Out with the Auld
Edinburgh offers surprises even to those who return every year. Katie Wood picks out some new attractions
If you’re joining the throngs who visit Edinburgh during August to enjoy the largest arts festival in the world, there are some excellent new sights to add to your itinerary, many of which are yet to make it into the guidebooks. Take it from someone who was born and bred here – Edinburgh’s a city that you never fully get to know. So even if you’ve done all the obvious sights such as the 11th-century castle, Holyrood Palace and the Georgian new town, and you know every cobblestone and alley of the Royal Mile, there’s still plenty more to enjoy.
Start by heading to the bottom of the Royal Mile, opposite Holyrood Palace and take a gander at the controversial new Scottish parliament which, as every Scot can tell you, with a pained expression, came in at 10 times over budget. Judge for yourself if it was worth it. It’s certainly architecturally interesting and you can access the debating chamber and public galleries. It’s free and open daily.
From there, wander into the Old Town’s lesser-known closes and wynds, the narrow alleyways that thread off the Royal Mile. Many hide atmospheric courtyards, independent galleries and tucked-away pubs that the festival crowds tend to miss. Mary King’s Close, a warren of streets sealed beneath the City Chambers, offers an evocative glimpse of 17th-century Edinburgh life and is well worth booking ahead for.
For a change of pace, climb Calton Hill at the eastern end of Princes Street. It rewards the short walk with some of the finest views in the city, taking in the castle, Arthur’s Seat and the Firth of Forth beyond, and its collection of monuments has earned Edinburgh the nickname the Athens of the North. Sunset here, with the festival skyline laid out below, is one of the city’s great free pleasures.
Art lovers should make time for the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, set in parkland a little out of the centre, while those after something quirkier can explore the Surgeons’ Hall Museums or the Camera Obscura on Castlehill. And when the Fringe shows finish for the night, the city’s growing crop of late-opening restaurants and cocktail bars means the festival atmosphere carries on well into the small hours.
