Edinburgh

Edinburgh (, ; ) is the capital of Scotland, is its second largest city after Glasgow which is situated to the west, is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of Scotland's Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea. Owing to its rugged setting and vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture, including numerous stone tenements, it is often considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe. It forms the City of Edinburgh council area; the city council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30-square-mile (78 km²) rural area. It has been the capital of Scotland since 1437 (replacing Scone) and is the seat of the Scottish Parliament. The city was one of the major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, earning it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of... full article at wikipedia