Edinburgh, UK

Edinburgh is a city in the south-east of Scotland, on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth with a population of 495,360 in 2011 (up 1.9% from 2010). It is the capital of Scotland and seat of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government.

While the city originally formed on and around the famous castle rock, on what is now known as Castle Hill, the modern city is often said to be built on 7 hills, namely Castle Hill, Calton Hill, Corstorphine Hill, Craiglockhart Hill, Braid Hill, Blackford Hill andArthur's Seat.

With highly-rated schools (many of them independent), 4 successful universities, including the University of Edinburgh, #21 in world rankings, and now one college (an amalgamation of three in 2012), the city promotes educational excellence and commercial innovation, supports diverse business sectors and a vibrant arts scene and provides a consistently high quality of life.

Edinburgh was named European Best Large City of the Future for Foreign Direct Investment and Best Large City for Foreign Direct Investment Strategy in the Financial Times fDi magazine awards 2012/13, the city is the UK’s strongest city economy outside London and winner of more than 12 UK Best City Awards in 8 years to 2013, and residents’ satisfaction with the city is 92%, the highest of any city surveyed by MORI. Indeed satisfaction levels have consistently exceeded 90% since 2004.

The city hosts several annual festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Other annual events include the Hogmanay Street Party and the Beltane Fire Festival.

Attracting over 1 million overseas visitors a year, Edinburgh is the second most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom after London. The city was voted 'European Destination of the Year' at the World Travel Awards 2012.

Edinburgh is the world's first UNESCO City of Literature and, due to the historical character of much of the city centre, comprising the Old Town and New Town, is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 2006, Edinburgh was awarded The European City of the Year accolade from The Academy of Urbanism.

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle dominates Scotland's capital city from its great rock. Its story has helped shape the nation's story. Battles and sieges were fought over it, royalty lived and died within its walls, and countless generations have been and inspired by it.

National Museum of Scotland 

National Museums Scotland was formed by Act of Parliament in 1985 [1], amalgamating the former National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and The Royal Scottish Museum. The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottishantiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Museum, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world cultures. The two connected buildings stand beside each other on Chambers Street, by the intersection with the George IV Bridge, in central Edinburgh. The museum is part of National Museums Scotland. Admission is free.

The two buildings retain distinctive characters: the former Museum of Scotland is housed in a modern building opened in 1998, while the former Royal Museum building was begun in 1861, and partially opened in 1866, with a Victorian Romanesque Revival facade and a grand central hall of cast iron construction that rises the full height of the building. This building reopened on 29 July 2011 after a £47 million project to restore and extend the building, and redesign the exhibitions (by Ralph Appelbaum).

The museum incorporates the collections of the former National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, and the Royal Museum. As well as the main national collections of Scottish archaeological finds and medieval objects, the museum contains artifacts from around the world, encompassing geology, archaeology, natural history, science, technology and art. The 16 new galleries reopened in 2011 include 8,000 objects, 80% of which were not formerly on display. One of the more notable exhibits is the stuffed body of Dolly the sheep, the first successful clone of a mammal from an adult cell. Other highlights includeAncient Egyptian exhibitions, one of Elton John's extravagant suits and a large kinetic sculpture named the Millennium Clock. A Scottish invention that is a perennial favourite with school parties is The Maiden, an early form of guillotine.

Other attractions in Edinburgh:

Royal Botanic Garden, National Library of Scotland, Museum of Childhood, Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre and etc.