Scotland: Edinburgh

Edinburgh has been the capital city of Scotland since 1437 and, unusually, is only the second largest city in the country (the largest by population is nearby Glasgow) and the seventh largest in the UK. Home to the Scottish Parliament Edinburgh is a lively and cosmopolitan city with distinctive architecture from various periods of time. Author Sir Walter Scott called the city his "own Romantic town" and many of the places to visit certainly have romantic histories though many also have a rather sinister past.

The city is situated on a series of extinct volcanoes and rocky crags making the setting rather striking. Edinburgh can be split into two distinct parts, at Princes Street Gardens, the New Town (to the north) and the Old Town. At a later date I will write in much more detail about these parts of the city but, for now, I shall concentrate on providing information about some of the most popular places to visit in Edinburgh.

Although there are numerous places well worth visiting most visitors arrive to enjoy one of the many festivals held in the city each year. Each August/September the city sees more than one million visitors arriving for the Edinburgh Festival, the largest arts festival in the world. In the middle of winter (31 December) the city hosts the largest street party in the world, Hogmanay, which is a ticketed event. Obviously during these times finding accommodation in Edinburgh can be rather tricky so it is always best to book well in advance.

Page Contents (Scroll down to view more)
Places To Visit In Edinburgh
Places To Visit Near Edinburgh
Getting To Edinburgh
Edinburgh Hotels & Accommodation

Places To Visit In Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle
One of Scotland's most popular attractions

Edinburgh New Town

Edinburgh Old Town

Royal Mile
The ridge linking Holyrood to the Castle. Although really one road it is divided into four, Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street and Canongate. Well worth taking your time looking around but it can get rather busy at the peak of the summer season.

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Holyrood Abbey
The ruined remains of a once incredibly important religious building, part of which dates back to Norman times. Sufficient parts, including one of the twin towers, remain to make this a worthwhile place to visit.

High Kirk of St Giles

Arthur's Seat
Edinburgh's most prominent landmark, the extinct volcano is said to look like a crouched lion when viewed from the west. The finest views across the city can be had from here and the pleasant walk is not as difficult as it looks!

Royal Botanic Gardens (Palmhouse shown above)

National Museum of Scotland
The elegantly designed building the finest museum in Scotland which only opened in 1998 but is already world renowned. It is well worth taking one of the free guided tours to get the very most from your visit.

National Gallery of Scotland

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

Greyfriars Kirkyard
A fascinating graveyard dating from the 17th Century featuring ornate funerary monuments. The statue of Greyfriars Bobby can be found on the south western corner of George IV Bridge opposite the Museum of Scotland.

Places To Visit Near Edinburgh

Glasgow
About an hour away from Edinburgh (42 miles)

Scottish Seabird Centre
Scotland has a fantastic range of bird life with many native species and a huge variety of species which visit throughout the year.

Tantallon Castle
A superb ruined castle standing on a commanding cliff with a sheer drop on all but one side, roughly 3 miles from North Berwick.

Rosslyn Chapel
Fascinating late-Gothic, richly decorated and highly popular attraction with believed associations with the Knights Templar and their "missing" stash of gold.

Linlithgow Palace
A superb 15th Century ruin with a deep history and best known for being the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots.

Forth Rail Bridge
An unusual but surprisingly popular visitor attraction this spectacular achievement of the Victorian Era. It took some 50,000 tons of steel to produce the cantilevered bridge which needs to be continually repainted although various efforts have been made to produce a coating that will last sufficiently long so that this continual process may be ceased for at least some time.

Getting To Edinburgh

Being the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh transport links are superb and it is incredibly easy to get there. Once at the centre of the city the vast majority of places to visit fall within a half mile radius and are accessible on foot. The only important thing to note is that Edinburgh International Airport is some seven miles west of the city centre. Thankfully the airport is very close to the M8 motorway and there are plenty of taxi cabs available plus regular Airbus shuttle buses and local buses running to the city centre and Waverley Railway Station.

Nearest Railway Stations	Nearest Car Parks	Nearest Airports
Waverley Station	Castle Terrace NCP	Edinburgh International Airport
	Johnston Terrace NCP	Tel: +44 (0) 870 040 0007
	Disable at Castle Tel: 0131 310 5114

Tourist Information

The main tourist information office is located on top of Princes Mall. Although not easily seen it can be accessed via stairways leading up from the main entrance of Princes Mall, close to the northern entrance of the railway station.

Hotels In Edinburgh

See Also: Edinburgh Apartments

(Hotels closest to Edinburgh city centre first)

Name	Miles	Location	Star
Jurys Inn Edinburgh 43 Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DH Rooms from: £69.00*	0.1	Edinburgh	3*
The Balmoral A Rocco Forte Hotel 1 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2EQ Rooms from: £185.00*	0.1	Edinburgh	5*
The Scotsman 20 North Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1TR Rooms from: £140.00*	0.1	Edinburgh	5*
Barcelo Edinburgh Carlton Hotel 19 North Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1SD Rooms from: £90.00*	0.1	Edinburgh	4*
Apex Waterloo Place Hotel 23 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3BG Rooms from: £99.00*	0.1	Edinburgh	4*
Royal Mile Residence 219 High Street, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh, EH1 1PE Rooms from: £85.00*	0.1	Edinburgh	5*A
The King James by Thistle 107 Leith Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3SW Rooms from: £69.00*	0.1	Edinburgh	4*
Royal British Hotel 20 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2AN Rooms from: £48.00*	0.1	Edinburgh	3*
Edinburgh Accommodation Edinburgh, EH1 1PE Rooms from: £130.00*	0.2		4*A
Radisson Blu Hotel Edinburgh 80 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1TH Rooms from: £145.00*	0.2	Edinburgh	4*
Ibis Edinburgh Centre 6 Hunter Square, Edinburgh, EH1 1QW Rooms from: £76.00*	0.2	Edinburgh	2*
Parliament House Hotel 15 Calton Hill, Edinburgh, EH1 3BJ Rooms from: £50.00*	0.2	Edinburgh	3*
Smart City Hostel Edinburgh 50 Blackfriars Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1NE Rooms from: £13.00*	0.2	Edinburgh	5*h
Old Waverley Hotel 43 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2BY Rooms from: £75.00*	0.2	Edinburgh	3*
Fraser Suites Edinburgh 12-26 St Giles Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1PT Rooms from: £100.00*	0.2	Edinburgh	4*
Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh Royal Mile 300 Cowgate, Edinburgh, EH1 1NA Rooms from: £99.99*	0.2	Edinburgh	3*
Ramada Edinburgh Mount Royal Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2DG Rooms from: £85.00*	0.2	Edinburgh	3*
Bank Hotel 1 South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1LL Rooms from: £115.50*	0.3	Edinburgh	3*
Euro Hostels Edinburgh Halls Kincaids Court Cowgate (cnr Guthrie St), Edinburgh, EH1 1JT	0.3	Edinburgh	3*S
Royal Mile Accommodation Old Tolbooth Wynd, Edinburgh, EH8 8EQ Rooms from: £79.00*	0.3	Edinburgh	4*A