One of the most beautiful cities in the world, Edinburgh - a World Heritage Site with some sixteen thousand buildings marked as important monuments - is the epitome of civilised elegance, with its plethora of extraordinary architecture played out exquisitely and masterfully against a dramatic locale on the remains of seven volcanic hills.

Royal capital of Scotland since the 11th century, Edinburgh is dominated by Castle Rock, a volcanic precipice with three vertical sides atop which the Edinburgh Castle is perched in a dramatic fashion. The naturally defensive fortress represents the beginning of the development of the Old Town, protected on one side by a wall and on the other by the Nor Loch.

In the 17th century, the observation that "in no city in the world do so many people live in so little room as Edinburgh", culminated in the
	planning of a New Town parallel to the old. What followed was a superb example of brilliant Georgian town planning with splendid squares, crescents, parks and fine Victorian terraces sprouting to the north. Today, Princes Street Gardens, where the Nor Loch once was, neatly divides the Old and New Towns. The famed Princes Street is Edinburgh's main thoroughfare - with its distinctive row of
shops on one side and the gardens and jagged silhouette of the Old Town buildings on the other. Needless to say, this is one glorious street to shop!

As the name suggests, this famous street in the Old Town links Edinburgh Castle, the royal residence from the 11th to the 16th centuries, to Holyrood Palace, the Queen's official residence today. Gracing many a postcard picture of Edinburgh, the ridge is renowned for its series of magnificent architectural buildings contributing to the spectacular skyline of the city.

The charm of the Royal Mile also lies in its delightful tangle of arches and alleyways with steep up-and-downs and strange nooks and corners, making for wonderful exploration and photo-taking. And who can resist browsing the tempting array of quaint souvenir shops!

A visit to the Edinburgh Castle is a must. Despite its impregnable looks, the castle changed hands a number of times between the Scots and the English. At one point in time, it was actually demolished by the Scots themselves as part of Robert the Bruce's strategy to obstruct his enemies. Rebuilt, destroyed and rebuilt yet again, the castle now features structures as recent as the 1920s. Attractions include St Margaret's Chapel, the National War Memorial, the Scottish Crown Jewels, the sacred Stone of Destiny and the enormous 15th century siege cannon Mons Meg.

	Another prominent landmark on the Royal Mile is the St Giles' Cathedral which dates from 1120 and offers a fascinating insight into Scotland's turbulent religious history. It was here where John Knox preached the austere code of Calvinist theology and launched the Scottish Reformation.
The church is located on Parliament Square, which was once the meeting point of Scottish Parliament. Today, nearby Parliament Hall is used by lawyers to meet clients between court sittings at the Parliament House. John Knox's House dating around 1940 is another imposing piece of work with overhanging upper floors and a labyrinth-like interior.

Visit the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre for interesting presentations and rides which illustrate the history of the "spirit" of Scotland. Camera
	Obscura, an outlook tower with a periscope-like camera, not only offers great views of the city, but a chance to spy on passers-by in the streets below!

Rounding off the Royal Mile is the baroque Palace of Holyroodhouse, former home of Mary, Queen of Scots. Access is restricted but brief guided tours to a few apartments are available. If you are game for it, hike in nearby Holyrood Park which has the full works of mountains, lochs and fields, with the highest point being the extinct volcano known as Arthur's Seat. You'll be duly rewarded with excellent panoramic views of the city.

Besides the fabulous shopping available at Princes Street, the New Town brims with places of interest. The spacious and grid-like layout alone, with its numerous rows of beautiful Georgian and Victorian terraces, draws many gasps of admiration from tourists like myself who would have loved to stay here.

If you start from the east end of Princes Street, there are a number of grand memorials on Calton Hill - the Nelson Monument, the City Observatory, the Parthenon-like National Monument and the Royal High School - all contributing to the distinctive skyline of the city.

Moving on to the lovely Princes Street Gardens, one cannot miss the
massive Gothic spire of the Sir Walter Scott Monument, one of Edinburgh's most famous landmarks with a 287-step climb to the top!

Further down are the Royal Scottish Academy and the National Gallery of Scotland. The latter houses an excellent collection of 13th to 19th century European and Scottish art, including masterpieces by Titian, Rembrandt, Poussin, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh and Scottish painters Ramsay, Raeburn, Wilkie and McTaggart.

Also not to be missed are the Greyfriars Kirk, the evocative reformation church with memorials, and the Royal Museum of Scotland, which is a treasure house of exhibits ranging from Egyptology, Chinese, Islamic and European art to fossils, geology and even engineering.

It is no wonder that Edinburgh is dubbed the "Athens of the North". The richness of its acclaimed architecture and culture, together with the ingenious interplay with its enviable geology, makes for a great city of remarkable grace and beauty, certainly befitting of its status as the host of the greatest arts festival in the world every August.

© Ong Hwee Yen 2000

! travels ! photography ! art journey ! guestbook !   * This webpage is listed on, inter alia: ChangingLINKS.com.

Comments Viviana I love Edinburgh! Lovely way of portraying the most beautiful city in the world! Colin Bell Wow! I loved the writing all through the site. I'm ashamed to say I am from Scotland and the only place I have been from all the ones you wrote about was Edinburgh, where my sister lives. Even that seems like an everyday place to me - so interesting to see it through the eyes of a visitor. Many locals leave the Festival to the tourists, and all I ever see myself is an occasional film in the Film Festival. I am like most Scottish people who crave sunshine on their holiday and goes to Spain - in fact next month I am visiting Barcelona again, and I'm counting the days until then. Your writing has inspired me to look again at my own country, and spend a few weekends appreciating what I have here. Thanks again for creating such a lovely site and putting your experiences into such eloquent words. The Manager Hello from Edinburgh Castle and I thought the visitors might enjoy this http://www.edinburghcastle.biz ABC of tourist information ... Other scotland stories: Exhilarating Highlands, Beautiful Orkney, Tale of 3 Scottish Isles & fotoart scotland ~ to the shetlands.