Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland , is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. This distinction is partly an accident of Nature, for the city is built upon a jumble of hills and valleys; however, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the natural geography was enhanced by the works of a succession of distinguished Georgian and Victorian architects. The result today is high drama; there are countless spots where Edinburgh looks less like a city and more like a theatrical backdrop. The view from Edinburgh's Calton Hill, across the River Forth to Fife, looks more like a scene from ancient Rome.
Edinburgh incidentally, is named after Edwin, a king of ancient Northumbria; it has been a Royal Burgh since at least the twelfth century, and has been recognised as the capital of Scotland since the fifteenth.
Edinburgh's face is her fortune, for it was this dramatic beauty which, in the first instance, made the Scottish capital's name familiar throughout the modern world. But there are other, less tangible factors involved, for Edinburgh is a city that delights the mind as well as the eye. It is a city where the past lives comfortably with the present. It is a gracious place, in the way that many other cities used to be.
Views of Edinburgh Castle the Esplanade and the surrounding area
