I want to talk about urban Scotland.
Specifically Glasgow and Edinburgh
which are kind of in the southern middle of Scotland
just north of the border regions
just north of England in what is typically referred to
as the central belt of Scotland.
There are about an hour apart 50 minutes apart
by train or driving and Edinburgh
of course, is the main place that people I think visit
when they go to Scotland.
If you can only visit one place in Scotland
it makes a lot of sense to go to Edinburgh.
There are six cities in Scotland.
In terms of population, most people live in Glasgow
or Edinburgh about 500,000 or 600,000 each.
About a million in the Glasgow greater area
and all of the rest of the other four combined don't really.
Maybe 500,000 between the four of them.
When most people think of Edinburgh
the first thing that comes to mind is its hilltop castle.
That's where the city was born.
It started out on the top of the hill it's actually fortified
on three sides by sheer rock
and then it's just a gentle slope about a mile down the hill.
That's the original city that goes back over a thousand years.
It makes sense and a visit to start at the castle
or definitely to include that on your visit
if you don't do it right off the bat.
Approaching the castle
you're met by Scotland's two most famous heroes Robert the Bruce
and William Wallace on either side of the gates and Scotland's motto
which I won't say in Latin but essentially means
no one attacks me with impunity.
You get a sense of this proud and tough Scottish history.
If you're going to the castle
usually you'd want to either arrive early
as you can as early as you can first thing
in the morning or after 2:00 or 3:00 PM
just later in the day.
It does get very very very busy as I'm sure you can imagine
and also expect to be taking quite a hike.
It is at the top of the slope and itself contains you--
as you work your way up to the crown square in the castle
you're still going uphill.
It is kind of a hike but well worth it.
One thing that I think people don't always realize
is that it's not just a castle.
Of course, you know that there are many rooms in a castle
but it's actually multiple museums
and sites inside of one site.
For example, you have the royal apartments
you have the crown jewels of Scotland are on display there.
You have also the national war memorial
and so there is a lot to do and see inside.
I'd say spend a couple of hours really taking your time
and checking it out and do a bit of reading about it
before you go so that you know
where you want to head as soon as you get inside.
Just outside of the castle on the esplanade
before you walk up to the entrance
you will probably see some bleachers being put up
or in the process of being taken down.
That's just the case for most of the year
and what they're preparing for
or what they're tidying up from is the Edinburgh military tattoo.
Which takes place in August as well.
If you're there in August
I would absolutely recommend that you go.
It is a phenomenal spectacle masked bands
and drumming and highland dancers and the works.
It's absolutely worth it.
You'd want to buy your tickets ahead of time on online.
As I mentioned Edinburgh castle
is at the top of a long sloping street.
It stretches out for a mile from the castle
all the way down to the bottom
where you'll find Holyrood Palace
which is the Queen's official residence in Scotland.
That street is known as the royal mile.
It's one of the most fascinating historical walks anywhere in Europe.
There is a lot of kitschy touristic stuff happening there.
Fun shops, full of Scottish gear
and blasting horrible bagpipe music out of out of them.
There is a lot of worthwhile stuff to do as well
and lots of shops that are very nice
and are not just full of tartan junk.
For a more authentic experience with whisky on the royal mile
you might pop into [?] heads.
The folks who work there are absolutely evangelical about whisky
it's straight from the cask and they'll teach you all about it.
When Rick travels in Scotland
he goes there and he gets himself a small bottle
and he keeps it in his hotel room
and every night before he goes to bed
he just has a little nap and it's the part
of his Scottish experience every time
so you might consider doing the same.
There are tons of museums in Edinburgh
you can't see them all with one visit
but the museum of Edinburgh
I'm telling the story of the town.
The museum of childhood with fun toys
and games from through the ages.
The museum of John Knox.
John Knox house the famous reformer Scottish reformer.
Whether or not you are particularly interested
in John Knox or the Scottish reformation
one site that you definitely have to visit
when you're in Edinburgh is St. Joe's cathedral.
You can spot it.
It's about a third of the way down the royal mile
it is easily visible as a part of the skyline with its thorny spire.
You definitely have to pop inside
it's absolutely beautiful
and it's the most important church in Scotland.
It's actually not a cathedral either
it's the high church but for a time it was that was a cathedral.
The name has just stuck. It's gorgeous inside
and it's full of Scottish regalia and pageantry
and there's also a nice cafe in the basement.
John Knox's grave is actually outside in the parking lot.
True to his word of preaching austerity
he's buried just outside at number 23.
[laughter]
At the bottom of the mile.
You find Holyrood palace as I mentioned
but also the Scottish parliament.
Scotland and England officially joined together
in a political union and 1707.
Before that, Scotland had been an independent country
with its own parliament its own kings and everything like that
a complicated history.
At any rate in 1707, it voted its own parliament out of existence
and it did not have a parliament for almost 300 years.
It now does have its own devolved parliament.
It's really interesting to go and check out the building
which is a glorious modern creation
and you can also go inside for a free tour
and learn about the Scottish government.
They have control over certain issues, for example, education.
The Scottish branch of the national health service
whereas other issues are reserved
for the Whitehall government down in London.
For example foreign policy
and national defense that type of thing.
That's one thing to do.
You could also tour the palace of Holyrood.
It contains the queen's galleries
so some of the queen's private collections of art
which are really nice, you can stroll the gardens
if you're interested in Scottish history that's a good thing to do.
Many of the museums in Scotland are free.
This one is not free but if you're interested
in royal history or anything like that it's a must do.
Another site that you might want to check out.
In fact, you should check out if you're going to be in Scotland
and it's just in the old part of town
is the national museum of Scotland.
It contains artifacts from throughout the ages in Scotland
half of it is built to look like an old castle
and half of this half is a beautiful Victorian arcade.
This portion is sort of more sciences and things its kind
of Smithsonian eclectic and fun for families.
The other half that I just showed a slide of that looks like
a castle from the outside is complete Scottish history
from the geological formations of the country
through the dark ages, early kingdoms
through the middle ages, and so on and so forth up through time.
You get to two industrial revolution.
It's about six stories and it is really really fascinating.
This is a free museum. If you're interested in Scottish history at all
you'd definitely have to check it out and you can go in
and check it out for an hour or two and go do something else
and then come back the next day
and see what you didn't get
to check out the first time that's absolutely fine.
It's capped with a beautiful terrace on the rooftop on a clear day
you get really nice views of the city in the water.
Definitely check that out. Until now we have been in the old town.
If you are looking at a map of Scotland
you see Edinburgh castle down sort of in the bottom left corner
and from there just stretching across the screen
is the royal mile all the way down to as we just mentioned parts of Holyrood.
All of these kind of zigzagging streets
in that area that's the old town that's the original Edinborough.
It came to a point where the city was so overcrowded
so smelly and so confined.
This was in the 1700s
so during the age of the enlightenment.
It was decided that Edinborough needed to grow, needed a new city
a new portion of the city that was fit for the new elite.
These are artists and lawyers and great thinkers
like David Hume and Adam Smith.
They drained a lake that had existed just
to the north along the royal mile just down the hill, but just to the north.
They drained it out
and it's now beautiful gardens
princes street gardens.
Then to the north says that they built a new town.
Edinburgh is actually two cities in one.
Each of them, in its own right
each of them is a UNESCO world heritage site
so recognized tourist international important contribution to our culture.
They're really really distinct and both worth checking out.
If you just head straight down the hill, north from the royal mile
you end up in Edinburgh's new town.
Now, I'm going to talk about some of the sites to check out
while you're in the new town.
First of all, you might just want to enjoy some time
in Princess street gardens on a beautiful day
it's full of people picnicking and just hanging out.
I mentioned that this was constructed during the Age of Enlightenment.
Edinburgh's nickname up until this point had been Old Ricky, the old smelly city.
Then I think it was the men of the Enlightenment who
who gave themselves this new nickname
or gave their city this new nickname
but it became known as the Athens of the North.
It really shows big, beautiful palatial townhouses
new homes were built with the facades to look like a palace
and everything in pristine order, neoclassical design
statues at all the axes on the streets
and also lined up to have gorgeous views of the old town.
It's really thoughtfully designed and absolutely a delight to explore.
The National Gallery in Scotland is full of lesser-known works
from some of the great masters of Renaissance art
Baroque art, impressionist art, and lots of British painting as well
Scottish paintings as well and some sculpture.
It's absolutely worth checking out.
Again, it's a free museum.
The second most important museum I would say in the new town
is or I would say they're tied in first place
actually, I don't recommend one over the other
it just depends on your interest.
If you're interested in Scottish history
I would definitely check out the National Portrait Gallery.
Even if you don't have time to go through
and look at all the paintings
just go check out the building.
It is in a glorious orange or red sandstone neo-gothic building.
When you enter in the entryway
if you look up, there's a frieze that has the paintings
of all of the most important people in Scottish history throughout the ages.
It is really beautiful.
Again, important, Scottish people like James Watt
who revolutionized the steam engine
or Robbie Burns, Scotland's patron poet.
Speaking of poetry, another fun way to connect
with Edinburgh and with Scottish culture
is by considering taking a literary pub tour.
You just are taken around by a couple of actors to different pubs
and they do their thing, and it's a lot of fun.
Or if that's not your thing
then you might find some local music
you can pick up the gig guide at tourist info
or even look it up online.
It will tell you the listings
for live music that's happening
different genres all over the city every night.
That works in Glasgow also.
Glasgow is the second city, I suppose in Scotland.
It's the largest city in Scotland. It's where the most people live.
It's not the capital, but it's a cultural capital.
A lot of the buildings are this beautiful red sandstone color
you see art on the street.
It's very famous for being home of Charles Rennie Macintosh
who is the famous art nouveau architect too from there.
You can visit some of his works like the Willow Tea Rooms.
In the Victorian times, Glasgow
was the second city of the Empire
many, many, many ships were built in Glasgow.
You see remnants of its grand industrial age
with beautiful buildings like this and beautiful buildings like this.
It's just a joy to walk around.
Rick has some really nice walking tours
that you can use in our guidebook
to just take yourself through and enjoy it.
It's a lot of fun.
They also have a great botanical garden
with some gorgeous greenhouses.
On a rainy day, you can creep away in there and get a nice escape.
Also in the spring, it's absolutely lovely.
The most important Museum in Glasgow
to visit is the Kelvingrove Art Gallery.
It's sort of a Smithsonian
but it's really fun to check out.
Again, it's free, so that's fabulous.
Another really interesting museum to check out
if you are in Glasgow is the Museum of transport on the Riverside.
Really interesting modern architecture from the outside
and this chock full of antique buses
and trolleys and everything like that.
It's a lot of fun. Glasgow makes a good day trip from Edinburgh.
If you have three or four days in Edinburgh
I would definitely consider spending one of them in Glasgow.
As I mentioned, it's a great city for culture, has a lot of nightlife
lots of fun restaurants, delicious restaurants, and also lots of music.
I didn't mention this, but Edinburgh
is actually a UNESCO World city of literature.
It has that official status of being recognized
for its literary contributions.
Glasgow is a UNESCO World city of music.
Across the board, but lots of great live music
to be heard in the pubs in Glasgow
and everything like that.