Come and discover Scotland, world-famous for its breath-taking scenery, lively culture and impressive heritage. It’s a land crammed with brilliant moments, sights, sounds and experiences that can make your break truly memorable. Discover Scotland and you’ll find the country is a fantastic mix of stunning landscapes, wildlife and wonderful local produce, combined with a thriving arts and culture scene, and topped off with a colourful history of epic battles and historic castles. With this in mind, you can be sure of one of your most memorable holidays in Edinburgh. Edinburgh is a fantastic city to visit, with its distinctive architecture, world-class cultural scene, plus pubs and restaurants aplenty.
For a start you could delve into hundreds of years of history at Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, shop to your heart’s content amongst the hustle and bustle of the Royal Mile, climb the volcanic Arthur’s Seat in Holyrood Park, or see more than a thousand animals at Edinburgh Zoo.
Things To Do:
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle dominates Scotland’s capital city from its great rock. Its story has helped shape the nation’s story. Battles and sieges were fought over it, royalty lived and died within its walls, and countless generations have been and inspired by it. The castle is now Scotland’s leading tourist attraction, and a key element of the Edinburgh World Heritage Site.
The National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland exhibits over 20,000 objects spread across 36 galleries, including Scottish history, a special children’s zone and the Natural World gallery which features an awe-inspiring Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Edinburgh Butterfly & Insect World
Visit the world’s longest running indoor butterfly house with hundreds of free flying exotic butterflies in an indoor tropical rainforest. An all-day ticket allows you to experience our fish feeding and animal feeding sessions as well as twice daily animal handling sessions where you can cure your phobias by holding a giant millipede, snake and tarantula. Open all year, 7 days a week.
The Writer’s Museum
The Writers’ Museum occupies historic Lady Stair’s House, built in 1622 by an Edinburgh merchant burgess. Its name remains associated with Elizabeth, Dowager Countess of Stair; an early 18th century owner. The Writers’ Museum celebrates the lives of three giants of Scottish Literature; Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. Their stories are told through personal objects, portraits, manuscripts and first editions.
St Giles Cathedral
Over the last hundred years or more, St Giles’ has hosted important events including state occasions and services of national thanksgiving. The Thistle Chapel was designed by Robert Lorimer and finished in 1911. The chapel contains a wealth of detail, both religious and heraldic, and much of it peculiarly Scottish, including angels playing bagpipes.
For even more information on what there is to explore when you enjoy one of your best holidays in Edinburgh, check out our Things to Do page.
Photo by Jörg Angeli on Unsplash
