Edinburgh part 7. Museums, sport, food

Life in the city

 

Edinburgh holds over 220,000 items in its rich and varied collections that relate to historical and cultural life in the city . About 500 000 people live here, and every year the city attracts over 4 million visitors, injecting £1.46 billion into the local economy. A globally connected city, Scotland's Capital has an award-winning reputation as a 'must visit' city for visitors from all over the world.

 Visitors to Scotland’s capital face difficult decisions as to what to see and do. From the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Royal Yacht Britannia to world-class galleries, Edinburgh Zoo (home to the UK’s only giant pandas, Yang Guang and Tian Tian) as well as St Giles Cathedral and The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Yang Guang and Tian Tian

In 2016, The National Museum of Scotland was Edinburgh’s most popular free visitor attraction, with more than 1.82 million visitors, while Edinburgh Castle welcomed the most visitors of any paid-for attraction, with just over 1.78 million visitors.

The National Museum of Scotland

 

Milleniuem Clock in the museum

 Click here to visit the museum in 1 min video.

Famous Lewis Chessmen as seen in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone!

‘Recognised’ status is awarded by the Scottish Government to collections of National Significance.
The following collections have been Recognised:

• the entire collection of the Museum of Childhood
• the Scottish Art collection at the City Art Centre
• the decorative art collection at the Museum of Edinburgh
• the Robert Burns collection at the Writers’ Museum (in partnership with other Burns collections)

Did you know our Science and Technology galleries are home to a celebrity? As the first cloned mammal ever to be created from an adult cell, Dolly is the most famous sheep in the world.

Walking into the main part of the museum is like stepping into another world. A whale Moby after Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick – is on display.

 Learn what museum are in Edinburgh:
https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/venues

Sport and outdoor activities

 Although it is said that golf was invented in Scotland, a lot of people prefers to watch rugby or football.

Edinburgh derby

Rugby

Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners)

 is one of the two professional rugby teams from Scotland. The club competes in the Pro14, along with Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. 

 

The Royal Botanic Garden

The River Forth is a major river, 47 km (29 mi) long, whose drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name is Abhainn Dubh, meaning "black river", in the upper reach above Stirling. Below the tidal reach, (just after being crossed by the M9 motorway) its name is Uisge For.

Course of the river

Cuisine

Top 5 food people try in Edinburgh 

1.Haggis

It’s a running joke to tell tourists that haggis is a type of animal. You’d be forgiven for believing this story, so unusual-looking is this dish. Unsurprisingly, haggis has always had trouble being accepted. Even in the 1700’s, Scotland’s famous poet, Robert Burns, had to defend the dish. In a poem, he playfully mocked the haggis-hater who ‘looks down with a sneering scornful opinion on such a dinner’. To honor the poet’s memory, Burns Suppers are held all over Scotland on Burns’ birthday, January 25th. The main dish is, of course, haggis.

2. Scottish Shortbread

Scottish Shortbread was once very expensive and served on special days like weddings, Christmas and New Year. Now, shops throughout Edinburgh sell it in various shapes, from ‘petticoat tails’ to ‘fingers’.

3. Scottish Porridge

Scottish porridge is served with salt or even a little whiskey.

4. Scotch

Which leads us to our next item. Scotch Whisky, or simply ‘Scotch’ is probably the most famous beverage to come from Scotland. There are several related tours in Edinburgh, such as The Scotch Whisky Experience on the Royal Mile.

5. Scottish Bannock

 

Scottish Bannock is a type of bread about the same thickness as a scone, traditionally made from oatmeal (although sometimes plain flour is used) and cooked on griddle.