Introduction

Edinburgh has something for everyone. There are great pubs, clubs and restaurants, theatres and cinemas, museums, galleries, parks, gardens, shops and sport centres. And, of course, the world famous Edinburgh Festival.

History

With its stunning Georgian and Victorian architecture, and winding medieval streets, it’s easy to see why Edinburgh has been listed as a World Heritage Site. Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline and is the best known and most visited of our historic buildings. But the castle is just the start of what Edinburgh has to offer. The National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland look after a wealth of properties in the city, all of which are available for you to explore.

Galleries and museums

One of the most appealing things about Edinburgh is that almost everything is within walking distance. Some of Scotland’s most important national galleries are situated within a short stroll of the city centre. There are also plenty of locally run museums and galleries dotted around the capital.

Try the National Gallery on the Mound for the best in both International and Scottish art. Or discover the story of Scotland at the Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street.

Eating

With more restaurants per head than any other UK city, whatever you are looking to eat, Edinburgh has it.

The capital has an international flavour and offers a variety of national cuisines to rival any European city. In addition to Italian, French, Thai and Indian, you could try Mongolian or Kurdish. There are Chinese buffets and Spanish tapas restaurants and plenty of good old, British chip shops. Vegetarians are well catered for and even eating out on a budget is easy. For smaller appetites, you can try one of the many cafes, bakeries and coffee shops that dot the streets.

If location is important to you, there are even restaurants with gorgeous views of the castle and the Edinburgh skyline.

At the University

The Student Union

The Student Union offers affordable food, in a range of locations. With most students living close to the University, these provide a cheap and accessible lunchtime or evening option. Or, for something a bit special, try fine dining in the Teviot Dining Room or Curle Room at King’s Buildings.

 

Colleges and Schools

The University of Edinburgh’s Academic structure is based on 3 Colleges containing a total of 22 Schools.

Colleges

  • Humanities & Social Science, College of
  • Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, College of
  • Science & Engineering, College of

Schools

  • Biological Sciences, School of
  • Biomedical Sciences, School of
  • Business School
  • Chemistry, School of
  • Clinical Sciences, School of
  • Divinity, School of
  • Economics, School of
  • Edinburgh College of Art
  • Education, The Moray House School of
  • Engineering, School of
  • GeoSciences, School of
  • Health in Social Science, School of
  • History, Classics and Archaeology, School of
  • Informatics, School of
  • Law, School of
  • Literatures, Languages and Cultures, School of
  • Mathematics, School of
  • Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences, School of
  • Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, School of
  • Physics and Astronomy, School of
  • Social and Political Science, School of
  • Veterinary Studies, Royal (Dick) School of

 

Did you know?

You probably have some basic knowledge of Edinburgh, but here are some things you may not already know:

  • Edinburgh was voted ‘Favourite UK City’ for an incredible 13 consecutive years, by the Guardian and Observer newspapers.
  • Edinburgh is the top destination for overseas and UK visitors to Scotland.
  • Edinburgh has more booksellers per capita than any other city in Britain and, in 2004, was the first city in the world to be named City of Literature by UNESCO.
  • Edinburgh Castle is Scotland’s most visited attraction.
  • Edinburgh is the only city to have a dog on the list of citizens who have been given the prestigious Freedom of the City award. That dog was Greyfriars Bobby.
  • Some of the movies filmed in Edinburgh and the surrounding district include ‘The Da Vinci Code’, ‘Chariots of Fire’, ‘The 39 Steps’, ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’, ‘Trainspotting’, ‘Hallam Foe’ and ‘One Day’. The animated film ‘The Illusionist’ was also set in 1950s Edinburgh.
  • Edinburgh was the first city in the world to have its own fire service.
  • Edinburgh is the UK’s second and Europe’s sixth largest financial centre.
  • The first Encyclopaedia Britannica was published in Edinburgh.
  • Scotland is the only country in the world where Coca Cola is not the best selling soft drink. Irn Bru is the best seller.
  • Anaesthetics were first used in Edinburgh by physician James Simpson to relieve the pain of surgery.
  • Edinburgh’s population is around 450,000, but that figure swells to well over 1 million during the Festival in August.
  • Although part of the United Kingdom, Scotland has its own Parliament, situated in Edinburgh.

Scottish inventions

Edinburgh, and Scotland are home to some of the world’s most significant inventions, including:

  • the telephone
  • the television
  • the first cloned mammal
  • audio codecs for ipods
  • the modern steam engine
  • the adhesive stamp
  • the breech-loading rifle
  • logarithms
  • penicillin
  • the pedal bicycle

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