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Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a city that begs to be explored, filled with quirky nooks and beautiful views.

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　　Independent bookshops don’t get lovelier than this. The Golden Hare boasts a top-notch selection of 'beautiful, unusual and interesting books', an enchanting children’s nook, and a small but perfectly formed events program. A must if you love books, book design and beautiful shops. ...

Must-see attractions

Fruitmarket Gallery

　　One of Edinburgh's most innovative and popular galleries, the Fruitmarket showcases the work of contemporary Scottish and international artists, and also has an excellent arts bookshop and cafe. ...

Gorgie City Farm

　　A working community smallholding with a range of farm animals (including woolly pigs!), a wildlife garden, a play park, a mini farm shop, and a pet lodge housing tortoises and chinchillas, Gorgie City Farm has been going for 30 years and was saved by a fundraising campaign in 2016. This...

　　The site of a cattle market from the 15th century until the start of the 20th century, the Grassmarket has always been a focal point of the Old Town. It was once the city's main place of execution, and over 100 martyred Covenanters are commemorated by a monument at the...

　　In Holyrood Park Edinburgh is blessed with a little bit of wilderness in the heart of the city. The former hunting ground of Scottish monarchs, the park covers 263 hectares of varied landscape, including crags, moorland and loch, and the 251m summit of Arthur's Seat. Holyrood Park can be circumnavigated...

Royal Scottish Academy

　　This Greek Doric temple, with its northern pediment crowned by a seated figure of Queen Victoria, is the home of the Royal Scottish Academy. Designed by William Playfair and built between 1823 and 1836, it was originally called the Royal Institution; the RSA took over the building in 1910. The...

Scottish National Gallery

　　Designed by William Playfair, this imposing classical building with its Ionic porticoes dates from 1850. Its octagonal rooms, lit by skylights, have been restored to their original Victorian decor of deep-green carpets and dark-red walls. The gallery houses an important collection of European art from the Renaissance to the post-Impressionism...

　　Set in the valley that runs beneath the Dean Bridge ('dene' is a Scots word for valley), Dean Village was founded as a milling community by the canons of Holyrood Abbey in the 12th century, and by 1700 there were 11 water mills here, grinding grain for flour. One of...

Camera Obscura & World of Illusions

　　Edinburgh's camera obscura is a curious 19th-century device – in constant use since 1853 – that uses lenses and mirrors to throw a live image of the city onto a large horizontal screen. The accompanying commentary is entertaining and the whole experience has a quirky charm, complemented by an intriguing...

Museum of Childhood

　　Halfway down the Royal Mile is 'the noisiest museum in the world'. Often filled with the chatter of excited children, it covers serious issues related to childhood – health, education, upbringing etc – but also has an enormous collection of toys, dolls, games and books, recordings of school lessons from...

　　Opened in 1913, Edinburgh Zoo is one of the world's leading conservation zoos. Edinburgh's captive breeding program has helped save many endangered species, including Siberian tigers, pygmy hippos and red pandas. The main attractions are the two giant pandas, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, who arrived in December 2011, and...

　　David I founded this abbey in the shadow of Salisbury Crags in 1128. It was probably named after a fragment of the True Cross (rood is an old Scots word for cross), said to have been brought to Scotland by David's mother, St Margaret. Most of the ruins date from...

Real Mary King's Close

　　Edinburgh's 18th-century City Chambers were built over the sealed-off remains of Mary King's Close, and the lower levels of this medieval Old Town alley have survived almost unchanged amid the foundations for 250 years. Now open to the public, this spooky, subterranean labyrinth gives a fascinating insight into the everyday...

　　The rocky peak of Arthur’s Seat (251m), carved by ice sheets from the deeply eroded stump of a long-extinct volcano, is a distinctive feature of Edinburgh’s skyline. The view from the summit is well worth the walk, extending from the Forth bridges in the west to the distant conical hill...

Palace of Holyroodhouse

　　This palace is the royal family's official residence in Scotland but is more famous as the 16th-century home of the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots. The highlight of the tour is Mary's Bedchamber, home to the unfortunate queen from 1561 to 1567. It was here that her jealous second husband,...

Royal Botanic Garden

　　Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden is the second-oldest institution of its kind in Britain (after Oxford), and one of the most respected in the world. Founded near Holyrood in 1670 and moved to its present location in 1823, its 70 beautifully landscaped acres include splendid Victorian glasshouses (admission £6.50), colourful swaths...

Scottish Parliament Building

　　The Scottish Parliament Building, on the site of a former brewery and designed by Catalan architect Enric Miralles (1955–2000), was opened by the Queen in October 2004. The ground plan of the complex is said to represent a 'flower of democracy rooted in Scottish soil' (best seen looking down from...

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

　　Edinburgh's gallery of modern art is split between two impressive neoclassical buildings surrounded by landscaped grounds some 500m west of Dean Village. As well as showcasing a stunning collection of paintings by the popular, post-Impressionist Scottish Colourists – in Reflections, Balloch, Leslie Hunter pulls off the improbable trick of making...

Royal Yacht Britannia

　　Built on Clydeside, the former Royal Yacht Britannia was the British Royal Family's floating holiday home during their foreign travels from the time of her launch in 1953 until her decommissioning in 1997, and is now permanently moored in front of Ocean Terminal. The tour, which you take at your...

Edinburgh Castle

　　Edinburgh Castle has played a pivotal role in Scottish history, both as a royal residence – King Malcolm Canmore (r 1058–93) and Queen Margaret first made their home here in the 11th century – and as a military stronghold. The castle last saw military action in 1745; from then until...

Latest stories from Edinburgh

　　A patch of countryside enclosed by the city’s southern suburbs, craggy Blackford Hill (164m) offers pleasant walking and splendid views. The panorama to the north takes in Edinburgh Castle atop its rock, the bristling spine of the Old Town, the monuments on Calton Hill and the ‘sleeping lion’ of Arthur’s...

Princes Street Gardens

Out of the Blue Drill Hall

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