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Edinburgh Information and Edinburgh Tourism
(Edinburgh, Scotland, UK)



Edinburgh, Scotland's impressive capital city, enjoys a particularly scenic location, surrounded by volcanic hills on the southern edge of the Firth of Forth. On the east coast of Edinburgh is Portobello, Edinburgh's popular seaside tourism resort, and to the south of Edinburgh are the Pentland Hills. The Firth of Forth is situated to the north of Edinburgh and has several elegant bridges, and Leith is also close to central Edinburgh, a large port town.

You are able to see the whole of Edinburgh from the top of Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano which is one of Edinburgh's top tourist attractions, attracting thousands of Edinburgh tourists each year. There are numerous Edinburgh tourism and tourist information outlets in and around the central Edinburgh. These Edinburgh tourism and tourist information outlets provide useful tourist information, such as information about Edinburgh's tourist attractions, landmarks, Edinburgh festivals, restaurants, travel, Edinburgh sightseeing, maps of Edinburgh and general Edinburgh tourism and tourist information.




There is a vast selection of hotels and accommodation in both central Edinburgh and the surrounding area of Edinburgh, making the historic city of Edinburgh an accessible holiday destination for every pocket. Edinburgh hotels and accommodation include many impressive luxury hotels in central Edinburgh, town-house value hotels, a great range of affordable Edinburgh hostels, award-winning bed and breakfast guest houses, cheap Edinburgh lodging, inns, travelodges on the outskirts of Edinburgh, self-catering apartments and there are even some campsites in the Edinburgh area. Whatever the budget, Edinburgh has plenty of hotels and good accommodation to suite everyone visiting Edinburgh.

Stunning architecture and natural geology combine to create a wonderful blend in Edinburgh, giving the city of Edinburgh tremendous character. The Old Town area of Edinburgh, with its crowded testaments, stands in complete contrast to the highly organised grid of Edinburgh's New Town area, with its orderly Georgian terraces. There are stunning vistas from almost every street and many popular tourism and tourist attractions throughout Edinburgh. These tourist attractions include the Edinburgh Experience - featuring a 3D film, which explains the history of Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Royal Observatory Visitor Centre - offering spectacular views across Edinburgh and the surrounding area, Edinburgh Castle - one of the most famous and important landmarks in Edinburgh and in constant use for more than 1,000 years, Edinburgh Craigmillar Castle- a substantial and atmospheric ruin managed by Historic Scotland, and the Royal Yacht Britannia - now docked in Edinburgh after it was decommissioned in 1997, following 44 years of Royal service.

Other attractions in the Edinburgh area include the Edinburgh Crystal Visitor Centre - founded in 1867 with glass-blowing displays, a factory shop and a crystal glass shop, the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre - with guided tours explaining the distillation process of this important Edinburgh whisky, the Scott Monument - created in 1846 as a monument and memorial to the famous Sir Walter Scott, with almost 300 steps to the highest gallery, Calton Hill - in central Edinburgh, home to the Nelson Monument and Edinburgh's National Monument, the Palace of Holyroodhouse - built by James IV, with antique furniture, tapestries, paintings, historic artefacts from several centuries and the lavish private apartment of Mary, Queen of Scot, and the Royal Mile - the oldest part of Edinburgh and marking the road running directly from Edinburgh Castle down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. More information on Edinburgh Tourist Attractions and Edinburgh Landmarks.

Attractions for children in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Zoo - with pandas, hippos, snakes, lions, monkeys, marmosets, zebras and the world's largest group of penguins in captivity, Edinburgh's Deep Sea World - an award-winning Edinburgh tourist attraction with a 71 metre / 232 foot transparent tunnel, offering excellent views of large fish, sharks and numerous impressive sea creatures, Gorgie City Farm - an idyllic city farm with many friendly farmyard animals and gardens, Leith Waterworld with a large whale slide, flumes, a pool for younger children, a river run, fast flowing channels, and a spa pool, the Edinburgh Butterfly and Insect World - a tropical greenhouse paradise which is home to many colorful butterflies and a number of large insects and spiders, the Edinburgh Bird of Prey Centre - with over 30 different species, including eagles, falcons, hawks and owls, Laserquest - an exciting and energetic futurist laser game, and several soft-play centres for younger children in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh has a number of theatres, providing regular theatrical performances, dramas, operas, concerts and cabarets. These Edinburgh theatres include the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, the Edinburgh Kings Theatre, the Edinburgh Royal Lyceum Theatre, the Edinburgh Traverse Theatre, the Assembly Rooms Theatre and the Edinburgh Bedlam Theatre. Edinburgh also has many excellent art galleries and museums in Edinburgh city centre, providing interesting information on the history of Edinburgh and many other exhibitions. Some of the major museums in Edinburgh include the John Knox House Museum, the Museum of Childhood, Edinburgh's Museum of Scotland, the Newhaven Heritage Museum, the Royal Museum and the Museum of Edinburgh.

There are many areas nearby worth visiting, such as Glasgow, East Lothian, Midlothian, West of Edinburgh, Fife, The Borders and Stirling, all offering an enormous amount of things to see and do for tourists and visitors in Edinburgh. With popular Edinburgh festivals taking place throughout the year, including the International Science Festival in April, and in August, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Edinburgh Book Festival, the cosmopolitan and sophisticated city of Edinburgh is even busy throughout the winter, when Edinburgh's weather is at its coldest.

Edinburgh Airport (EDI) Guide - useful Edinburgh Airport (EDI) information.

More Edinburgh Information / Fast Facts and Orientation

• Country: Scotland
• Location: south-east Scotland
• Area: 260 square kilometres / 100 square miles
• Population: 460,000
• Language: English
• Currency: pound sterling (GBP)
• Time zone: GMT / UTC and BST (British Summer Time), 5 hours from Eastern Standard Time
• Country dialling code: +44
• Telephone area code: 0131
• Religion: various religions
• Average daily January temperature: 7ºC / 45ºF
• Average daily July temperature: 22ºC / 72ºF

 
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