Edinburgh

The location of Edinburgh - capital of Scotland and a World Heritage Site - is spectacular, with the castle high on its rock, views over the River Forth, elegant architecture and its own extinct volcano, Arthur’s Seat - described by thriller writer Ian Rankin as “a natural wonder, a wilderness in the middle of a city.” A favourite Edinburgh pastime, beloved of students and others, is to climb to its summit to see the sun rise over the sea.

But one need not be so energetic to enjoy Edinburgh. For this is a city that is attractive - and easy - to walk around. Arriving in the city centre, visitors will be captivated by the Old Town skyline, which forms a stunning backdrop for Princes Street. Not many cities can boast a high street with shops on one side and an ancient castle and beautiful gardens on the other. Princes Street and its gardens provide the unique setting for a number of events throughout the year, such as the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe Festival, the Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival (all taking place in August), and Edinburgh’s Winter Festivals (from November to January). Edinburgh is proud to host the world’s largest street party at New Year, with spectacular fireworks, live music concerts and dancing.

A few minutes away is the historic Royal Mile, cobbled and atmospheric, leading down from the castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Queen Elizabeth II’s official residence when in Scotland, and whose new Queen’s Gallery shows items from the Royal Collections: until October, works by Fabergé, and then, until May, Padshahnama, an Imperial Mughal Manuscript. Next door, Scotland’s first custom-built Parliament building is taking shape – expected to open in 2004.

Along the Royal Mile is an eclectic range of museums which portray different aspects of Edinburgh’s and Scotland’s heritage, starting at the Castle itself with the National War Museum telling stories of the Scot in battle at home and abroad. An exhibition in March 2004 explores the Castle’s connections with 18th century European conflicts, including the French revolution, through the stories of the men jailed here. At the other end, the Museum of Edinburgh, in its 16th century house, provides historical context - as well as the story of Greyfriar’s Bobby, the faithful dog whose statue is on the George IV Bridge by the kirkyard where his master is buried and by whose grave he remained for 14 years.

Other attractions include The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre, where research into whisky making can finish with a sampling one of 270 varieties at the bar; the Camera Obscura, where one can experience a panoramic view of Edinburgh from inside a giant Victorian camera; the crammed and evocative Museum of Childhood and the Writers’ Museum, devoted to Scotland’s literary heroes, Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott - who also has a monument, a famous landmark, on Princes Street.

Scotland has modern literary heroes too, such as J.K. Rowling - who wrote her first Harry Potter book in a café in the Old Town and Ian Rankin, whose ‘Rebus’ crime novels have made the streets of Edinburgh familiar to readers all over the world: a tour takes visitors to some of their locations.

One effective setting used by him is the brace of national museums: the Royal Museum, its stunning entrance hall with light flooding in through the glass roof modelled on Crystal Palace, linked to the striking modern building of the Museum of Scotland, opened in 1999, the first filled with treasures from around the world, the second gathering together artefacts from the history of Scotland - and with a magnificent restaurant looking over the rooftops of Edinburgh.

When it is not so easy to walk, there’s a bus – open topped buses tour the city regularly offering a ‘hop on, hop off’ facility and a free bus connects four of the city’s galleries: the refurbished National Gallery of Scotland with its world-class exhibitions (“Monet: The Seine and the Sea” until October 25), the Scotish Portrait Gallery, a magnificent baronial building in red sandstone peopled with figures from Scotland’s history, and - at the other end of town - the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art and Dean Gallery, with its Dada and surrealist collections.

But Edinburgh is not just about history and heritage – there’s a vibrant, modern culture and a cosmopolitan buzz around the city. Many new and contemporary shops (Harvey Nichols, Zara), restaurants (Oloroso, The Living Room) and hotels (The Glasshouse, The Scotsman) provide an interesting mix, to combine modern with traditional.

And another recent development is the regeneration of Leith – Edinburgh’s historic port -- with Ocean terminal a stylish waterfront leisure development. This is the new berth for the former Royal Yacht, Britannia, floating holiday home of the Royal Family for 44 years. Returned to Scotland (it was launched at Clydebank in the year of the coronation) in 1998, it is one of the biggest attractions of recent years. One way of discovering the distinctive character of this town is from visiting its residences: the Georgian House, in Charlotte Square to the other extreme, Gladstone’s Land, a 17th century tenement.

The New Town, built on the east side of Princes Street for the middle classes of the 18th century, to Mary King’s Close - a warren of hidden streets beneath the City Chambers, which was ravaged by the plague in the 1600’s and sealed off for centuries, but now open to visitors. It is, as always, a city of contrasts. And those contrasts continue outwith the city – in only a matter of minutes some of Scotland’s best coastlines, woodlands, hills and wilderness are easy to reach, proof that Edinburgh provides the perfect gateway to Scotland.