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Edinburgh

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Overview

You'll be captivated by the grandeur of the Royal Mile and Castle on your first visit to Edinburgh, and intrigued by the Old Town's palpable sense of history. Return visit to Edinburgh? You'll find so much more to explore in the elegantly Georgian New Town, the revitalised port at Leith and laid-back bohemian Stockbridge.

Background

Picture-perfect Edinburgh is dominated by its two much-photographed icons: Edinburgh Castle at the western edge of the Old Town and craggy Arthur's Seat. If you love history and the occasional ghost, you'll adore the winding lanes and medieval flavour of the Old Town. Expansion went upwards rather than outwards in the walled Old Town, which explains all those teetering tenement buildings. Royal Mile is the Old Town's High Street, stretching to Holyroodhouse and crammed with museums, sights and notable buildings along the way. When you cross Princes Street Gardens to reach the 18th-century New Town, you'll find elegant Georgian terraces and the city's major galleries and museums.

First-time visit

Miss the queues and do an early tour of Edinburgh Castle, leaving you plenty of time for treats like the views from the Camera Obscura, quirky museums on the Royal Mile and the stained-glass windows of St Giles Cathedral. Head over to the New Town and the mock-Gothic Scott Monument on Princes Street, then do a little browsing on Edinburgh's shopping strip before sampling modern Scottish cuisine in one of the revamped Georgian townhouses.

Return visit

Take a closer look at the Georgian New Town, starting with Robert Adam's masterpiece, Charlotte Square. Drop into the nearby Georgian House museum to see how Edinburgh's 18th-century gentry lived. Immerse yourself in art at the Scottish National Gallery and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. For a breath of fresh air, climb Calton Hill or Arthur's Seat. Visit Leith and its port to tread in the Queen's footsteps on the royal yacht Britannia, then wine and dine away the evening in this gentrified part of Edinburgh.