|
Edinburgh Full Day
The tour
starts with a visit to the glorious architectural triumph of the Georgian
‘New Town,’ with its parallel broad streets (Queen, Princes and George)
squares and crescents, lined with wonderful townhouses, museums, art
galleries and many churches, all constructed between 1767 and 1800. Like
Rome, Edinburgh has seven hills so has wonderful viewpoints. The castle
dominates the city skyline (extinct volcano) from where a second higher
extinct volcano can be seen just beyond the end of Princes Street close
to the city centre. The views from here are truly panoramic and
unforgettable; sea, mountains and the city. From Calton Hill there are
still closer views of the city and it is the site of Scotland’s National
Monument and other monuments which reveal how Scotland’s capital earned
the name ‘The Athens of The North’. Many of the most famous buildings and
monuments can be seen from here, including the castle, Sir Walter Scott
Monument, St Giles Cathedral, the majestic baronial Balmoral Hotel,
Holyroodhouse Palace and a view straight down Princes Street with
buildings on one side and superb gardens on the other. These were
constructed on the site of the old loch (lake) just below the castle –
and are a real haven in the midst of a busy city.
From
Holyroodhouse Palace the Royal Mile (the Old Town) with its multitude of
old buildings, lanes, closes, museums, pubs, churches, small shops and
cafes leads straight up to the castle.
Once at
the castle the city is spread out below you. Many visitors like to visit
the castle and then spend most of the rest of the day sauntering gently
downhill on the Royal Mile to Holyroodhouse Palace. There are very many
choices of things to do and see and never enough time to fit them all in.
See also
the News and Events page for details of how to combine the Edinburgh tour
with a visit to Rosslyn Chapel, which features in the book of The Da
Vinci Code and where some of the final scenes of the film were shot.
|
