Portal:Edinburgh

The Edinburgh Portal
Welcome! — Fàilte! — Walcome!

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of 506,520 in 2020, making it the second-most populous city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The wider metropolitan area had a population of 912,490 in the same year.

Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament, the highest courts in Scotland, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. It is also the annual venue of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scottish law, literature, philosophy, the sciences, and engineering. The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1582 and is now one of three universities in the city. The financial centre of Scotland, Edinburgh is the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, the fourth-largest in Europe, and the thirteenth-largest in the world.

The city is a cultural centre, and is the home of institutions including the National Museum of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland, and the Scottish National Gallery. The city is also known for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, the latter being the world's largest annual international arts festival. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, and the extensive Georgian New Town built in the 18th and 19th centuries. Edinburgh's Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. The city's historical and cultural attractions have made it Britain’s second-most visited tourist destination, attracting 4.9 million visits, including 2.4 million from overseas, in 2018. (Full article...)

Selected location article

— National Galleries Scotland: Modern One

National Galleries Scotland: Modern (the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art) is part of National Galleries Scotland, which is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Modern houses the collection of modern and contemporary art dating from about 1900 to the present in two buildings, Modern One and Modern Two, that face each other on Belford Road to the west of the city centre.

The Modern has a collection of more than 6000 paintings, sculptures, installations, video work, prints and drawings and also stages major exhibitions. (Full article...)

Selected images

Image 1The Castle Rock
Image 2Architecture in Edinburgh
Image 3The Scottish Parliament Building
Image 4St Giles' Cathedral, the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh
Image 5Edinburgh (from Salisbury Crags) by William Crozier, a painter associated with The Edinburgh School
Image 6Two Edinburgh Trams seen at the West End - Princes Street stop
Image 7The High Street, part of the Royal Mile
Image 8The Dean Gallery, part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Image 9The ruins of Holyrood Abbey
Image 10Sir Walter Scott
Image 11The BT building in Edinburgh Park
Image 12The National Monument of Scotland (right) and Nelson Monument (left)
Image 13Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, 2010
Image 14Charlotte Square, a garden square in the New Town
Image 15Calton Hill
Image 16View looking west along George Street
Image 17The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle
Image 18The Governor's House
Image 19Jenners Department Store, the oldest department store in Scotland
Image 20David Hume, Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist born in Edinburgh in 1711
Image 21Ratho Park Golf Club
Image 22Fettes College
Image 23Arthur's Seat
Image 24Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland
Image 25Queensferry Crossing road bridge
Image 26Scottish baronial-style turrets on Victorian tenements in St. Mary's Street
Image 27View over Edinburgh
Image 28City Observatory, the Gothic Tower
Image 29Fountain at Holyrood Palace
Image 30The Princes Street Gardens, the best known park in Edinburgh
Image 31The Royal Scottish Academy Building

Selected transportation article

Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian Council 3% and West Lothian Council 1%.

Lothian operates the majority of bus services in Edinburgh, and is a significant operator in East Lothian, Midlothian and most recently West Lothian. It operates a comprehensive night bus network, three routes to Edinburgh Airport, and owns the subsidiary companies Lothian Country, East Coast Buses, Edinburgh Bus Tours, Lothian Motorcoaches and Eve Coaches. (Full article...)

Selected area article

Pilton is a residential area of northern Edinburgh, Scotland. It is to the north of Ferry Road, immediately east of Muirhouse, and to the west and south of Granton (the Boswall, Royston Mains and Wardieburn neighbourhoods). (Full article...)

Selected environment article

View of the Braid Hills from Blackford Hill

The Braid Hills form an area towards the south-western edge of Edinburgh, Scotland.

The hills themselves are largely open space. Housing in the area is mostly confined to detached villas, and some large terraced houses. The Braid Hills Hotel sits above Pentland Terrace and Comiston Road, overlooking the park across the road. (Full article...)

Did you know?

No recent additions

Selected arts article

The Usher Hall as seen from Lothian Road

The Usher Hall (Scottish Gaelic: Talla Usher) is a concert hall in the West End of Edinburgh, Scotland. The hall is owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council, and has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914.

The venue can hold approximately 2,200 people in its recently restored auditorium, which is well loved by performers due to its acoustics. In March 1972, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Hall and compèred by Moira Shearer. This marked the first time that the Eurovision Song Contest had been held in Scotland. It was also the venue of Eurovision Young Musicians in August 2018. In 1986, the Commonwealth Games was hosted by Edinburgh, with the Usher Hall providing the venue for the boxing tournament. (Full article...)

Selected education article

Heriot-Watt University (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United Kingdom. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot.

The annual income of the institution for 2022–23 was £259.5 million of which £33 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £266.7 million. Known for its focus on science as well as engineering, it is one of the 23 colleges that were granted university status in the 1960s, and it is sometimes considered a plate glass university, like Lancaster and Warwick. (Full article...)

Selected sports article

Turnstiles and grandstand adjacent to the rugby pitch

The Goldenacre Sports Ground is located in the Goldenacre area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is owned by the George Heriot's School. Several sports are played here including cricket, association football, tennis, and rugby. It is also the home ground of Heriot's Rugby Club and Heriot's Cricket Club.

The cricket pitch hosted seven matches (two of which are warm ups) for the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. (Full article...)

Selected religion article

The Church of Scotland offices are located in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland (in the New Town), at 121 George Street. These imposing buildings are popularly known in Church circles as "one-two-one". They were designed in a Scandinavian-influenced style by the architect Sydney Mitchell and built in 1909–1911 for the United Free Church of Scotland. Following the union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland in 1929 the church offices were henceforth used by the newly united church.

A matching extension, incorporating a ground floor bookshop, was built in the 1930s on the east side (119 George Street). A proposed matching extension on the west side (replacing the still-existing buildings at 123 George Street) was never built. 123 George Street is, however, owned by the Church of Scotland and has been incorporated into the offices. The church offices also incorporate a chapel near the main entrance and a staff canteen in the basement. (Full article...)

Related portals

Topics

In the news

No recent news

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
Wikidata
Free knowledge base
Wikinews
Free-content news
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikiversity
Free learning tools
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus

Discover Wikipedia using portals

Purge server cache

v t e Edinburgh
History	Etymology Burning of Edinburgh Mary, Queen of Scots Greyfriars Kirk Burke and Hare Kingdom of Scotland Act of Union 1707 Parliament of Scotland David Hume Edinburgh Review Holyrood Abbey Treaty of Edinburgh Edinburgh town walls Old Town New Town Robert Adam James Craig Church of Scotland Disruption of 1843 Thomas Aikenhead Deacon Brodie North British Railway Visit of King George IV Sir Walter Scott Edwin of Northumbria Devolution Burgh Lothian Edinburgh Stock Exchange Porteous Riots Silvermills Tron riot Greyfriars Bobby Great Fire of Edinburgh
Governance	City of Edinburgh Council Lord Provost of Edinburgh Scottish Parliament
Buildings and landmarks	Arthur's Seat Balmoral Hotel Brass Founders' Pillar Bute House Calton Hill Craiglockhart Castle Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh International Conference Centre Forth Rail Bridge Forth Road Bridge Governor's House Holyrood Palace National Monument New College Old College Parliament House Princes Street Gardens Ross Fountain Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Scott Monument Scottish Parliament Building St Andrew's House St Giles' Cathedral Victoria Quay
Museums and galleries	Fruitmarket Gallery The Georgian House Museum of Edinburgh National Museum of Scotland National War Museum Dynamic Earth Public art Royal Scottish Academy Scottish National Gallery Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Theatres and concert halls	Bedlam Theatre Edinburgh Arena (proposed) Edinburgh Playhouse Festival Theatre King's Theatre Queen's Hall Reid Concert Hall Royal Lyceum Theatre St Cecilia's Hall The Dunard Centre (proposed) Traverse Theatre Usher Hall
Economy	Bank of Scotland Caledonian Brewery Edinburgh Park Edinburgh BioQuarter Fort Kinnaird Ocean Terminal Royal Bank of Scotland Scottish Widows Standard Life
Transport	A1 road Airport Edinburgh Airport Rail Link Edinburgh City Bypass Edinburgh Crossrail Edinburgh Waverley railway station Haymarket railway station Lothian Buses Trams
Health and education	Edinburgh College Edinburgh College of Art Heriot-Watt University Hospitals Moray House School of Education Napier University Queen Margaret University Schools Scotland's Rural College University of Edinburgh
Festivals	Edinburgh Festival Fringe Edinburgh International Book Festival Edinburgh International Film Festival Edinburgh International Festival Edinburgh International Television Festival Hogmanay Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Other topics	Demographics of Edinburgh Geography of Edinburgh Beer in Edinburgh Graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh
Category Outline Portal

The Edinburgh PortalWelcome! — Fàilte! — Walcome!