Edinburgh Travel Guide provides an overview of the main attractions and places of interest and highlights useful tourist information and tips for visitors. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and from a visitors perspective the city has a plenty going for it, including world famous visitor attractions, tours and a wide variety of cuisine is available to suit all budgets. The city is host to some of the best galleries and museums in the UK, art aficionados and culture vultures will be especially at home here.
Overview and Attractions
The setting for the city is striking, the city is perched on a number of now extinct volcanoes and rocky crags which rise from the flat landscape of the Lothians. Whilst there is plenty of history and tradition in the capital city, the city also prides itself on being modern and dynamic. One that attracts international festivals with some of the world's leading performers, galleries with avant-garde art, and plenty of restaurants, bars and clubs that all combine to create a cosmopolitan atmosphere with a noticeable Scottish flavour.
Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline in the city and with over a thousand years of history it is not surprising it is a big tourist attraction, over a million people visit each year. Views from the top of the castle are a joy to behold, there are truly stunning views of the city in all directions. Looking north the mountains of The Kingdom of Fife are visible in the distance, looking below you will see the famous Princes Street Gardens.
Further up from Princes Street is George Street, one of the original Edinburgh Georgian New Town Streets. Edinburgh is well known for its shopping facilities and boasts an impressive range of shops, visitors will find that Edinburgh Shopping has plenty to offer, there are the historic high street shopping found at Princes Street and George Street well known for the famous name shops along with smaller independent shops. There are shopping centres such as Princes Street Shopping Centre and St James Street Centre located in the heart of the city offering visitors a range of shops to choose from.
The city currently has the most intact Georgian city in the whole of Europe. Edinburgh has had world heritage site status since 1995, in recognition to the history and culture of the city and acknowledging the great importance of the planning and architecture of the city. The main areas of the Edinburgh World Heritage Site include, the Landscape setting, Topography of Hills and Valleys and Juxtaposition of the Old and New Town. Also included are Historic Buildings and Parks, Gardens and Graveyards among others.
History is one thing Edinburgh is renowned for its origins back to the dark ages Edinburgh city centre can be thought of as divided in two, there is the Old Town that is situated in the area between the hilly terrain between the castle and Holyrood Palace and for a number of years the city was confined to these parameters. Later other development took place outside of the Old Town with a lot of building upwards instead of outwards.
Edinburgh's New Town is the other main area of the city that has areas such as George Street and Princes Street shopping areas. It also has the National Gallery of Scotland, exhibiting both Scottish and international art and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The Royal Botanic Garden is located here, a guided tour is a great way to enjoy and appreciate this attractive attraction. The New town also hosts Edinburgh Zoo, the daily penguin parades are among the more famous things to see, it is guaranteed to be a hit with the children
The compact nature of Edinburgh means it is possible to do a lot in a relatively short time span. Visitors to Edinburgh are unlikely to be short of things to do. During the day looking and the world-class art galleries and museums are popular with visitors, the city is also famous for its shopping so shoppers can indulge themselves here. At night, there are a number of theatres, restaurants, cafes and clubs. Edinburgh has an enviable reputation internationally as a Festival City lightly, as its incredible calendar of annual events clearly shows.
Edinburgh University is one of the oldest and largest in Scotland, the campus is located in the Old Town and blends in with the rest of the city. You may realise you are in a university town from the plaque on one of the buildings or when you see the students moving around between their lectures. The Old College dates from 1815, a small amount of the university is open to the public. One such area is the Talbot Rice Art Gallery where you can view the university's collection of Art. The Edinburgh campus is a nice place to go for a wonder and walking guides are available if you want to roam around.
The Royal Mile is one of the most famous streets in Edinburgh. As its name suggest it is a mile long and consists of four separate roads, High Street Castlehill, Lawnmarket, and Canongate. The area has enjoyed a boom in recent times and is seen as a desirable place to both live and work. The Royal Mile street has souvenir shops for visitors and some interesting buildings making it a popular place for visitors. High Street is a section in the Royal Mile, you will find the High Kirk of St. Giles, which has a stunning interior. Parliament Square has Law Courts and Parliament House. There is also the High Court of Judiciary, the City Chambers and the underground streets at Mary King's Close.
Canongate is another section of the Royal Mile. It has undergone a lot of re-generation, it houses The People's a museum that showcases life in the British Isles. The museum brings alive the sights, sounds from history including a prison cell, a servant at work, and a pub and tea room back from the 1940s, it really brings to life history to the modern day. The Museum of Edinburgh houses exhibitions that are Scottish in nature and you can visit the Scottish Poetry Library free of charge.
Edinburgh is synonymous with its various festivals one of these is the Edinburgh International Festival, a festival of performing arts that takes place over three weeks from around the middle of August. The International Festival brings world class performers of music, theatre, opera and dance from around the world to perform at the festival.
The festival began back in 1947 and has grown since then to the world acclaimed status it has today. The festival aims to be the most exciting and innovative Festival of the performing arts in the world and promote the culture, education for the people of Edinburgh and Scotland. It has grown to be a world wide draw and visitors from around the world now attend drawn to the innovation and dynamism shown at the festival.
The Hub is the home of the Edinburgh International Festival, The Hub is a stunning Gothic building located at the Royal Mile, close to the other great tourist draw in the city Edinburgh Castle. Inside are great collections of contemporary arts and craftwork. The Hub is open year round, has a restaurant, Cafe Hub, a Main Hall, a popular venue for concerts, banquets and parties.
There are also two other venues, the Dunard Library and the Glass Room, that are primarily used for meetings and parties. The Edinburg Festival Fringe is the world's largest arts festival, it began in 1947 with the official festival with eight theatre companies that arrived uninvited. It now attracts a huge range of arts performers and also takes place around the middle of August each year.
The New Year celebrations in Edinburgh are internationally renowned they centre on the Hogmanay Celebrations. Edinburgh's Hogmanay is a 4 day festival that makes the city home to one of the most spectacular New Year celebrations in the world. Hogmanay is the New Year in Scotland and in Edinburgh, Hogmanay has evolved into a four day Winter Festival that annually takes place from 29 December to 1st January. The events include the Torch Light Procession where a Viking warship is taken up to Carlton Hill. On arriving at the hill firework displays light up the night sky.
The Hogmanay street party in Edinburgh is the main reason visitors come from all over the world to spend New Year's in Edinburgh. Over the years, this centrepiece of Edinburgh's Hogmanay has become a huge event with all tickets sold out well before the night itself.
The Hogmanay party takes place in Edinburgh City Centre with around 100,000 people taking to the streets. Music and dancing takes place along the entire length of Princes Street, Waverley Bridge and in Princes Street Gardens. Each year the party has become more elaborate and something new is added to keep the visitors coming back for more. One of the more interesting aspects of the party are shortly after midnight when people start hugging and kissing each other, regardless of whether they are acquainted or not. The crowd then sings Auld Lang Syne, the traditional New Year song with lyrics from Robert Burns, Scotland's celebrated poet.
Edinburgh is a popular city to visit with a number of attractions and points of interest in the city. With a celebrated arts and cultural scene it combines history, culture, arts, festivals and parties ensuring there is something for all visitors to the city. The city has become a popular short breaks destination in recent years with good transport links to the rest of the UK.
Disclaimer: The information given in on this website is given in good faith and to the best of our knowledge. If there are any discrepancies in no way do we intend to mislead. Important travel details and arrangements should be confirmed and verified with the relevant authorities.
