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Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is the top paid tourist attraction in Scotland, with over 1.4 million visitors in 2013. Situated at the heart of the Scottish capital, the castle is perched on top of the craggy...

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Calton Hill

Calton Hill is one of Edinburgh's main hills, set right in the city centre. It is unmistakable with its Athenian acropolis poking above the skyline.

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West Princes Street Gardens

West Princes Street Gardens is the larger of the two tracts of green space (the other being East Princes Street Gardens) that run parallel to Princes Street in the heart of the city. The gardens were...

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East Princes Street Gardens

Although fenced off with Edinburgh's characteristic black, wrought iron railings, The Gardens are open to the public and easily accessed at various gates along Princes Street and other points.

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The Royal Botanic Garden

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), located in Edinburgh's Inverleith area, is often dubbed Scotland's answer to Kew gardens. It is not only a place to learn about trees, ferns, plants, and...

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Edinburgh Castle Gardens

The Castle Gardens are on a steep hill directly under Edinburgh Castle to the South of the West Princes Street Garden. It is bounded by the railway line in the North and The Mound to the East.

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Inchcolm Island

Inchcolm Island is a tiny island in the Firth of Forth, between Edinburgh and Fife to the North. It is best known for its ancient and well preserved Augustinian Abbey. The Abbey is currently looked...

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Union Canal

The 19th century Union Canal is not a park in the typical sense, but like the Water of Leith it provides a strip of blue and green through Edinburgh from Lochrin Basin in Fountainbridge (just off...

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Craigmillar Castle

Edinburgh's historic Craigmillar Castle, famous as the location of plot and intrigue. The well-preserved ruin includes a tower house, courtyard and gardens.

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Greyfriars Kirk

Greyfriars Kirk, also known as Greyfriars Tolbooth and Highland Kirk, was the first church built in Edinburgh after the Reformation and opened in 1620.

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National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland re-opened on 29th July 2011, following a 47.4 million refurbishment of the Victorian building.

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Old College Quad

The Quadis encircled by the historic buildings of Old College and provides a large playing area surrounded by a raised balcony offering excellent sight lines for large scale outdoor performan

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Scottish National Gallery

The Scottish National Gallery (aka National Gallery of Scotland, National Gallery Complex) incorporates three buildings in the centre of Edinburgh: the National Gallery of Scotland (home to Scotland'...

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Scottish National Portrait Gallery

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery provides a unique visual history of Scotland, told through the portraits of those who shaped it. Admission to the gallery is free, although an entrance charge...

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Mansfield Traquair Centre

Fringe-goers may remember the former catholic Mansfield church building at the foot of Broughton Street when as Cafe Grafitti it buzzed with live music acts from around the world. Or maybe you were...

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Hopetoun House

Palatial stately home near South Queensferry overlooking the Firth of Forth (just West of the Forth Bridges), with large rambling grounds. Hopetoun is held under private charitable trust, but remains...

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Edinburgh Fringe Shop and Box Office

The Fringe Shop is located on the Royal Mile (aka the High Street), just down from St.

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Royal Yacht Britannia

The Queen was seen to publicly shed a tear, not a common event, when the Royal Yacht was put to pasture at the docks in Leith in 1998.

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Scotch Whisky Experience

Whisky themed visitor centre, with a five-star rating from the Scottish Tourist Board, that offers a tour through 300 years of whisky history.

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Edinburgh Zoo

In the 1990s, Edinburgh Zoo seemed a run-down and depressing place.

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St. Cecilia's Hall

The auditorium at St Cecilia's Hall dates back to 1763, making it the oldest concert hall in Scotland, and the second oldest in Britain. The building is part of Edinburgh University.

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Scottish Parliament

"The Scottish parliament, adjourned on the 25th day of March, 1707, is hereby reconvened."

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Edinburgh Tattoo Office

Get your tickets for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo here in person or online.

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Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel received its collegiate charter from Rome in 1446. They started to build in 1456 and the chapel was still not complete by Earl William Sinclair's Death in 1482.

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Palace of Holyroodhouse

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence in Scotland of the Queen, stands at the end of Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

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John Knox House

This 15th century house was home to James Mosman, goldsmith to Mary Queen of Scots, and was the final residence of John Knox, leader of the Scottish Reformation and founder of the Presbyterian Chur

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Camera Obscura and World of Illusions

In this Victorian rooftop chamber very near the entrance to Edinburgh Castle you can see live moving images of Edinburgh projected onto

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Our Dynamic Earth

With its expansive, white marquee design, Dynamic Earth is a rather large, incongruous-looking structure at the edge of the Edinburgh Old Town, near the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Palace and...

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Edinburgh Farmers' Market

The Edinburgh Farmer's market at Castle Terrace takes place every Saturday from 9am-2pm, year round, beneath Edinburgh Castle.

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Scott Monument

The Scott monument is a brooding, 200-foot (61m), Gothic spire which opened in 1846 in honour of the prolific local novelist Walter Scott. It has been called "the largest monument to a writer in the...

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Edinburgh City Chambers

This is where the City of Edinburgh Council conducts much of its business. In particular, members of the public can attend most meetings of the Council, Committees and Sub-Committees.

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Edinburgh Writers' Museum

Tucked away in Lady Stairs Close, up a narrow staircase entered half-way up the Mound, in Edinburgh Old Town, you will find the Edinburgh Writers' Museum.

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Lauriston Castle

Lauriston Castle is set in 30 acres of parkland and formal gardens with spectacular views overlooking the Firth of Forth.

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Royal Bank of Scotland, St. Andrew Square

The Royal Bank of Scotland has gone from darling of the stock market to corporate basket case in a matter of years, but it still retains an attractive head office in the heart of Edinburgh's financ

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Scottish Mining Museum

The Edinburgh area used to be dotted with coal mines. Many of these were shut down in the era of Margaret Thatcher following the longest-strike - the miners's strike - in UK history.

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Real Mary King's Close

Mary King's Close is a narrow and eerily well-preserved, Old Town close that was sealed off and built over, in 1753, on the site of Edinburgh City Chambers.

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Nelson Monument

The Nelson Monument on Calton Hill was built between 1807 and 1816 to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

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General Register House

Opening in 1788, General Register House continues to serve the same purpose it was built for as an archive of public records.

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Bute House

Bute House has been the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland since 1999. Located at No.6 Charlotte Square - the north side of the square - it is reckoned to be one of the finest...

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The Georgian House

As the name suggests, this New Town building, run by the National Trust of Scotland as a public museum, has been carefully restored as a typical Georgian House of the late 18th-early 19th century....

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Linlithgow Palace

The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are set in a parkland beside a loch in the town of Linlithgow, a quarter of an hour train ride from Edinburgh, or if going by car off the M9.

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Arniston House

Arniston House has been home to the Dundas family since 1571. The estate originally belonged to the Knight's Templar and then the Knight's of Saint John.

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Museum of Edinburgh

The Museum of Edinburgh is a series of interconnected 16th and 17th century buildings situated on the Royal Mile in the heart of Edinburgh Old Town. Formerly known as Huntly House, the museum...

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National Museum of Flight

East Fortune airfield saw action in two world wars. It now brings the story of aviation from the First World War to the present day through exhibitions inside and outside the airfield's hangars.

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Cannonball House

A 15th century tenement house at the top of the Royal Mile, just below Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, that has a (visible) cannon ball lodged in its outer wall.

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Burns Monument

Re-opened in 2009 following extensive restoration work, this is more than a monument, it's a small, circular temple in the Neo-Greek style typical of Georgian era Edinburgh, constructed in honour of...

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St. Bernard's Well

The few visitors that jump the shut iron gate into St. Bernard's Well are usually imbibing something stronger than the legendry mineral water sourced from this area over the centuries.

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Gladstone's Land

A six story tenement building on the High Street, which has been purchased and renovated by the National Trust of Scotland, to offer a taste of life in 17th century Edinburgh.

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Caledonian Brewery

At its height, in the 19th century, Edinburgh's brewing industry comprised of some 40 or so breweries.

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Parliament Square

Large open, cobbled square in Old Town conservation area on the Royal Mile. Parliament Square is named after parliament house which was built in 1641 and was used by the Scottish parliament u

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Old Observatory House

Impressive 18th century building atop Calton Hill, designed and once inhabited by New Town architect James Craig.

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Royal Observatory

The main astronomy observatory, in the South of Edinburgh, distinguished by its distinctive copper domes atop Blackford Hill.

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City Observatory

The City Observatory on Calton Hill was main centre for astronomers until 1896 when it was decided to move to Blackford, due to light pollution

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Gorgie City Farm

Much-loved working urban farm with lambs, pigs, chickens, quails, and a variety of crops.

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Royal Commonwealth Pool

The Royal Commonwealth Pool (RCP), aka "the Commie", is a broad, squarish building in the Newington area to the South of the City. The building, with its Olympic sized pool housed within,...

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Stirling Castle

One of Scotland's most spectacular castles, steeped in history of the Scottish people. William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Mary Queen of Scots passed this way once.

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Edinburgh Dungeon

Indoor gothic theme park, very near Waverley Station, that promises "500 years of Edinburgh's darkest and most gory history, 11 actor led shows and 2 scary rides

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Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway

Working passenger steam trainline, not far from Edinburgh, that is run by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society. Since Bo'ness station opened in 1981, the line has been gradually extended and...

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Summerhall

Formerly the Royal Dick Veterinary College, this historic building has been transformed into a vibrant multi-arts venue.

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Corstorphine Hill Tower

Corstorphine Hill Tower, also known as Clermiston Tower or the Scott Tower, is a suitably dramatic memorial (watch video) to celebrated Scottish auth

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Surgeon's Hall Museum

The Surgeon's Hall, part of the Royal College of Surgeons complex on Clerk Street, houses Scotland's largest medical museum with one of the most significant surgical collections in the world.

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New Register House

National archive located at the East of Princes Street, around the corner from Robert Adam's landmark General Register House.

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Mavisbank House

After being destroyed in a fire in 1973 and left to ruin, this private historic mansion is being bought by compulsory purchase order and grounds are being taken over by public agencies in 2012 for

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Arthur's Seat

Arthur's Seat is the top of Holyrood Park, the large public park at the foot of the Royal Mile. It takes a moderately fit walker about 20 minutes to climb to the top.

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Gilmerton Cove

Opened to the public fewer than 10 years ago, Gilmerton Cove is an underground warren of tunnels and rooms hand carved in to the sandstone bedrock and dating back hundreds of years ago.

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Tron Kirk

The Tron Kirk, situated in the heart of the Old Town, was commissioned by King Charles I and built by Scottish architect John Myle between 1636 and 1647.

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Kinneil House

Kinneil House dates back to the 15th century and was once a popular home for the Dukes of Hamilton.

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Festival Wheel

The Festival Wheel is a large mechanical Ferris Wheel, situated in the centre of Edinburgh, in East Princes Street Garden.

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Escape Hour

Escape Hour is a new escape Game Venue. Teams of between 2 and 6 players must solve a series of puzzles to escape a room or complete a task within a designated time period.

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