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Destination Edinburgh

Edinburgh Attractions

These are just a few of the attractions that Edinburgh has to offer:

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle dominates the city centre, sitting astride the core of an extinct volcano, its three sides scoured almost vertical by glacial action. Although the castle looks impregnable, it often changed hands between the Scots and English throughout the centuries.

Visitors enter from the Esplanade, a parade ground where the changing of the guard occurs on the hour. Sites within the castle proper include Mills Mount Battery, where a gun salute takes place on weekdays; St Margaret's Chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh; the Palace, built between the 15th and 16th centuries; and the Scottish United Services Museum, which houses displays on the history of Scottish regiments.

The Castle is the best known landmark in Edinburgh and the former home of the Kings and Queens of Scotland.

The view from the castle is stunning but not nearly as breathtaking as the tour inside. A part of Scotland's heritage is packed into the windy halls and ancient chambers in all manner of relics and dramatic stories.

The real treasures on display though are Scotland's Honours; the Crown, Sword and Sceptre of the country and the Stone of Destiny upon which all of Scotland's Kings and Queen's were crowned.

Royal Mile

Following a ridge that runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace, the Royal Mile is one of the world's most fascinating streets. From the west end you can see beyond craggy Arthur's Seat and over the waters of the Firth of Forth, with tantalizing glimpses of the Old and New Towns through the closes (entrances) and wynds (alleyways) on either side. Although there are tourists and shops stuffed with tacky Scottish souvenirs aplenty, the street is lined with extraordinary buildings, including multistoried tenements dating from the 15th century.

If you'd like to know how whisky is manufactured, stop by the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre on Castlehill. It offers a tour with several audiovisual presentations and sells hundreds of different brands of whisky in its shop. Not far off (in distance, anyway) is the Highland Tolbooth Kirk, a church that boasts the tallest spire (71.7m, 239ft) on one of Edinburgh's highest points. Opposite the Kirk are the Assembly Rooms of the Church of Scotland, which are the temporary home of the new Scottish Parliament. On High St just east of the crossroads of Bank St and George IV Bridge lies Parliament Square, which is largely filled by St Giles' Cathedral. Inside the church, near the entrance, is a life-size statue of John Knox, minister from 1559 to 1572; from here he preached his uncompromising Calvinist message and launched the Scottish Reformation. At 42 High St, the Museum of Childhood attempts to cover the serious issues related to childhood - health, education and so on - but more enjoyable is the enormous collection of toys, dolls, games and books that fascinate children and bring childhood memories back for adults.

Grassmarket

Grassmarket is one of Edinburgh's nightlife centres, with numerous restaurants and pubs. An open area hedged by tall tenements and dominated by the looming castle, it can be approached from George IV Bridge, via Victoria St, an unusual two-tiered street clinging to the ridge below the Royal Mile, with some excellent shops. The site of a market from at least 1477 to the start of the 20th century, Grassmarket was always the focal point for the Old Town. This was the main place for executions and over 100 hanged Covenanters are commemorated with a cross at the east end. The notorious murderers Burke and Hare operated from a now vanished close off the west end. Around 1827 they enticed at least 18 victims here, suffocated them and sold the bodies to Edinburgh's medical schools. Leading off from the southeast corner, Candlemaker Row climbs back up to the George IV Bridge and Chambers St with the Royal Museum of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh's Old College.

Royal Museum of Scotland

The Royal Museum of Scotland, on Chambers St, is a Victorian building whose grey, solid exterior contrasts with its large, bright, galleried entrance hall of slim wrought-iron columns and glass roof. The museum houses an eclectic, comprehensive series of exhibitions. These range from the natural world (evolution, mammals, geology, fossils) to scientific and industrial technological development - with one section featuring the world's oldest steam locomotive, Wylam Dilly (1813) - to the decorative arts of ancient Egypt, Islam, China, Japan, Korea and the west. The adjacent Museum of Scotland, opened in 1998, houses archaeological artifacts from the old Museum of Antiquities. It shows the history of Scotland in chronological order starting with the country's earliest history in the basement.

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh is one of Britain's oldest, biggest and best universities: founded in 1583, it now has around 17,000 undergraduates. The students make a major contribution to the lively atmosphere of Grassmarket, Cowgate, and the nearby restaurants and pubs. The university sprawls for some distance, but the centre is the Old College (also called Old Quad), at the junction of South Bridge and Chambers St, a Robert Adam masterpiece designed in 1789, but not completed until 1834. Inside the Old College is the Talbot Rice Art Gallery, which houses a permanent, small collection of old masters, plus regular exhibitions of new work.

Greyfriars Kirk & Kirkyard

At the bottom of a stone canyon made up of tenements, churches, volcanic cliffs and the castle, Greyfriars Kirkyard is one of Edinburgh's most evocative spots - a peaceful oasis dotted with memorials and surrounded by Edinburgh's dramatic skyline. The Kirk (church) was built on the site of a Franciscan friary and opened for worship on Christmas Day 1620. In 1638, the National Covenant was signed inside near the pulpit. The covenant rejected Charles I's attempts to reintroduce episcopacy and a new English prayer book, and affirmed the independence of the Scottish church. Many who signed were later executed in Grassmarket and, in 1679, 1200 Covenanters were held prisoner in terrible conditions in an enclosure in the yard. There's a small exhibition inside.

Another area attraction stems from the story of Bobby, a Skye terrier who maintained a vigil over the grave of his master, an Edinburgh police officer, from 1858 to 1872. In the Kirk you can buy Greyfriars Bobby - The Real Story at Last, Forbes Macgregor's debunking of some of the myths surrounding Bobby. Bobby's grave is just inside the entrance to the Kirkyard.

Calton Hill

Calton Hill, at the east end of Princes St, is another distinctive component of Edinburgh's skyline, 100m (333ft) high and scattered with grandiose memorials mostly dating from the first half of the 19th century. Here you get one of the best views of Edinburgh, taking in the entire panorama - the castle, Holyrood, Arthur's Seat, the Firth of Forth, the New Town and Princes St.

Royal Observatory

Directly south of the city centre on Blackford Hill, the observatory was moved here from Calton Hill in 1896. In the visitor centre there's a multimedia gallery with computers and CD ROMs on astronomy, and there are terrific views of Edinburgh from the rooftop.

For Larger Groups, Destination Edinburgh are able to make group reservations for many of Edinburgh's top tourist attractions. If you require further information on this, or if you are a smaller group looking for more information on Edinburgh, please do not hesitate to get in touch.