Rampant Scotland Directory!

Tourism- Edinburgh

Edinburgh, dominated by its castle and history is the capital of Scotland and major tourist city - but it is also a significant financial and commercial centre, ranking fourth in Europe. The Web pages below reflect mainly the tourist attractions, art and the history.

Other areas and aspects in the Rampant Scotland site of interest to the virtual tourist include:



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Places to Visit in Edinburgh

Part of an extensive feature on this site covering places to visit across all of Scotland, the places in Edinburgh which are described and illustrated include:

Edinburgh Photo Library

Good size photos of over 70 views of the capital of Scotland. Most of the main tourist attractions are there - plus a few more unusual locations. You can access them individually via the index or take a virtual tour, as each page is linked to the next.

Edinburgh and Lothian Tourist Board

An excellent and extensive guide to Edinburgh and its environs with lots of information on tourist attractions in the city.

Scottish Tourist Board

The revamped Scottish Tourist Board is a very large site full of information on most parts of Scotland including Edinburgh. Full of illustrations, navigation is aided by an active map and a useful menu. As well as touring all the main tourist areas of Scotland, the Scottish Tourist Board have provided information on travel to and from (and within) the country together with accommodation guide, places to visit and practical information for the visitor.

National Trust for Scotland

The National Trust looks after a wide range of properties around Scotland. The Web pages give a brief description of each one, together with opening times and a (small) illustration. The Trust properties in Edinburgh or nearby include Gladstone’s Land, Malleny Garden, Newhailes, No 28 Charlotte Square and the Georgian House in Charlotte Square.

Guide to Edinburgh - History

Presenting from the Celts and Romans to the present day with in-depth articles on the Royal Mile with a detailed map and description of the buildings and attractions in this popular tourist haunt. Georgian Edinburgh including the Architects of the Enlightenment. The Edinburgh Art Galleries section has well illustrated pages on the Fruitmarket Gallery, and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art as well as the National Gallery of Scotland, including a photograph of "The Three Graces".

History of Edinburgh

Covers not just the history of Edinburgh Castle and the City itself, but also the Edinburgh Festival, Military Tattoo and Edinburgh Zoo. Additional sections cover events linked to Edinburgh of old such as Burke and Hare and the "Lang Siege" as well as the story of Edinburgh trams - past and present.

Stuck on Scotland - Edinburgh

Tips for planning an Edinburgh holiday including attractions, sightseeing, accommodation, tours, trips and a guide to buses, coaches and trains in the city.

Edinburgh Search

Edinburgh Search is a city portal, visitor guide and local search engine all rolled into one. Packed with all the latest Edinburgh information and resources, the site caters for locals, visitors and tourists alike. Sections include Eating Out, Edinburgh Pubs & Clubs, What's On, Attractions & Tours and a photo gallery.

Beltane Fire Festival

The Beltane Fire Festival is held every year during the night of 30th April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. The event attracts up to 15,000 spectators with over 300 voluntary collaborators and performers. In the last four years, the Society has also staged an event at Samhuinn, the seasonal opposite to Beltane, in Parliament Square (on Edinburgh's Royal Mile) on the night of Oct 31st. More recent years have seen productions of the festivals of Imbolc (beginning of February) and Lughnasadh (end of August).

Royal Highland Show

The RHS is an annual event at the show ground at Ingliston on the edge of Edinburgh. You don't need to be a farmer to enjoy the cream of the country's livestock, horse competitions, show jumping, military bands, sheep dog trials, the Food from Scotland Exhibition, the Handcrafts Exhibition and the fragrant Flower Show.

The One O'Clock Gun Association

This association was founded in 1998 and established a permanent exhibition about the famous One O'Clock Gun within the Castle, located at the Mills Mount Battery. The site has an informative History Of The Gun in pictures and a selection of images from around the globe in a World History of Time Guns & Time Balls section. There are also some very interesting FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) on the gun.

Capital Collections

Edinburgh City Libraries and Information Services have made available a choice of images from their city-wide collections. Whether you are researching your family tree or doing a school project, you can discover the historical and cultural life of Edinburgh through this growing image library which includes a great selection of photographs, drawings, watercolours and engravings of not just buildings and locations but people as well. There is a helpful area search to allow you to home in on specific districts within the city.

Edinburgh Photo Trail In 1993 the Edinburgh Tourist Board and Fuji created two photo trails in Edinburgh, one for the New Town and one for the Old Town. Sadly, today there are no more leaflets available showing the keen photographer where to find these trails in Edinburgh, although some of you may have seen the Phototrail plaques dotted about the city. This web site hopes to resurrect the Photo Trails and make them more accessible to everyone living in, or visiting, Edinburgh. The information on this site comes from the 1993 leaflet (you can download a PDF copy of that useful document). The site covers the Old Town and New Town Trails, pointing to where to get the main places for photographs of this most photographed city.

Panoramic Earth - Edinburgh

Panoramic 360 degree photos of multiple locations in Edinburgh, including for example Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh Photographic

Pictures of Edinburgh, its people, events, places of interest, and some general landscapes of locations within easy reach of Edinburgh, presented by a camera enthusiast.

SkydreamZ Firework Photo Gallery

While not confined to Edinburgh, this site showcases superb pictures of a number of the the firework displays which take place in the capital every year, including Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh's Hogmanay and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo - plus the opening of the Ocean Terminal in Leith.

Edinburgh Stag Party

This site specialises in organising or helping you organise a stag or hen party either in Scotland or Edinburgh. Whether it be a single night or a stag weekend, we can find you the perfect accommodation, bars, restaurants, activities. From this site you can see what is on offer and actually make bookings or simply collect a few ideas and then get them to do the donkey work.

The List - Eating and Drinking

The Web version of the printed magazine concentrates on restaurants, bistros, cafes and bars in Edinburgh (and Glasgow). There are more than 800 places to choose from, covering all styles of eating and cooking from Scottish to Mexican and French to Chinese. You can search by city, style and type of cooking or even alphabetically by name of restaurant. There are also special restaurant deals and booking facilities at selected establishments across the country.

TimeOut: Edinburgh

Related to a printed magazine of the same name, the Edinburgh Sightseeing section is text only but adequately covers Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile etc. The Edinburgh Nightlife section covers the best nightclubs, DJ bars and late-night hot-spots in the city while Edinburgh Restaurants provides an independent review of top restaurants, bars and cafes.

Kids' Edinburgh

A comprehensive guide for children's activities in and around Edinburghcovering fun activities, events, festivals, sports, culture and adventure, all on an easy-to-use free database.

City of Edinburgh Council

Intended more for residents than tourists, the City Council Web site covers, business information, Council business, education, environment, housing, leisure, planning and ptoprty, social work, transport.

Auld Edinburgh

An informative guide to the City of Edinburgh. The list of attractions is particularly comprehensive but there is also information on places to eat, entertainment, pubs/clubs, history, shopping, transport, sport and accommodation plus maps of the city and surrounding area.

Edinburgh Old Town

Strange mixture of some tourist information via Java mini browser pages and limited graphics and conservation issues for the residents - wheelie bins may be important to the conservationists managing the area but this is not what most tourists want to see.

Edinburgh-Royalmile.com

Covers every aspect of Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile from past to present. Visitors can to take a visual tour from the Castle at the top to Holyrood Palace at the bottom and beyond into Queens Park with places of interest, the shops, places to eat, pubs, and places to stay. Browse through old photographs, maps and illustrations, discover the closes where they lead and the inhabitants who lived there, plus a "what's on now" section.

Cockburn Association

The Cockburn Association works to promote and enhance the amenity of Edinburgh and its surroundings and to preserve its architectural heritage and landscape. A number of examples of what the association regards as bad decisions on the part of architects and planning authorities are given.

Glasgow and Edinburgh - a Trail of Two Cities

This site has Gerry Blaikie's great architectural drawings and brief description of buildings of note in Scotland's two largest cities. The section on Edinburgh Architecture includes St Giles, Edinburgh Central Library and Register House.

Edinburgh Contemporary Architecture

This site aims to inform both locals and an international audience of Edinburgh's architecture scene - topical issues, new buildings and masterplans. The website is focused on contemporary architecture, is updated daily, and linked to over 300 other Edinburgh sites.

Living Memory Association - Edinburgh

This group aims to bring people together through reminiscence and oral history work. The Web site covers the work of the group, events, a newsletter and a photographic archive project with over 1200 photographs taken by Edinburgh people dating from 1850 to recent times with a selection on the site.

New Club Edinburgh

Site provides information on the club history, accommodation, and facilities. Their records date from 1787 when it met in Bayle's Tavern in Shakespear Square at the east end of Princes Street. The Club then acquired its own premises in St Andrews Square before moving to its present site in 1837.

The Queens Park, Edinburgh

Pictures of Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags, Radical Road, St Margaret's Loch, St Anthony's Chapel, Dunsapie Loch, Duddingston Loch and Kirk.

If you are planning a trip to Scotland you may wish to use a specialist company offering guided tours. Rampant Scotland has teamed up with Go Scotland to provide quick access to a one stop shop for a very wide range of tours in Scotland. Go Scotland offers tours from a number of recommended tour guide companies in Scotland with sightseeing tours from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

Click the graphic to see what they have on offer on tours from Edinburgh:-

Use the Go Scotland Tour Search to find a tour departing on your desired time frame. If you can't find what your looking for contact them and they'll find it for you. Go Scotland Tours also arranges private driver guided tours and customised itineraries with tailor-made bespoke Scotland tours.



Edinburgh Castle Biz

History of Edinburgh Castle plus visitor highlights, selected accommodation in Edinbugh, things to see and do in the capital, basic map of central Edinburgh and useful links.

Edinburgh Butterfly Farm and Insect World

At the Butterfly Farm and Insect World you can't get much closer than some of the exhibits landing on your hand, shoulder - or head. There are not only exotic butterflies and tropical birds flying free, but you can handle snakes and spiders and see poisonous frogs and scorpions.

Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo is another of Scotland's top tourist attractions. The zoo is particularly noted for its large collection of penguins and when they parade, outside of their pens, in front of the visitors at feeding time the cameras click furiously to capture the moment. The penguin enclosure is the largest in the world and a suspension bridge gives visitors a great view of the pool (which has glass sides too).

Dynamic Earth

The William Younger Centre, otherwise known as "The Dynamic Earth" is a new high-tech scientific and educational visitor attraction. The futuristic building is set under the watchfull eye of Salisbury Crags and on the site of a house once occupied by James Hutton, the father of archaeology. It has batteries of video and computer displays as it explains the evolution of earth from the "Big Bang" through rainforests and tectonic plates. There is an exploding volcano, morphing dinosaurs into giraffes, polar ice caps and deserts. This Web site utilises QuickTime, Shockwave and Acrobat Reader plug-ins.

Royal Yacht Britannia

The former royal yacht has become a tourist attraction at Leith Docks which was voted "Best New Attraction in the UK" in 1999. The site gives details of how to book a tour of the ship, its history and there is a gift shop and tartan goods collection.

3D Loch Ness Experience Exhibition

The legend of Loch Ness exhibition in Edinburgh's Royal Mile presents a lot of the evidence and findings with photos, illusions, hoaxes Eye Witness Accounts. Then you can judge for yoursef whether Nessie really exists or not.

Ocean Terminal

This is not just a terminal for ocean liners (and the berth of the Royal Yacht Britannia - see link above) but is a 444,000 sq.ft. shopping and leisure complex at Leith Docks, including a large roof-top restaurant, Bhs, Ster Century 12-screen cinema complex.

Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA)

This 5 star visitor attraction on the outskirts of Edinburgh is not only the largest climbing arena in the world, it also hosts a fantastic children's soft play area, spacious fitness gym, spa, cafe, shop - and conference and events spaces. You can experience the adrenaline rush of the Aerial Assault, take on one of the mighty climbing walls in the arena or suspend down the front of the arena's windows like Spiderman. And if all that's too strenuous, come and visit the Belay Caf´, where you can see the spectacular view of the arena from the comfort of a sofa.

Mercat Tours of Edinburgh

Escorted walking tours around Edinburgh concentrating on such aspects as Ghosts and Ghouls and a Ghost Heritage Trail. The Royal Mile tour seems more geared to people with a nervous disposition!

Edinburgh Witchery Tours

This company provides ghostly evening walks by "Cadies & Witchery Tours" which have been an attraction in Edinburgh since 1984 - making them (in)famous throughout this world... and beyond!

The Real Mary King's Close

The Real Mary King’s Close consists of a number of closes which were originally narrow streets with houses on either side, stretching up to seven storeys high. In the 18th century the tops of the houses were demolished and the Royal Exchange (now the City Chambers) was built on top of the lower sections. The remnants of the closes were left beneath the building, dark and ancient dwellings steeped in mystery - and various legends grew up about them. Now they have been re-opened and tours take people around an historically accurate interpretation of life in Edinburgh from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Informative and entertaining!

Water of Leith Conservation Trust

The Water of Leith is a river which flows thirty five kilometres from its source in the Pentland Hills through the villages of Balerno, Currie, Juniper Green and Colinton into the heart of Edinburgh at Wester Coates, Dean, Stockbridge and Warriston and on to its mouth with the Firth of Forth in Leith. The site covers local history, wildlife and walks. There is a useful map with "pop-up" information.

History of Leith

A series of searchable articles on the history of Leith, now part of Edinburgh but formerly the capital's main port.

Leith Community Portal

News, Community Forum for posting views and news, upcoming events and useful links relating to Leith. There is also a humour section with stories relating to Leith.

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

Not just about the College, its library and events but also an illustrated history of the recreation of the 17th century Sibbald Garden

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh at Inverleithare a major tourist attraction in the city - at all times of year. The site also links to satellite gardens such as Younger Botanic Gardens at Benmore, Logan Botanic Gardens in the south-west and Dawyck Botanic Garden. There's also a special focus on everyone's favourite Rhododendrons at all their gardens.

Edinburgh Convention Bureau

Edinburgh Convention Bureau (ECB) provides a wide range of free services to help plan and organise the perfect conference in Edinburgh. They can provide an extensive online meeting room directory plus guidance and advice when inspecting venues in Edinburgh. If necessary, Edinburgh Convention Bureau and its conference bidding team can put together a proposal highlighting the attractiveness of holding coroprate events in Scotland's capital.

Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association

A group of like-minded restaurant proprietors offering something to suit every taste and palate. You can find out about the style of food they offer in their Menu & Wine Guide. Included are excellent establishments such as Le Café Saint-Honoré, Jackson's, Iggs and Whighams Wine Cellars.

Edinburgh Food Guide

Reviews of the best restaurants and places to eat in the city plus a "delivery section" for eating in. Restaurants are identified by area and type of cuisine (Mongolian, Nepalese, Caribbean as well as the expected French, Italian, Indian) and a search facility helps too.

Duck's at Le Marché Noir

Haggis gets the French provincial treatment at this restaurant located at Eyre Place, Edinburgh. Malcolm K. Duck offers a range of Scottish and French cuisine and a wine list for the connoisseur. The wine list is on-line and you can examine the menu and even make an online booking.

The Sunday Brunch Club

This is one of Edinburgh´s leading social and activities club with the activities on offer range from rollerblading and paintballing to real ale nights and champagne tasting, badminton, tennis, comedy nights, theatre, themed dinners, nights on the town, brunches and much, much more. As the name implies, it started as a small dining club who brunched together once a week, on a Sunday. That tradition continues to this day, but they now stage activities and events right through the week and it now gives members the opportunity to meet new people within Edinburgh, whether they have just moved to the city or want to broaden their social circle.

The Guide to Edinburgh

This site contains advertisements for places to eat, what to do and where to shop plus arts and entertainment, education, history, sport and local Video Webcams.

Filming in Edinburgh and Lothian

With the renewed interest in making films in and about Scotland, a number of sites have been set up to assist producers to find the right locations for their future film. The Edinburgh and Lothian guide has graphics on castles and mansion houses in Edinburgh, Lothians and the Scottish Borders. There is also an online directory of experienced local crew, film services and production companies which will help you find the right people at a budget that suits.



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Where else would you like to go in Scotland?

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