Having just one day for sightseeing isn't such a problem in a compact city like Edinburgh. A stroll through the New Town can make you feel like a character out of a Jane Austen novel one minute, then serve up the best in designer stores and stylish bars and restaurants.
Of course, the name is misleading: designed in the 1700s, the New Town is one of the best examples of Georgian architecture you’ll find in any city. Overcrowding had become a problem in the Old Town, and a competition was launched to find a design for a new burgh on the north side. The design of young architect James Craig won the day, and the New Town sprang into stately being.
Calton Hill
Calton Hill makes an ideal starting point. Diagonally opposite Edinburgh Castle, this monument to monuments is an eccentric collection of memorials to characters as diverse as Lord Nelson, architect Thomas Playfair and philosopher Dugald Stewart. Most obvious, and visible from most parts of the city, is the Parthenon-like row of columns, the National Monument, built to commemorate those who served in the Napoleonic Wars. Originally intended to be a full replica, it ground to a halt when funding vanished, and remains as it was when the workmen downed tools.
