Edinburgh - The City Of Festivals By Terry Cod

The City of Edinburgh, where the lively activity of Scotland's capital city sits in perfect contrast to the tranquility of the surrounding area.

Edinburgh has one of the most beautiful vistas in the world, making it a perfect base to explore the city and the surrounding countryside. With Scotland's most famous castle dominating the city skyline, there is plenty to see and do with the ideal balance between all things contemporary and traditional.

Every year during the month of August Edinburgh welcomes thousands of visitors to its world famous festival. It is in fact made up of a variety of festivals, exhibitions and events including The Fringe, Book Festival, the International Festival, Jazz & Blues Festival, Military Tattoo, Film Festival and Edinburgh Mela. Additionally, many head to Edinburgh for its month long festival at Christmas which culminates in the world famous Hogmanay celebrations.

Even if this is not your first visit to the city, an open-top bus tour of the city is a great way to get your bearings and work out what's where. Tours follow a circuit through the 18th century Georgian New Town and the medieval Old Town so you can always get back to where you started. The top of the Royal Mile is a great starting place to explore on foot. Edinburgh Castle is Scotland's number one attraction and definitely worth a visit. As well as the obvious visits to see the Stone of Destiny and the Crown Jewels of Scotland, it's worth trying to locate possibly the most touching aspect of Edinburgh Castle, the soldiers' dog cemetery. The cemetery is a small garden used as a burial place for officer's pet dogs and regimental mascots. Arguably the greatest view of Edinburgh is from the castle ramparts as nothing in the city is permitted to be built higher. The fifteenth century cannon at the castle called Mon's Meg is fired at 1pm every day.

The next most visited attraction is that of The Palace of Holyroodhouse. Built beside an Augustinian Abbey dating back to 1128, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is The Queen's official residence in Scotland. Situated at the end of the Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace is closely associated with Scotland's unruly past, including Mary, Queen of Scots, who made her home here between 1561 and 1567. Successive kings and queens have made Holyrood Palace the premier Scottish royal residence. Today, the Palace is used for official entertaining and ceremonies of state

The ancient tales of grave robbing and murder buzz constantly around your head as you tour the city either on foot or on an Edinburgh open-topped bus. You can also choose from a number of nightly ghost tours available if you are brave enough to cope with the grisly truths of Edinburgh after dark.

After a session of shopping at Scotland's most famous department store Jenners (opened in 1838 and now owned by House of Fraser) on Princes Street, why not head over to the huge and beautiful Princes Street Gardens. Built from a former loch, the gardens are the perfect place to get out a picnic whilst taking in the views of the castle, the Old Town and the park's famed floral clock. A great place to watch the hectic world of Edinburgh fly by.

The city is at its most hectic during the summer months for this is the time of the major festivals. The immensely popular Edinburgh Fringe Festival offers a mixed batch of light entertainment from comedy to Shakespeare. To give you an idea of the sheer size of the Fringe, 2006's Festival saw hundreds of groups putting on 1,867 different shows with a total of 28,014 performances in 261 venues.

Although driving is not recommended inside the city itself due to restrictions of parking spaces and the convenience of an excellent public transport service, hiring a car in Edinburgh is recommended to take in the wonderful countryside that surround the city. A 15 minute drive takes you into the coastal, scenic town of Musselburgh. Life here is a lot more down to earth and less cosmopolitan than its neighbouring big brother. Expect to find a race track, possibly the oldest nine hole golf course in Scotland and some excellent opportunities for fine dining along your route.

Just south of Edinburgh is the mid-Lothian region particularly renowned for its diversity and places of interest to pursue. A short drive away presents you with the delights of several castles that are open to visitors, including one that has now been converted into a luxurious castle hotel. You will also find stately homes and old churches, including the Rosslyn Chapel (in the village of Roslin) featured in the Da Vinci Code novel by Dan Brown.

This article on the city of Edinburgh was written by Terry Cod, a writer with great experience of the major European cities. He is the owner of http://www.edinburgh-hotel-bookings.co.uk offering Discounted Edinburgh hotels

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