Royal Mile in Edinburgh

16 July 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit, Shopping, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  4 minutes

© flickr.com - Timo Newton-Syms/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Timo Newton-Syms/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Royal Mile (Scottish Gaelic: Am Mìle Rìoghail; Scots: Ryal Mile) is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert’s Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century (1901), describing the city “with its Castle and Palace and the royal mile between”, and was further popularised as the title of a guidebook by R. T. Skinner published in 1920, The Royal Mile (Edinburgh) Castle to Holyrood(house).   read more…

Grassmarket in Edinburgh

9 April 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Pubs at Grassmarket © Reinhold Möller/cc-by-sa-4.0

Pubs at Grassmarket © Reinhold Möller/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Grassmarket is a historic market place and an event space in the Old Town (UNESCO World Heritage Site) of Edinburgh, Scotland. In relation to the rest of the city it lies in a hollow, well below surrounding ground levels. The Grassmarket is located directly below Edinburgh Castle and forms part of one of the main east-west vehicle arteries through the city centre. It adjoins the Cowgate and Candlemaker Row at the east end, the West Bow (the lower end of Victoria Street) in the north-east corner, King’s Stables Road to the north west and the West Port to the west. Leading off from the south-west corner is the Vennel, on the east side of which can still be seen some of the best surviving parts of the Flodden and Telfer town walls. The view to the north, dominated by the castle, has long been a favourite subject of painters and photographers, making it one of the iconic views of the city.   read more…

Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh

21 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  12 minutes

© Chabe01/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Chabe01/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scots since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining. Queen Elizabeth spends one week in residence at Holyrood Palace at the beginning of each summer, where she carries out a range of official engagements and ceremonies. The 16th-century Historic Apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots and the State Apartments, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the Royal Family are in residence.   read more…

Portrait: Adam Smith, the father of modern economics

8 February 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  18 minutes

19th-century building at the location where Adam Smith lived (1767-1776) and wrote "The Wealth of Nations" © Kilnburn

19th-century building at the location where Adam Smith lived (1767-1776) and wrote “The Wealth of Nations” © Kilnburn

Adam Smith was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of political economy from Kirkcaldy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is best known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Smith is cited as the “father of modern economics” and is still among the most influential thinkers in the field of economics today.   read more…

Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia

4 June 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Superyachts Reading Time:  8 minutes

HMY Britannia Bell © Robert Breuer/GFDL

HMY Britannia Bell © Robert Breuer/GFDL

Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia is the former Royal Yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the 83rd such vessel since the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. She is the second Royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the famous racing Royal Cutter Yacht built for The Prince of Wales in 1893. She is now permanently moored as an exhibition ship at Ocean Terminal, Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland.   read more…

The Creative Cities Network

2 June 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

© UNESCO / Graz

© UNESCO / Graz

The Creative Cities Network is a project under the patronage of UNESCO. With the aim of celebrating and maintaining cultural diversity, the alliance formed by member cities share their experiences in promoting the local heritage, as well as discuss plans on how to cope with the influx of globalization. The Creative Cities Network aims to find and enrich a member city’s cultural identity in the midst of a growing trend towards internationalism.   read more…

Edinburgh – Books, beer and cookies

5 May 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, Sustainability, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Hopetoun House © George Gastin

Hopetoun House © George Gastin

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top