Known for its domineering castle and for having been home to several famous writers, the Scottish capital is also a financial bedrock.
It’s not Scotland’s biggest city, that honour belongs to Glasgow. But that does not stop Edinburgh being the house of government and the country’s cultural centre. A symbol of this standing is the castle which dominates the city, perched on an old volcanic rock. Around what became a fortress and royal residence, Dùn Éideann (in Gaelic) grew to a city of 450,000 souls.
Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter
Sometimes dubbed Athens of the North, her castle and the old city, classed as UNESCO world heritage sites, bear a resemblance to the Acropolis site. Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Parliament, re-established in 1999. It also houses one of Europe’s most famous universities, pioneers in information technology and management, and from which a certain Adam Smith, whose 1776 Wealth of Nations is the bible of capitalism, taught in the 18th Century. Another talismanic figure later prowled the corridors of Edinburgh’s famed national library - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, father of Sherlock Holmes. Closer to us, Edinburgh is also the home of JK Rowlings who wrote her first Harry Potter novel in the old capital.
Financial capital after London
The theatre helps sustain Edinburgh’s cultural status. The Edinburgh Festival, founded in 1947, rivals the Avignon Festival, and brings the city and its pubs to sparkling life in August. But above all, Edinburgh is a centre of the British economy. Business revolves around finance, services and tourism. The Scottish capital can rightly boast of its ranking behind London in the UK’s financial world.
Country: Scotland
Population: 450,000
