Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and its second largest city, after Glasgow, which is 45 miles away to the west. The city is one of Europe's most popular and major tourist destinations and attracts around 13 million visitors every year, and is the second most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom after London.
It is in the south-east of Scotland on the east coast of Scotland's Central Belt on the south shore of the Firth of Forth on the North Sea and because of its rugged setting and vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture including numerous stone tenements, it is often considered one of the most dramatic cities in Europe.
It forms the City of Edinburgh council area; the city council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30-square-mile rural area.
It has been the capital of Scotland since 1437 replacing Scone and is the seat of the Scottish Parliament. The city was one of the major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, gaining the nickname Athens of the North. There are over 4,000 listed buildings within the city. In the census of 2001, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 448,624.
Edinburgh is well-known for the annual Edinburgh Festival, a collection of official and independent festivals held annually over about four weeks from early August. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festival is roughly equal to the settled population of the city. The most famous of these events are the Edinburgh Fringe which is the the largest performing arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Other notable events include the Hogmanay street party on the 31st December bringing in each new year, Burns Night on the 25th January, St. Andrew's Day on November 30th, and the Beltane Fire Festival on the 30th April. Edinburgh is busy, beautiful and a place that if you have not been to, you should!
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