Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow.  The city is one of Europe's most attractive and historic cities. Its famed international festivals attract the world's leading performers, galleries display cutting-edge art, and bars, restaurants and clubs create a lively, cosmopolitan atmosphere. It is often considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe.

The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city. In the census of 2001, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 448,625.

Edinburgh is well known for the annual Edinburgh Festival, a collection of official and independent festivals held annually over about four weeks from early August. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festival is roughly equal to the settled population of the city. The most famous of these events are the Edinburgh Fringe, the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Military attoo, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

To the northeast, overlooking the New Town, is Calton Hill. Recently shortlisted as one of the best views in Britain, it is topped by an assortment of buildings and monuments: two observatories, Nelson's Monument, the old Royal High School, and the unfinished National Monument, which is modelled on the Parthenon from the Athenian Acropolis and is nicknamed "Edinburgh's Disgrace". The nickname of the city, "Athens of the North", also hails partly from this monument. Calton Hill plays host to the Beltane Fire Festival on April 30 each year.

Edinburgh is home to Scotland's five National Galleries which are the National Gallery of Scotland, the Royal Scottish Academy, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, the Dean Gallery, and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Edinburgh is home to a large number of museums and libraries, especially ones that are considered the main national institutions, the most important are the Museum of Scotland, the Royal Museum, the National Library of Scotland, National War Museum of Scotland, the Museum of Edinburgh, Museum of Childhood and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.