Edinburgh City Guide
- Official name: Edinburgh
- Language: English
- Religion: catholic
- Currency: pound sterling
Edinburgh Sights and Museums
- Edinburgh Castle: Edinburgh Tattoo, is a magnificently situated royal fortress located on one of the highest points in the city. The castle has been continuously in use for 1000 years and is in excellent condition. The audio tour, which costs £3 per headset, is extremely detailed and worth hiring, providing both locations based and chronologically based commentary on the castle. Highlights include the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish Crown Jewels) and the ancient St Margarets' Chapel.
- Palace of Holyroodhouse: The Palace is a royal residence, and hosts the Queen's Gallery containing a collection of art from the Royal Collection. The Palace is best known as the home of Mary Queen of Scots and as the site of the murder of Mary's secretary Rizzio by her husband Lord Darnley.
- St Gile´s Cathedral: Church of Edinburgh is also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh and takes its name from the city's patron saint. St Giles' is Presbyterianism's Mother Church and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle ( Scotland 's chivalric company of knights headed by the Queen). The building bears a distinctive crowned spire and was first officially dedicated in 1243, although a church probably existed on the site since before the 9th century.
- Museum of Scotland and Royal Museum: The museum mixes innovative modern architecture with the best of Scotland 's heritage. The Royal Museum has a magnificent airy Victorian atrium now with the Millennium Clock at one end - arrange to be there when it is chiming. Exhibits in the Museum of Scotland include Scottish pottery and weapons from the Roman era and the Renaissance. Entrance is free.
- National Gallery of Scotland: Holds much of Scotland 's fine artwork and carries exhibitions that change seasonally. The new Western Link was opened in 2004 with an entrance from Prices Street Gardens . It joins The National Gallery with the neighbouring Scottish Academy gallery and gives Scotland its first world class art space.
Edinburgh Entertainment
The highlight of Scotland 's calendar is the Edinburgh International Festival, held every August. Since its inception in 1947 to mark the end of WWII, it has grown into one of the world's largest and most important arts festivals.
The Fringe Festival began unofficially at the same time and grew in tandem to become the largest such event in the world. Over 500 amateur and professional groups present every possible kind of avant-garde performance in venues all around the city. Also held in the same period is the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which takes place on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. The show is an extravaganza of daredevil displays, regimental posturing and swirling bagpipes and ends with a single piper playing a lament on the battlefields. Hogmanay, the Scottish celebration of the New Year, is another major fixture in Edinburgh 's festival calendar with concerts, street parties and a massive bonfire on Calton Hill. There's also the frenzy of the other international fests: Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival in July-August, Edinburgh International Book Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival in August, and a whole lot more in between.
Edinburgh Transports
How to get there by road: Edinburgh can be reached most immediately from the M8 (west from Glasgow ), M9 (north-west from Stirling ), A90/M90 (north from Perth and Dundee ), the A1 (south-east from Newcastle upon Tyne and north-east England ) and A701/M74 (south-west from Carlisle and north-western England ). From London the fastest route to Edinburgh is the M1 motorway, followed by the A1(M) and the A1 - a journey of 398 miles and approximately 8-9 hrs driving time.
-By plane: Edinburgh International Airport is situated some 10 miles west of the city. Sometimes referred to as "Turnhouse", Edinburgh Airport offers a wide range of domestic and international flights to Europe and North America . The vast majority of international visitors to the city, however, arrive via a connecting flight from London , the UK 's main international hub. A dedicated airport bus service, Airlink Express, service 100, runs from outside the terminal building to Edinburgh city centre every 15 minutes. Glasgow International Airport is 55 miles west of Edinburgh and offers more long haul flight options with flights to Chicago , New York , Philadelphia , Toronto , Vancouver and Dubai . Connections to Glasgow Airport from Edinburgh on public transport are non-existent however, meaning you would have to take a train to Glasgow and then transfer by the airport bus.
-By train: The main railway station in Edinburgh is called Waverley Railway Station and is an attraction in itself. First opened in 1846, Waverley Station was rebuilt 1892-1902. It lies between the old town and modern Edinburgh, adjacent to Princes Street , Edinburgh Castle and the Princes Street Gardens . Despite various refurbishments, the past still survives in the station's elaborate, domed ceiling where wreathed cherubs leap amid a wealth of scrolled ironwork. There is a second railway station in the centre of Edinburgh, Haymarket, which is around a mile to the west of Waverley . A shuttle bus service links the two, and Haymarket is a better station to exit at if you are heading straight for the airport, zoo, or modern art gallery as you will avoid the city centre traffic and it is on the major west-bound bus routes. Edinburgh Park is a new train station opened in 2004, which is some miles from the city centre, serves business parks and "The Gyle" shopping centre.
-By bus: The city is served by the major inter-city bus companies from around Scotland and England . Most long distance services start and end in the Bus Station in St Andrew Square .
Edinburgh is covered by a good network of bus services run by two companies, Lothian Buses and First Edinburgh. Tickets are not interchangeable.
Edinburgh doesn't have its own separate rail network. Those running through the city are part of the national rail system. Trains heading west and north link Waverly station with Haymarket, but it's cheaper to catch a bus down Princes St . There are regular trains west to Dalmeny and east to North Berwick .
Though useful for day trips beyond the city, a car in central Edinburgh is as much a millstone as a convenience. There is restricted access on some streets and many are one-way. Hailing a cab on the street should present no problems and there are numerous central taxi ranks including some at Waverley station.
|
