Tips On Traveling To Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh (or its old names of Ăˆideann, Edinburrie, Embra, Embro or Edina) is the second largest city in Scotland and its capital city.
Edinburgh, located on the east coast of Scotland, on the shore of the Forth river, is the capital of Scotland since 1437. The city was a major center of the Enlightenment, especially because of its University. The Old Town and New Town neighborhoods of Edinburgh have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage in 1995. In 2001, Edinburgh's population was of 448,624 inhabitants.
Edinburgh is the second tourist destination in the UK, after London, and annually attracts over 13 million visitors.
The historic center of the city of Edinburgh is divided in two by Princes Street Gardens park, the construction of which began in 1816. In the southern part of the city, the panorama is dominated by the Edinburgh Castle, high on top of an old volcanic formation and the Old Town. To the north we can find the Princes Street and New Town. West of the castle there's the financial area of the city, as well as many shelters, office buildings, banks and insurance companies. The biggest building here is the International Conference Center of Edinburgh, a huge circular shaped building.
The Old Town neighborhood has preserved its medieval urban layout and still has many buildings left from the Reformation period. Starting from the castle, the Grand Street (Royal Mile) crosses the neighborhood, binding the street network. The markets are large, marking the places where the fair takes place or surrounding the most important public institutions (such as Cathedral and St.Giles Court). Other places of interest are the Royal Museum of Scotland, Surgeons' Hall, the University of Edinburgh and many underground passages and vaults, relics of the various phases of construction of the city.
Because of the restricted space that the Old Town occupies and a large number of people living in it, buildings in this part of the city were built increasingly high, many of which were destroyed in 1824, after a fire. Another big fire took place on 7'th of December 2002, when comedy club Gilded Balloon and the building of the Department of Information of the University of Edinburgh burned to the ground.
The New Town neighborhood was built in the 18th century to solve the space problem of the other side of the city, which remains concentrated inside the fortress walls. The construction of New Town was conceived in 1766 by an 22 years architect, named James Craig. He proposed a rigorous organization, according to the rational principles of the Renaissance.
The city's main street is George Street, located next to the other two major streets - the Princes' Street (the main shopping area of Edinburgh), and Queen Street. These streets are linked together by numerous perpendicular streets and in the end of the east and west are St. Andrew's Square, respectively Charlotte Square. The last was designed by Robert Adam and is considered one of the most beautiful squares in the Georgian style in Great Britain. Bute House, the residence of the Prime Minister of Scotland, is situated in the northern part of the Charlotte market.
In the valley between Old Town and New Town is located Nor 'Loch, which was the source of water to the city. Drained in 1820, the area was supposed to become a channel, but as a result of the construction of Princes Gardens, the remaining soil forming what today is called The Mound. At the middle of the 19'th century, the National Gallery of Scotland and Royal Scots Academy were built.
New Town neighborhood has been an architectural success and has been extended, but not kept strictly to the original. However, New Town is considered one of the best examples of Georgian architecture and urban planning in the world.
Leith
Leith is the portuary town of Edinburgh, but, although the city was incorporated in 1920, it still maintains a certain autonomy. Due to the development of this port, a lot of ships depart from Edinburgh for Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
Viewpoints
Edinburgh City's topography offers many places where the its panorama can be admired:
- Arthur's Seat, overlooking the Old Town and Holyroodhouse.
- Calton Hill, where several monuments are located: two observatories, the monument dedicated admiral Horatio Nelson, the old Royal High School. Calton Hill is also the place where the Beltane Festival is held.
- Blackford Hill, where the Royal Observatory is located.
Climate
As a large part of Scotland, Edinburgh has a temperate climate, rather mild, despite the northern latitude of the city. Winters are mild, with temperatures that rarely go below 0 degrees. Summers are pretty cool, with temperatures around 23° C).
Culture
Edinburgh is famous for its annual festival - actually a series of separate events, which take place at the end of June until the beginning of September. The oldest of events is the Edinburgh International Festival, which took place for the first time in 1947 and which gathers theater performances and concerts of classical music, supported by companies and orchestras worldwide.
Another major cultural event is the Edinburgh Fringe - an event conceived as collateral, but which has become the largest arts festival in the world, with over 1800 performances presented in 2005.
Other festivals that are held in Edinburgh are the International Film Festival, Jazz Festival and International Book Festival.
Holidays
Very popular is the annual Hogmanay festival, which was originally a simple feast that is held on Princes Street and Royal Mile, but began to be officially organized in 1993. In 1996, Hogmanay was attended by over 300,000 people, fact that determined the organizers to impose a limit of 100,000 people. The four days of the festival bring numerous processions, concerts and fireworks games.
Music, theater and film
Besides the Festival, Edinburgh held numerous other theatrical performances, supported by various companies: The Royal Lyceum Theater, King's Theater, Edinburgh Festival Theater, Edinburgh Playhouse. Traverse Theater, theaters put on contemporary texts, while productions mounted by students or amateurs playing at Bedlam Theater, Church Hill Theater and the Brunton Theater.
The most important musical stage of the city is Edinburgh's Usher Hall. Beside this, must be mentioned The Hub, Assembly Rooms and Queen's Hall. Also in Edinburgh we find the Chamber Orchestra of Scotland headquarters.
The best known cinemas in Edinburgh are Filmhouse and cameo, alongside which there are various multiplex complexes.
Economy
Edinburgh City's economy is based mainly on banking, financial and tourism and is one of the most prosperous in the UK and most powerful city after London.
Banks have been a part of the economic life of the city of Edinburgh since 1695, starting with the founding of the Bank of Scotland through a note issued by the Scottish Parliament. Today, Edinburgh is the sixth largest financial center in Europe.
As part of World Heritage tourism, Edinburgh is visited by large numbers of tourists - Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the annual Festival are just some of the travelling spots.
Famous people from Edinburgh:
- Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the phone
- Tony Blair, prime minister of Great Britain
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writer, creator of Sherlock Holmes
- Sir Sean Connery, actor
- David Hume, philosopher and historian
- James Hutton, geologist, considered the "father of geology"
- John Napier, mathematician, inventor of the logarithms
- Sir Walter Scott, writer
- Robert Louis Stevenson, writer
- Ian Wilmut, the creator of the sheep Dolly, the first mammal cloned
Sister cities of Edinburgh:
Munich (Germany), Florence (Italy), Nice (France), Vancouver (Canada), Kiev (Ukraine), Aalborg (Denmark), San Diego (USA), Dunedin (New Zealand), Krakow (Poland), Xi'an (China).
Museums and Libraries:
The Museum of Scotland, Royal Museum, National Library of Scotland, Writers Museum, the Museum of Edinburgh.
Other attractions of the city: Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh Zoo, Forth Bridge, Forth Road Bridge, McEwan Hall, National Archives of Scotland, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
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