Edinburgh is renowned for its year-round festivals, vibrant nightlife and lively arts scene – it truly stands as a cultural epicenter. Edinburgh also hosts an open door policy at The Scottish Parliament Building where visitors can visit its debating chamber or watch Parliament in session! If visiting during session time, visitors are also given a tour.
Scotland’s hilly capital city, Edinburgh is crowned by a castle which houses Scotland’s crown jewels and coronations stone of Destiny used to crown Scottish monarchs. Other highlights of Edinburgh include Old Town with its traditional British architecture as well as Georgian New Town which features elegant gardens and neoclassical buildings reminiscent of Georgia.
UNESCO City of Literature
Edinburgh was honored with UNESCO’s City of Literature title when the initiative first debuted in 2004. This accolade recognizes cities with both an extensive literary history and vibrant literary scenes; Edinburgh boasts famous authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), JK Rowling, Robert Louis Stevenson and Walter Scott all having lived there at one time or another. Furthermore, Edinburgh boasts the world’s oldest circulating library – established in 1725 – and hosts one of the world’s largest book festivals every year.
The city’s compact and hilly terrain makes for ideal walking, and many structures from its medieval past remain unchanged from their original forms. Charming medieval relics mingle with Georgian townhouses and New Town’s neoclassical buildings; Arthur’s Seat and Calton Hill tower above all while museums and historic sites add another dimension.
Edinburgh provides visitors who want to delve deeper into its rich history with several tours that provide visitors with an immersive time travel experience through its past residents’ histories, such as the spooky Blair Street Underground Vaults tour. There are also ghost and history tours such as Witches; Trial And Truth which delves into Scotland’s notorious witch trials of 16th Century Scotland, Mary King’s Close or Greyfriars Cemetery tours which visitors may take part in as well as pubs and cafes where visitors can relax with reading or drinks!
The Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh is a devolved parliament that governs laws, matters, and policies impacting Scotland. Not all areas of governance fall within its purview – for example justice systems such as police and crime reporting as well as housing, environmental protection measures, agriculture fisheries policy as well as aspects of transport policy are handled separately by UK Parliament in London.
The Scottish Parliament oversees the work of the Scottish Government, creates new laws on devolved matters, and discusses issues of importance to its constituents. Members, known as MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament), are chosen by eligible voters through an electoral system in which ballots are cast in favour of those they believe would best govern Scotland – known as political parties which typically consist of people with similar ideas for running their country.
Each MSP belongs to at least one committee, which are charged with reviewing proposed legislation, conducting inquiries and gathering evidence; developing policy; considering all viewpoints; and voting on business or issues. A quorum of three members must be present for any vote to occur, while Parliament’s Business Committee recommends the establishment, terms of reference, membership and budget of each committee as well as overseeing their operation and procedures; some meet at various locations across Scotland while others assemble at Holyrood.
The Royal Mile
The Royal Mile connects Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace and serves as home for old and new parliament buildings, churches and cathedrals, law courts, museums and various visitor attractions and walking tours. A cultural treasure rich with ancient buildings, cobbled streets and secret underground passageways – it makes up an amazing cultural and historic gem!
The Scottish Parliament Building is an arresting structure that rises out of Old Town like Arthur’s Seat, mixing wild angles with lots of light and bold windows in local stone and oak, to form an image that seems to emanate from its peak. Visitors are invited to tour the building while, if Parliament is in session, can view its Debating Chambers.
Gladstone’s Land is one of the oldest houses on Royal Mile and now serves as a museum. Costumed tour guides take visitors through this 6-story tenement house to show how life was in 17th-century London.
Advocate’s Close is another old home dating back to Edinburgh’s medieval past that takes visitors through a narrow alleyway (known as a “close”) that was locked at night to keep out unwanted visitors such as raiders or plague. There are approximately 66 closes along Royal Mile and other streets within Old Town that remain active today.
Nearby you’ll find The Witches’ Well, an Edinburgh 19th-century thinker-commissioned statue commemorating all those women executed and burnt at the stake for being witches during 16th and 17th century Europe. As you pass nearby, locals might spit on their hearts occasionally in an effort to protect against bad luck.
The Castle
Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh is an ancient city with modern vitality. Cobbled streets, towering castle, stunning architecture and cobbled alleyways create its allure; commonly referred to as Auld Reekie or Britain’s Athens by locals. Edinburgh has long been associated with royal and religious matters that spur passion as well as excitement for future generations.
Edinburgh Castle lies at the core of city, making Edinburgh one of Europe’s most historic cities. Set upon a rocky outcrop and protected by steep slopes and cliffs – perfect for defence!
This rock protected an area of softer bedrock from erosion by glacial ice during the Last Glacial Maximum, creating a “crag and tail” formation with the castle perched high upon one crag and Old Town following down its “tail”. Within its walls were many functions performed within its walls including:
At its heart lies its most celebrated function – ceremonial seat of Scottish monarchs. Here resides their crown, sceptre and sword of state – the Honours of Scotland – alongside historic paintings, sculpture masterpieces and magical amulets such as JK Rowling’s Stone of Destiny which serves as coronation stone for both Scottish and English monarchs. If you love history this site is worth seeing regardless – whether J.K Rowling fanatic or history enthusiast!
The Royal Botanic Gardens
The Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh (RBGE) is one of the world’s great botanical gardens and a world-renowned center for plant science. Their collections span four sites – Edinburgh, Dawyck, Logan, and Benmore – each of which features its own distinct climate as well as specific plant groups for study.
The Gardens serve many functions, from scientific research and education to public enjoyment. Their collection boasts more than three million preserved plant specimens; while their herbarium, located on Edinburgh site, is considered world-leading botanical collection.
RBGE’s historic landscape offers inspiration, tranquillity and discovery for all visitors. Its collections span the centuries to show its transformation from royal retreat and pleasure garden into national botanical and horticultural garden and conserving ecology institution.
RBGE boasts an extensive outdoor collection and ten greenhouses divided by climate zones that house palms, tropical rainforest plants and tree ferns from the southern hemisphere, temperate and sub-tropical plants from Britain as well as alpine plants from Norway and alpines from Sweden. Furthermore, there is an amazing Rock Garden featuring alpine species from around the world; and features Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art which showcases paintings by Georg D Ehret, Bauer brothers, Pierre-Joseph Redoute. Furthermore, open throughout the year, these gardens make an amazing day trip for all.
The Royal Yacht Britannia
If you’re visiting Edinburgh with children, take advantage of free entry to the Royal Yacht Britannia – this historic ship served as home for Her Majesty the Queen and her family during their overseas travels from 1953 until 1997, covering over one million miles! Now serving as both visitor attraction and exclusive evening events venue.
Visit this landmark and experience five accessible decks either independently or with an audio guide (available in 30 languages) as you tour them, featuring a tea room serving soups, sandwiches, cakes and scones; while also taking in stunning waterfront views from its Royal Deck. It is also an ideal setting for weddings and other celebrations of special significance.
HMY Britannia was launched from John Brown & Company shipyard on the Clyde in 1953 and officially named by Her Majesty the Queen, becoming a centerpiece for glamorous state visits and receptions during her service life. Furthermore, it played an instrumental role in hosting Royal Family cruises around Western Isles annually as well as acting as an effective representative of British industry abroad.
Decommissioning of HMY Britannia in 1997 was deeply upsetting to the Royal family, with Queen Elizabeth weeping upon its departure. Today, she remains at Port of Leith moored to Royal Yacht Britannia Trust’s maintenance. Their aim is to preserve it for future generations allowing guests to explore its various rooms on board while learning of her rich history.