Edinburgh is a city on the 7 hills, and the history is the geology: the Castle Rock, the volcanic plug of the 350-million-year-old basalt, the most defensible site in the Scotland, and the fortress that has been occupied since the 2nd century AD, the Gododdin, the Angles, the Scots, the English, and the most besieged castle in the Britain (the 26 sieges, the most of any castle in Europe). The history of the Edinburgh is the history of the Scotland: the castle, the Royal Mile, the Holyrood, the Reformation, the Union, the Enlightenment, and the modern Parliament. The essential historical places of the Edinburgh are the physical record of the 1,000 years of the Scottish history, and the walk from the Castle to the Holyrood, the “Royal Mile,” the 1 Scots mile, the 1.81 km, is the most beautiful historical walk in the UK. Here are the best.

Best Historical Places in Edinburgh

• 1. The Edinburgh Castle: The castle is the most important historical place in the Scotland: the Crown Jewels (the Honours of the Scotland, the crown, the sceptre, and the sword, the 15th–16th centuries, the oldest crown jewels in the British Isles), the Stone of Scone (the Stone of the Destiny, the coronation stone of the Scottish and the English monarchs, the 336-pound sandstone block that is the most important stone in the British history. The stone was stolen by the Edward I in the 1296, returned to the Scotland in the 1996, the symbolic return, not the permanent, and the stone was used at the coronation of the Charles III in the 2023), the Mons Meg (the 15th-century siege cannon, the 6,604 kg, and the best cannon in the castle), and the view (the 360-degree view of the city, the Firth of the Forth, and the Pentland Hills, the best view in the Edinburgh). ~£20 for the adult, and the essential strategy: book online, the first entry at the 9.30am, and the Crown Jewels before the queue (the 11am, the line is the 30+ minutes). More UK →
• 2. The Palace of the Holyroodhouse: The official residence of the King in the Scotland, the 16th-century palace at the foot of the Royal Mile, the Holyrood Abbey (the 1128, the David I, the ruined, the most beautiful abbey in the Edinburgh), and the history, the Mary Queen of Scots (the 1561–1567, the private chambers, the murder of the David Rizzio, the secretary, the 56 stab wounds on the 9 March 1566, the bloodstain on the floor of the supper room that is the most dramatic historical site in the Edinburgh), the Jacobite risings (the Bonnie Prince Charlie, the 1745, the occupation of the Holyrood for the 6 weeks), and the modern monarchy (the Queen Elizabeth II received the guests at the annual garden party, and the King Charles continues the tradition). ~£20 for the adult, and the essential strategy: the combined ticket with the Edinburgh Castle (~£36). Allow the 1.5 hours. 3. The Royal Mile, the history of the vertical: The Royal Mile is the 4 streets, the Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street, and the Canongate, that run from the Castle to the Holyrood, and the history is on the every close (the alleyways, the wynds, the courts, and the stairways that descend from the Royal Mile to the depths below: the Mary King’s Close (~£20, the tour of the underground streets, the 17th-century Edinburgh, the plague, the ghosts, and the most popular historical tour in the Edinburgh), the Advocate’s Close (the most beautiful close, the view of the Scott Monument and the New Town), and the Dunbar’s Close (the 17th-century garden, the secret, and the best quiet corner on the Royal Mile)
• 4. The St Giles’ Cathedral: The High Kirk of the Edinburgh, the 14th century, the crown spire, the most beautiful spire in the Edinburgh, the Thistle Chapel (the 1911, the Order of the Thistle, the heraldry, the carving, and the most beautiful small room in the Scotland), and the John Knox (the leader of the Scottish Reformation, the minister of the St Giles from the 1559 to the 1572, and the most important figure in the Scottish religious history). Free (the £5 suggested donation for the photography). 5. The Scottish Parliament: the 2004, the Enric Miralles design, the controversial, the organic, the boats, the leaves, the “flower of the Scotland”, and the most beautiful modern building in the Edinburgh. The tour (~£10, the 1 hour, and the essential strategy: book in advance, the tours are the limited) is the essential introduction to the devolved Scotland