Historic Sites

Nestled in central Edinburgh, Greyfriars Kirk is a Church of Scotland church with a history stretching back to 1602. The church itself has been renovated and restored, but its most famous feature is the ancient Greyfriar’s Kirkyard, a cemetery surrounding the church.

It is the burial site of many famous individuals such as James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, Regent of Scotland and Mary Erskine, founder of the Mary Erskine School. From the unmarked graves to the elaborate seventeenth century memorials of the rich and famous, the churchyard burial ground echoes with history and mystery.

Said to be haunted by ghosts and poltergeists, the Kirkyard is probably even more well-known for the story of Greyfriar’s Bobby. Bobby was a Skye Terrier who spent 14 years guarding the grave of his master, John Gray, until the dog’s own death in 1872. He is buried outside the consecrated grounds.

For peaceful surroundings steeped in local lore, Greyfriar’s Kirk is a must-see location for visitor and native alike.

Calton Hill, home of the Scottish Government and spectacular views of the surrounding landscape, is a well-known stop on many tourists’ itineraries because of its many architectural structures and monuments.

The Playfair Monument, designed by W.H. Playfair in honour of his uncle John Playfair, is a temple-like structure designed in the Greek Doric style that sits near the top of Calton Hill. This monument features one of the best views of Edinburgh Castle.

Nelson’s monument, built in honour of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, provides another spectacular view of the surrounding area. The monument was built to pay tribute to Nelson and his defeat of Spanish and French fleets during the Battle of Trafalgar. The monument sits at Calton Hill’s highest point and its design is a reflection of the prison buildings that were once located on the hill in the early Victorian era.

Another of Calton Hill’s historic memorials is the National Monument, which was constructed in remembrance of those who died for the United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars. The structure was modeled after the Parthenon, but the cost of construction was so great that the project was left unfinished. Despite its incomplete state, the monument is still a dominant structure within the Calton Hill landscape.

The City Observatory was another structure built to honour John Playfair. The observatory resembles a Greek temple and is home to a 15-centimeter (6-inch) refractor in the dome and 16-centimeter (6.4-inch) transit telescope in the east wing. The dome currently serves as a lecture theatre, but the observatory is unusable due to vandalism.

Edinburgh Castle, perched high atop the volcanic Castle Rock, looms over the city of Edinburgh. Today, visitors come from around the world to explore the castle, propelling it to the status of Scotland’s second-most-visited tourist attraction. Parts of the castle itself date from 1130 A.D. while the Castle Rock site shows signs of ancient human settlements dating from around 900 B.C. The castle presided over many years of important Scottish historical events , including the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century and the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and was a royal residence until 1603.

When you arrive at the castle, you will immediately notice the striking views of the city of Edinburgh nestled in the area below Castle Rock. Most of the castle’s buildings post-date the 16th century, when artillery fire during the Lang Siege destroyed the castle’s medieval fortifications—with the notable exception of St. Margaret’s Chapel, which dates from the early 12th century. Just outside of St. Margaret’s, stop to visit Mons Meg, a 15th century siege cannon that has not worked since the late 17th century when its barrel burst while firing a birthday salute for the Duke of Albany.

In the center of the castle complex lays the main courtyard of the palace, Crown Square, whose foundation is formed by a series of large stone vaults built during the 1430’s and used to house prisoners until the 19th century. The Royal Palace, the former residence of Scottish royalty, lines one side of Crown Square. Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI, the future King of England, in 1566 inside a small room within the palace. Today, the Royal Palace houses the Crown Room where visitors can see the Scottish crown jewels, as well as the “Stone of Destiny”, the ancient Scottish coronation stone.

The palace became primarily a fortress and arsenal after the Scottish court departed to London in the 17th century. During modern times, it found new life as an active army base that houses two regiments and as the home of the Scottish National War Memorial. The Scottish War Memorial commemorates the Scottish casualties of World War I, World War II, the Malayan Emergency, the Korean War, Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and the Gulf War. Each day—with the exception of Sunday, Christmas Day and Good Friday—Edinburgh Castle fires the One O’Clock gun, a time signal historically used by ships in the area.

Edinburgh Castle houses several gift shops, as well as a bookshop full of titles relating to the history of the castle and the area. The staff provides guided tours of the castle and you can also rent an audio tour online or in the visitor information area.

Opening Times and Prices

Summer – 9:30am – 6pm
Winter – 9:30am – 5pm

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Royal Mile, within the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site, extends eastward from Edinburgh Castle on Castle Rock to Holyrood Palace. The Royal Mile measures one Scots mile – 1.1 English miles or 1.8 kilometres–the distance from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace.

Construction of Edinburgh Castle heralded the founding of Edinburgh. The earliest extant structure in Edinburgh, Saint Margaret’s Chapel, lies within the castle built by her son, King David I. Additions to Edinburgh Castle were made by subsequent monarchs; in the 1600’s its function changed from residence to military base.

The history of Edinburgh is exemplified by the churches, tenements, residences, businesses and public buildings along the main thoroughfare and the intersecting closes (narrow alleys), wynds (alleys between buildings) and vennels (passages between houses).

The several sections of Royal Mile were established by royal decree. Castle Hill, a large esplanade and street at the western end, served as both execution square and parade ground. Lawnmarket, established as a cloth market, had a large foreign population in its heyday.

Highstreet forms the central section; many of its high-rise tenements date from the 1500’s. Continual wars with Britain made residents seek the protection of the castle; expansion grew upward instead of outward. Residents in the top storeys tossed trash from upper windows with admonishments to those in the streets below to beware. Today, Royal Mile Whiskies, opposite St. Giles’ Church, features more than 300 whiskies from distilleries predominantly from Scotland and Ireland.

Canongate, established in 1128 for the community of Holyrood Abbey, remained separate from Edinburgh until 1856. Canongate Church, decreed by James VII, was completed in 1690 after James vacated the throne. Its unusual style was designed by architect James Smith, who introduced the Palladian Style to Scotland. The kirkyard includes the graves of Adam Smith and Robert Fergusson.