Castle on a volcanic crag, the world's greatest arts festival, and single malt whisky at source
Edinburgh is one of the most geologically dramatic capital cities in Europe — the Old Town climbs the spine of a volcanic crag from the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the base to Edinburgh Castle at the summit, with the Royal Mile running between them. The New Town below (built from 1767 in Georgian neoclassical grid) is one of the finest planned cities anywhere, and the contrast between the two — medieval crag city above, Enlightenment grid below — is legible just by walking. In August, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe transforms the city into the world's largest arts festival: 3,500+ shows across…
Edinburgh Castle has been occupied as a royal residence and fortress since at least the 12th century, though the volcanic rock (Castle Rock) has had human habitation for 3,000 years. The city was Scotland's capital before and after the 1707 Act of Union with England that created Great Britain — though the Scottish Parliament was dissolved in that union and only reconvened in 1999, sitting in a new building by Enric Miralles at the foot of the Royal Mile. The 18th-century Scottish Enlightenment (David Hume, Adam Smith, James Watt) was disproportionately an Edinburgh phenomenon, concentrated ar…