t Edinburgh Castle dominates the city’s skyline

Standing upon the basalt core of an extinct volcano, Edinburgh Castle is an assemblage of buildings dating from the 12th to the 20th century, reflecting its changing role as fortress, royal palace, military garrison and state prison. Though there is evidence of Bronze Age occupation of the site, the original fortress was built by the 6th-century Northumbrian king, Edwin, from whom the city takes its name. The castle was a favourite royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603, after which the king resided in England. After the Union of Parliaments in 1707, the Scottish regalia were walled up in the Palace for over a hundred years. The Palace is now the zealous possessor of the so-called Stone of Destiny, a relic of ancient Scottish kings which was seized by the English and not returned to Scotland until 1996.

Experience Edinburgh

t Illustration of Edinburgh Castle, an ancient fortress on top of Castle Rock

Experience Edinburgh

The One O’clock Gun

Resounding across the city at 1pm every day, Edinburgh’s One O’Clock Gun has been startling visitors since 1861. It was originally intended to help ships moored in the Firth of Forth to synchronize their chronometers to Greenwich Mean Time, essential for accurate navigation, but it has now become a time-honoured tradition. The first guns were muzzle-loading cannons, but since 2001 a more modern 105mm artillery piece has served.

Insider tip

Festival Fireworks

Every night during the Edinburgh Festival, the Castle hosts a fireworks display to mark the end of the Military Tattoo. Climb to the top of Calton Hill to watch this pyrotechnic spectacle for free.