Holiday Destination: Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and the seat of the Scottish Parliament. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30 square miles rural area. Located in the south east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea. The city was one of the historical major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, helping to earn it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of the unique character of the Medieval Old Town and the planned Georgian New Town. It covers both the Old and New Towns together with the Dean Village and the Calton Hill areas. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city.

Climate

Summer 17 °C (63 °F), Winter 1 °C (34 °F)

Tourist Season

Summer is best season for tourism in Edinburgh.

Accommodation

Hotels and Apartments.

General Information Of Edinburgh

• Land Area: 100.00 sq mi (259.0 km2)
• Population: 4 Lakh.
• Capital City: Edinburgh.
• Language: English.

Tourist Attraction in or Near by Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century its principal role was as a military base with a large garrison. Its importance as a historic monument was recognised from the 19th century, and various restoration programmes have been carried out since. Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions.

Greyfriars Kirkyard

Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at Greyfriars. The Kirkyard is operated by City of Edinburgh Council in liaison with a charitable trust, which is linked to but separate from the church. The Kirkyard and its monuments are protected as a category A listed building.

Our Dynamic Earth

Our Dynamic Earth is a science centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a prominent visitors attraction in the city, and also functions as a conference venue. It sits in the Holyrood area, beside the Scottish Parliament building and at the foot of Arthur's Seat. The centre opened in 1999 as one of the first major projects supported by the UK's Millennium Commission. The project was the centrepiece of an urban regeneration plan which served to bring vitality to the former industrial land at the lower end of the Royal Mile and is housed within a distinctive landmark building, the William Younger Centre. The building's structure consists of a steel mast-supported membrane stretched over a steel skeleton. It was designed by architects Michael Hopkins and Partners.

Arthur's Seat A huge hill

Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design. It is situated in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 250.5 m, provides excellent panoramic views of the city, is relatively easy to climb, and is popular for hillwalking. Though it can be climbed from almost any direction, the easiest and simplest ascent is from the east, where a grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch. Many claim that its name is derived from the myriad legends pertaining to King Arthur, such as the reference in Y Gododdin. Some support for this theory may be provided by the fact that several other hilltop and mountaintop features in Britain bear the same or similar names, such as the peak of Ben Arthur in the western highlands, sometimes known as Arthur's Seat, and Arthur's Chair on the ridge called Stone Arthur in the Cumbrian lake district.

National Gallery of Scotland

The Scottish National Gallery is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, in a neoclassical building designed by William Henry Playfair, and first opened to the public in 1859. The gallery houses the Scottish national collection of fine art, including Scottish and international art from the beginning of the Renaissance up to the start of the 20th century. It began to acquire paintings, and in 1828 the Royal Institution building opened on the Mound. In 1826, the Scottish Academy was founded by a group of artists as an offshoot of the Royal Institution, and in 1838 it became the Royal Scottish Academy. It began to build up a collection and from 1835 rented exhibition space within the Royal Institution building.

Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo, formally the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an 82-acre non profit zoological park located in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The mission statement of Edinburgh Zoo is excite and inspire our visitors with the wonder of living animals, and so to promote the conservation of threatened species and habitats. The land lies on the Corstorphine Hill, from which it provides extensive views of the city. Built in 1913, and owned by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, it receives over 600,000 visitors a year, which makes it Scotland's second most popular paid for tourist attraction, after Edinburgh Castle. As well as catering to tourists and locals, the Zoo is involved in many scientific pursuits, such as captive breeding of endangered animals, researching into animal behaviour, and active participation in various conservation programs around the world.

Accessibility

Bus Terminal

Edinburgh Bus Station

26 Elder Street
Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK

Jenners - Edinburgh

48 Princes Street
Edinburgh, UK

Princes Street Gardens

Princes Street
Scotland, Edinburgh, UK

Lothian Buses

55 Annandale Street
Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK

Nearest Airport

Edinburgh Airport : For the international and domestic flights.

Nearest Railway Station

Hay market railway station

Hay market
Edinburgh, UK

Edinburgh Park station

Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, UK