokyo, Japan – 63
3. Paris, France – 54
4. Hong Kong, China – 50
5. Prague, Czech Republic – 48
6. Taipei, Taiwan – 43
7. New York City, USA – 42
8. Edinburgh, Scotland – 39
9. Dubrovnik, Croatia – 39
10. Seoul, South Korea – 39