Venerable, dramatic Edinburgh, the showcase capital of Scotland, is a historic, cosmopolitan and cultured city. The setting is wonderfully striking; the city is perched on a series of extinct volcanoes and rocky crags which rise from the generally flat landscape of the Lothians. In August and early September, around a million visitors flock to the city for the Edinburgh Festival, a series of separate festivals that make up the largest arts extravaganza in the world. Some tourists decide to stay in a hotel while others choose a fully furnished Edinburgh holiday rental. The region welcomes thousand of travelers all year long, which is why they have developed a vast lodging infrastructure which includes accommodations such as Edinburgh vacation rentals, hotels, Edinburgh short term rentals and Bed & Breakfasts. The many museums, the exciting new National Museum of Scotland houses ten thousand of Scotland's most precious artifacts, while the National Gallery of Scotland and its offshoot, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, have two of Britain's finest collections of paintings. On a less elevated theme, the city's distinctive howffs (pubs), allied to its brewing and distilling traditions, make Edinburgh a great drinking city. The presence of three universities, plus several colleges, means that there is a youthful presence for most of the year.
Visitors have a variety of Edinburgh vacation home rentals, Edinburgh holiday rentals or Edinburgh vacation rentals to choose from. Beyond the city centre, the liveliest area is Leith, the city's medieval port, whose seedy edge is softened by a series of great bars and up market seafood restaurants, along with the presence of the former royal yacht Britannia, now open to visitors. In the largely medieval heart of Edinburgh, most of its important historical monuments can be found, including Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood house Palace (the Royal Scottish residence) and St Giles' Cathedral. The Cowgate and Grass market areas are towards the southern end of the Old Town. This bustling area is filled with clubs, pubs, music venues and second-hand clothes shops. It's a pretty cool place in which to be seen and for the locals it's their first port of call on a night out. When the sun shines the Grass market has the feel of a continental town; relaxed al fresco coffee drinking, little traffic and authentic, colorful shop-fronts make this one of Europe's premier haunts.