Edinburgh

At once a cosmopolitan center and the seat of Scottish
royalty and government

Edinburgh, has an almost fairy-tale setting, with its imposing castle high on one hill. Built on ancient volcanoes and first established because of its secure and defensible position, it has become a crossroads. Practically everyone who comes to Scotland today spends some time in Edinburgh. And its midsummer international Festival is one of the biggest in the world. Edinburgh is the second most popular travel destination in Great Britain following London, and it's not hard to see why. Compact and tidy, it is more of a big town than a small city.

The looming presence of Edinburgh Castle lends a romantic, historic air to this fair city, but Edinburgh is also very much an international city of today, where you'll find chic cafes and modern architecture within the city's quaint core. Edinburgh is divided into two distinct areas: Old Town, where the medieval fortress city began, and New Town, an elegant example of 18th-century urban planning. It's a wonderfully strollable city full of fine museums, galleries, historic attractions, and real character.

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