Edinburgh overview

The Scots are a famously patriotic bunch, as proud of their nation as the day is long. However, while residents of cities such as Glasgow never tire of talking up their towns and their country, Edinburghers are rather calmer: plainly glad of their origins, but in no particular hurry to shout about them from the rooftops.

Such reticence sits comfortably with the city as a whole, which attracts visitors not by bellowing a list of its virtues at them through a megaphone but with a quiet, politely-phrased invitation. Even the tatty tartan souvenir shops that line the Royal Mile seem careful not to disrupt the illusion that this is a city entirely out of time.

Serene & stately

With only a few conspicuous exceptions (the lad-packed bars of Lothian Road, the clumsy redevelopments on Princes Street), central Edinburgh carries itself with a serene, stately dignity. The architecture in the New Town is solemn, measured, sometimes imperious, but the buildings in the less regimented Old Town also retain a tangible grace.

The parks are expansive and, in some cases, quite grand; the sun-worshippers within them are careful to keep themselves covered. Even the traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular, seems to move at a restrained pace. Big-city bustle is largely absent.

History: friend or foe

Edinburgh derives much of this character from its history, which at times threatens to overwhelm it. The tourist industry is almost entirely predicated on the past: an ancient church here, a ghost tour there, and, towering above the town, the grand old castle. With the exception of those who travel here on business (the town's day-to-day economy is driven by its resident financial institutions) and those who head here in August to take in the chaotic array of cultural festivals, few visit Edinburgh for its present and future.

A 21st century city

And yet, at last, the town seems keen to approach the 21st century. Neighbouring Glasgow remains a more culturally vibrant city, but the last decade has seen Edinburgh redefine itself: with high-end restaurants, chic hotels and, most conspicuously, a slew of unashamedly modern new buildings, from the controversial Scottish Parliament complex by Holyroodhouse to a seemingly limitless programme of residential construction in Leith.

The city's much-loved past remains in place: the grand monuments, the cosy pubs, the hulking old volcano. But there's also a good deal more to see. Pretty soon, you feel, even the locals might begin to get excited.

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