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The Edinburgh Portal
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Edinburgh (/ˈɛdɪnbərə/ ^ⓘ Scots: [ˈɛdɪnbʌrə]; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann [ˌt̪un ˈeːtʲən̪ˠ]) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. The city is located in south-east Scotland, and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth estuary and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of 506,520 in mid-2020, making it the second-most populous city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 912,490.

Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament, the highest courts in Scotland, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. It is also the annual venue of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scottish law, literature, philosophy, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and now one of three in the city, is considered one of the best research institutions in the world. It is the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, the fourth largest in Europe, and the thirteenth largest internationally.

The city is a cultural centre, and is the home of institutions including the National Museum of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery. The city is also known for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, the latter being the world's largest annual international arts festival. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, and the extensive Georgian New Town built in the 18th/19th centuries. Edinburgh's Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. The city's historical and cultural attractions have made it the UK's second-most visited tourist destination, attracting 4.9 million visits, including 2.4 million from overseas in 2018. (Full article...)

Selected location article

The Palm House in the Royal Botanic Garden

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) (Scottish Gaelic: Gàrradh Luibh-eòlais Rìoghail Dhùn Èideann) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland—Edinburgh, Dawyck, Logan and Benmore—each with its own specialist collection. The RBGE's living collection consists of more than 13,302 plant species (34,422 accessions), whilst the herbarium contains in excess of 3 million preserved specimens.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. The Edinburgh site is the main garden and the headquarters of the public body, which is led by Regius Keeper Simon Milne. (Full article...)

Selected images

Image 1Edinburgh (from Salisbury Crags) by William Crozier, a painter associated with The Edinburgh School
Image 2The Castle Rock
Image 3The National Monument of Scotland (right) and Nelson Monument (left)
Image 4City Observatory, the Gothic Tower
Image 5Charlotte Square, a garden square in the New Town
Image 6The Scottish Parliament Building
Image 7The BT building in Edinburgh Park
Image 8Two Edinburgh Trams seen at the West End - Princes Street stop
Image 9Calton Hill
Image 10St Giles' Cathedral, the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh
Image 11Jenners Department Store, the oldest department store in Scotland
Image 12Fountain at Holyrood Palace
Image 13Sir Walter Scott
Image 14David Hume, Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist born in Edinburgh in 1711
Image 15Architecture in Edinburgh
Image 16The Dean Gallery, part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Image 17View looking west along George Street
Image 18The Princes Street Gardens, the best known park in Edinburgh
Image 19The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle
Image 20Fettes College
Image 21Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland
Image 22View over Edinburgh
Image 23Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, 2010
Image 24The Royal Scottish Academy Building
Image 25Arthur's Seat
Image 26The ruins of Holyrood Abbey
Image 27The Governor's House
Image 28Ratho Park Golf Club
Image 29The High Street, part of the Royal Mile
Image 30Scottish baronial-style turrets on Victorian tenements in St. Mary's Street
Image 31Queensferry Crossing road bridge

Selected transportation article

The Edinburgh City Bypass (A720) skirts the southern fringes of the city. The road was constructed between 1981 and 1990 and opened to motorists in sections. The road is one of the main trunk roads in east central Scotland linking vitally important routes such as the M8, the main route west to Glasgow, the A1, one of the two primary routes south from Scotland to England, and the M9 to Stirling. The City Bypass is linked by the A902 to the A90 leading north out of the city.

Edinburgh itself is the hub of the A-road numbering system within Scotland, and many radial routes lead into and out of the city. Routes radiating from Edinburgh are as follows (in a clockwise direction): (Full article...)

Selected area article

Greendykes is a neighbourhood of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was originally a council scheme, consisting mostly of low-rise flats but also two 15-storey tower blocks (Greendykes House and Wauchope House). It is sometimes considered to be part of Craigmillar; areas such as Niddrie, Niddrie Mains and Newcraighall are also situated nearby.

Greendykes was ranked as the 4th most deprived area in Scotland in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006. The low-rise flats were demolished between 2009 and 2010 and rebuilt to an extent over the next decade. Affordable housing is being provided through a joint venture known as PARClife between the city council and EDI, a private company 100% owned by the Council. Much of the new housing in the area is built to the south of the original Greendykes housing, on the opposite side of the Niddrie Burn (itself landscaped as a southern extension of Hunter's Hall Public Park). (Full article...)

Selected environment article

Castle Rock as seen from Princes Street

Castle Rock (Scottish Gaelic: Creag a' Chaisteil, IPA:[ˈkʰʲɾʲekˈaˈxaʃtʰʲɪl]) is a volcanic plug in the middle of Edinburgh upon which Edinburgh Castle sits. The rock is estimated to have formed some 350 million years ago during the early Carboniferous period. It is the remains of a volcanic pipe which cut through the surrounding sedimentary rock, before cooling to form very hard dolerite, a coarser-grained equivalent of basalt. Subsequent glacial erosion was resisted more by the dolerite, which protected the softer rock to the east, leaving a crag and tail formation.

The summit of the castle rock is 130 m (430 ft) above sea level, with rocky cliffs to the south, west and north, rearing up to 80 m (260 ft) from the surrounding landscape. This means that the only readily accessible route to the castle lies to the east, where the ridge slopes more gently. The defensive advantage of such a site is clear, but the geology of the rock also presents difficulties, since basalt is an extremely poor aquifer. Providing water to the Upper Ward of the castle was problematic, and despite the sinking of a 28 m (92 ft) deep well, the water supply often ran out during drought or siege, for example during the Lang Siege of 1573. (Full article...)

Did you know?

... that George Parks was president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and his son Rowan Parks became president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh?
... that Prince Philip was the first member of the British royal family to fly in a helicopter?

Selected arts article

Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. (Full article...)

Selected education article

Heriot-Watt University (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United Kingdom. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot.

The annual income of the institution for 2022–23 was £259.5 million of which £33 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £266.7 million. Known for its focus on science as well as engineering, it is one of the 23 colleges being granted university status in the 1960s and sometimes considered a plate glass university similar to the likes of Lancaster and Warwick. (Full article...)

Selected sports article

Redeveloped Meadowbank's pitch, track and small stand in front of indoor sport facility (2023)

Meadowbank Stadium (officially the Meadowbank Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of the earlier New Meadowbank and Old Meadowbank sports venues, it was originally built to host the 1970 Commonwealth Games. It also hosted the Games in 1986, becoming the first venue to host the Games twice. It is the current home of Scottish League Two side Edinburgh City.

The stadium has also regularly hosted football. It was the home ground of Scottish Football League team Meadowbank Thistle between 1974 and 1995, becoming the first all-seated football ground in the UK in the process, and subsequently hosted senior non-league football as the home ground of Edinburgh City. League football returned to Meadowbank in 2016 following City's promotion to the Scottish Professional Football League. The Meadowbank complex also hosts Leith Athletic, who first played on the Meadowbank 3G artificial pitch adjacent to the main stadium between 2013 and 2017. (Full article...)

Selected religion article

West façade of the church building

St Giles' Cathedral (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alterations were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the addition of the Thistle Chapel. St Giles' is closely associated with many events and figures in Scottish history, including John Knox, who served as the church's minister after the Scottish Reformation.

Likely founded in the 12th century and dedicated to Saint Giles, the church was elevated to collegiate status by Pope Paul II in 1467. In 1559, the church became Protestant with John Knox, the foremost figure of the Scottish Reformation, as its minister. After the Reformation, St Giles' was internally partitioned to serve multiple congregations as well as secular purposes, such as a prison and as a meeting place for the Parliament of Scotland. In 1633, Charles I made St Giles' the cathedral of the newly created Diocese of Edinburgh. Charles' attempt to impose doctrinal changes on the presbyterian Scottish Kirk, including a Prayer Book causing a riot in St Giles' on 23 July 1637, which precipitated the formation of the Covenanters and the beginnings of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. St Giles' role in the Scottish Reformation and the Covenanters' Rebellion has led to its being called "the Mother Church of World Presbyterianism". (Full article...)

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v t e Edinburgh
History	Etymology Burning of Edinburgh Mary, Queen of Scots Greyfriars Kirk Burke and Hare Kingdom of Scotland Act of Union 1707 Parliament of Scotland David Hume Edinburgh Review Holyrood Abbey Treaty of Edinburgh Edinburgh town walls Old Town New Town Robert Adam James Craig Church of Scotland Disruption of 1843 Thomas Aikenhead Deacon Brodie North British Railway Visit of King George IV Sir Walter Scott Edwin of Northumbria Devolution Burgh Lothian Edinburgh Stock Exchange Porteous Riots Silvermills Tron riot Greyfriars Bobby Great Fire of Edinburgh
Governance	City of Edinburgh Council Lord Provost of Edinburgh Scottish Parliament
Buildings and landmarks	Arthur's Seat Balmoral Hotel Brass Founders' Pillar Bute House Calton Hill Craiglockhart Castle Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh International Conference Centre Forth Rail Bridge Forth Road Bridge Governor's House Holyrood Palace National Monument New College Old College Parliament House Princes Street Gardens Ross Fountain Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Scott Monument Scottish Parliament Building St Andrew's House St Giles' Cathedral Victoria Quay
Museums and galleries	Fruitmarket Gallery The Georgian House Museum of Edinburgh National Museum of Scotland National War Museum Dynamic Earth Public art Royal Scottish Academy Scottish National Gallery Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Theatres and concert halls	Bedlam Theatre Edinburgh Arena (proposed) Edinburgh Playhouse Festival Theatre King's Theatre Queen's Hall Reid Concert Hall Royal Lyceum Theatre St Cecilia's Hall Traverse Theatre Usher Hall
Economy	Bank of Scotland Caledonian Brewery Edinburgh Park Edinburgh BioQuarter Fort Kinnaird Ocean Terminal Royal Bank of Scotland Scottish Widows Standard Life
Transport	A1 road Airport Edinburgh Airport Rail Link Edinburgh City Bypass Edinburgh Crossrail Edinburgh Waverley railway station Haymarket railway station Lothian Buses Trams
Health and education	Edinburgh College Edinburgh College of Art Heriot-Watt University Hospitals Moray House School of Education Napier University Queen Margaret University Schools Scotland's Rural College University of Edinburgh
Festivals	Edinburgh Festival Fringe Edinburgh International Book Festival Edinburgh International Film Festival Edinburgh International Festival Edinburgh International Television Festival Hogmanay Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Other topics	Geography of Edinburgh Beer in Edinburgh Graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh
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