The Athens of the North
This walking tour is a wonderful introduction to Calton Hill and the New Town of Edinburgh.
The tour introduces you to:
- the ‘glory of Edinburgh’ with its striking, if rather odd, array of buildings
- the importance of time to travellers
- the first observatory in Edinburgh
- why a new town of Edinburgh had to be built as a matter of urgency
- one of the earliest examples of town planning
- the neo-classical architecture of Robert Adam and William Playfair
- the movers and shakers of Edinburgh’s Enlightenment
Your route will include:
- Calton Hill
- St Andrew’s Square
- George Street
- Rose Street
- Queen Street
- Thistle Street
- Charlotte Square
- Princes Street
- Princes Street Gardens
Among the highlights will be the exteriors (unless otherwise stated) of:
- Register House
- Café Royal
- The Headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland (interior). Not open on Sundays
- Monument to Sir Henry Dundas
- The Scottish National Portrait Gallery (interior)
- The Dome Bar and Grill (interior)
- St Andrew’s Church
- The Royal Society
- Assembly Rooms
- Bute House
- The Georgian House
- William Playfair’s National Gallery of Scotland
- Sir Walter Scott Monument
