All the Sights to See

When the maidens are too cold in a monstrous castle what would you do? Build them their own palace one mile away from the King's to make them happy.

Walking through Edinburgh is walking through history. 

The Royal Mile: 1 mile and 7 yards of shops, restaurants, and history. Here you can find everything from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyrood House.

The Edinburgh Walk of Fame: Located in front of the City Chambers, two and a half awesome squares of the most famous people in Edinburgh’s handprints, including J.K. Rowling.

The Market Cross: A unique monument to Edinburgh with the national animal, the Unicorn, sitting on top of it. When a new king was announced they would fill it up with wine so everyone could have a drink. It was also the center for public punishments. If you stole or did anything wrong they nailed you by the ear to the wall and left you for 24 hours. You knew you found a reformed bad boy when he had a hole in his ear in those days.

St. Giles Cathedral: The only church where you will find paintings of angels playing bagpipes. It has a golden rooster instead of a cross sitting on top of it as a symbol of laziness. Every time the kings changed often so did the religion and a new cross had to be placed on the top of the church. After a while they put the rooster up there instead of changing out the crosses all the time.

David Hume Statue: A statue of the smartest man to every come out of Edinburgh University. Dressed in a toga even though he isn’t Greek it is custom to rub his big toe for wisdom.

The Writer’s Museum: If you enjoy museums and writers you can make yourself at home in this free museum. Mary Stairs, a book lover, created a home to help writers start a writing career. If she liked your book she helped you get published. She is responsible for publishing famous works like Sherlock Holmes and Peter Pan.

Victoria Street: If you have ever seen a post card of Edinburgh it is probably of Victoria Street. It is the most famous street in Edinburgh for its colorful buildings and flowers with great shops and food and leads right into the Grass Market.

George Harriet School: You can’t visit but it is a good view of the inspiration for Hogwarts in Harry Potter from Victoria Street! It is said that Rowling got the inspiration for the four houses of Hogwarts from the four towers on the school.

Edinburgh Castle: The incredible top of the city, although pricey to get in (17 Pound), it is free to look at and snap a picture of the gorgeous exterior. For around 30 Pound you can take a guided tour with Sandamens which includes your ticket cost.

The Grass Market: A former cow pasture now home to great traditional pubs.

The Grey Friars Graveyard: Said to be where J.K. Rowling found inspiration for character names and is home to the famous Grey Friars Bobby statue. A statue of the Friar’s dog that sat dutifully on his master’s grave for 14 years becoming a symbol of the city.

The Sir Walter Scott Monument: A monument opposite the castle that you can climb to the top of for 3 Pound and an incredible, windy view of the city.

Arthur’s Seat: The main peak and the highest point in the city that make up the majority of Holyrood Park and the center of the city. This cliff is 822 ft. tall and an incredible view. Be careful of the wind, it is much stronger than you think!