With more than 1 million of you choosing to visit every year, Edinburgh is officially the UK’s second most popular tourist destination.

Scotland’s capital attracts all of these people by combining stunning city architecture and world class events, in a city nestled amongst some truly beautiful rugged natural scenery.

A vibrant European capital built around the medieval Edinburgh Castle (perched on top of an extinct volcano!) Edinburgh’s uniqueness is recognised globally, as proven by its two main districts, Old Town and New Town, gaining UNESCO World Heritage status in the 1990s. Other notable areas include South Side, Leith and Stockbridge.

There is so much to see and do in this beautiful city, whether you want high culture or high jinks. So try and arrive with plenty of energy and enthusiasm to make sure that you get the most out of your stay in, what many consider to be, one of the most picturesque urban spaces in Europe.

The Edinburgh Festival season

Edinburgh proudly boasts the world’s largest performing arts festival, known as ‘The Edinburgh Fringe’, which showcases more than 2000 shows in over 250 venues throughout the city. But it isn’t just the Fringe that runs throughout the summer month of August. Despite its size it also shares the spotlight with The Edinburgh Comedy Festival, The International Book Festival, The Edge Music Festival, Edinburgh International Festival and The Edinburgh Military Tattoo, guaranteeing that the streets of the city are alive and buzzing with thousands of people both day and night – So make sure that you book early!

Other Events

Although August is when Edinburgh’s status as a party town reaches its zenith, there’s still lots more going on throughout the rest of the year. The city is proud of its long history and holds annual events to celebrate its pagan and Viking past, such as the Beltane Fire Festival on 30th April. The Beltane Fire Festival takes place in the evening on April 30th and is a truly dramatic event worth attending if you are in the area around this time.

More than 12,000 people turn up to watch a procession of fire-torch bearers perform an ancient ritual that has its roots all the way back in the days of Pagan Briton, long before the arrival of Christianity.

The event is a ticket only one which is run by the Beltane Fire Society.

Finally that other world famous party, Hogmanay, takes place from 31st December to 2nd January. Alternatively there are two other big dates in Edinburgh’s calendar; these are Burn’s night (25 January) and St. Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s patron saint’s day (30th November).