Edinburgh is Scotland's second most populous city and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The official population estimates are 464,990 (2012) for the Locality of Edinburgh, (2016) for the City of Edinburgh, and (2014) for the city region. Edinburgh lies at the heart of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland city region comprising East Lothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian. Edinburgh is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, draped across a series of rocky hills overlooking the sea. It’s a town intimately entwined with its landscape, with buildings and monuments perched atop crags and overshadowed by cliffs. From the Old Town’s picturesque jumble of medieval tenements piled high along the Royal Mile, its turreted skyline strung between the black, bull-nosed Castle Rock and the russet palisade of Salisbury Crags, to the New Town’s neat grid of neoclassical respectability, the city offers a constantly changing perspective.

EDINBURGH CASTLE

Scotland's most famous landmark, Edinburgh Castle is one of Britain's most visited tourist attractions. Highlights include the One O'clock Salute from Half Moon Battery; the impressive Scottish National War Memorial; and the stunning collection of Crown Jewels housed in the Royal Palace. Another notable feature is the Stone of Destiny (aka, the Stone of Scone), famously stolen by Edward I and placed under the English throne in London - only returned to Scotland 700 years later in 1996.

THE ROYAL MILE

The Royal Mile refers to the streets linking Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Lined with charming townhouses, churches, and historic landmarks, this splendid thoroughfare is a place to stroll for its shops, inns, museums, cafés, and restaurants. Many of the buildings are tall, averaging six to 15 stories and referred to locally as "lands." Narrow little alleys, called "winds," with the hidden backyard "closes," weave in and around them.

Some of the most popular attractions are at the upper end of the Royal Mile - commonly called Castle Hill - and include Outlook Tower and the Camera Obscura; the Tolbooth (St John's Highland Church) with the city's tallest church tower; Gladstone's Land, a six-story merchant's house with pretty ceiling paintings and original furniture; and Lady Stair's Close, home to the Writer's Museum displaying manuscripts, portraits, etchings, and memorabilia of the poet Robert Burns and writers Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND

Since opening in 2011, the free National Museum has become one of Scotland's most popular attractions, with close to two million visitors each year. It incorporates collections from a number of Edinburgh's older museums. Highlights include national archaeological collections; medieval artifacts; and displays focusing on natural history, geology, art, science, and technology. In its 16 galleries, containing more than 8,000 artifacts, are Dolly the sheep - the world's first cloned mammal - as well as some of Elton John's more elaborate stage costumes. Traditional museum displays also include material from Ancient Egypt and the infamous Maiden, an early form of guillotine.

THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN

Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden is the second oldest such garden in Britain. Within its magnificent 70-acres are a herbarium and Britain's biggest palm house; a tropical house with exotic orchids; an alpine house; a terraced moorland garden; heather garden; and an extensive arboretum with rare giant trees from the Himalayas, North America, and China. Other highlights are the woodland garden, with its colorful azaleas, hydrangeas, camellias, and rhododendrons; an aquatic house, with tropical water plants such as the pink water lily from India; and touring displays in the Exhibition Hall.