History, high hills and haute cuisine: Edinburgh has it all
Edinburgh is one of Europe’s most achingly beautiful capitals – and one of its most contradictory.
It’s a city where an Old Town rich with narrow medieval streets, jumbled tenements, palaces and castles shares space with a New Town of neoclassical sculptures, glass-fronted Parliament buildings and top retail outlets. It’s a city home to Michelin-star restaurants, world-class theaters and thriving nightlife, all wrapped in a blanket of craggy hilltops. It’s a city that offers hectic urban life with a tranquil sea view.
Settled since at least the Bronze Age, Edinburgh had been home to Celts, Romans and Angles before the Scots took control of it in the tenth century. A magnificent castle was built to protect the city and, many centuries and many wars with the English later, it still watches over the Scottish capital today.
Today, Edinburgh is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, welcoming over a million visitors each year (more than twice its resident population). Some come to sample the famous Fringe Festival; some come to celebrate Hogmanay or Burns Night; and some come simply to experience the daily pleasures of this marvelous city. But whatever the reason they come, one thing’s guaranteed: they always come back.
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