We’re proud to share 15 of our favourite golden photos of Edinburgh Castle with you dear reader. If you love them as much as we do please feel free to leave a comment, we love hearing from you!

Edinburgh Castle, golden and purely breathtaking.

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The early winter nights bathe Edinburgh Castle in gold

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A Golden Edinburgh Castle against the black winter sky

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A full moon over Edinburgh's Golden Castle

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Of course Edinburgh Castle's gold is versatile, here it is in white gold!

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Sometimes Edinburgh Castle emits gold in the form of light...

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Ominous night skies over the Golden Edinburgh Castle

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Close up Edinburgh Castle's gold is exposed as fool's gold

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Even in the fog Edinburgh Castle's gold shines through

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Is the sky angry or jealous of the castle's golden appearance?

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Pale gold, but gold nonetheless Edinburgh Castle is simply stunning

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Not only the castle is golden in Edinburgh, the Ross fountain also has this hue.

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Looking up to a golden turret of Edinburgh Castle.

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Central Edinburgh in Summer

Even in the centre of Edinburgh there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the summer sun, whether in one of the numerous parks or on a pavement cafe or pub.

Princes Street Gardens lies between Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street, it is the perfect place in the centre of Edinburgh to catch the summer sun.

Central Edinburgh's perfect summer location - Princes Street Gardens

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The view of Princes Street Gardens looking down from Edinburgh Castle

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Dissecting Princes Street Gardens is the Mound which leads you from Princes Street up onto the Royal Mile. Here you will be lead past two beautifully maintained flower beds.

The Mound, bathed in Edinburgh's summer sun

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Elevated Summer Views Of Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle is of course the focal point of our city and the views from it in summer are simply breathtaking, we’re sure you will agree!

On a clear summer's day you can look North and peek into Fife from the safety of Edinburgh Castle

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Calton Hill is a beautiful vantage point from which to view Edinburgh Castle in the West

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Of course there are many hills in Edinburgh, not only Castle Rock and Calton Hill, the summer view from Arthur’s Seat is magnificent too!

Beautiful views are the reward for those fit enough to get to the top of Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat

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Edinburgh Parks To Enjoy The Summer In

Edinburgh has loads of public parks to enjoy the summer sun in, whether for a picnic, frisbee or just sunbathing! The Meadows is a vast expanse of parkland which is very popular amongst locals and tourists alike:

The Meadows, with Arthur's Seat in the background - both perfect places for a summer's day in Edinburgh

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A beautiful summer's day in the Meadows despite clouds over Edinburgh

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At the foot of the Royal Mile lies Holyrood Park, which is often overlooked by locals and tourists alike and as such is often quiet even on the most gorgeous summer days.

A summer evening in Edinburgh's Holyrood Park

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Holyrood Park also sits at the foot of Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh’s second volcano

Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat as seen on a summer's day from Holyrood Park

Summer Sunset On Edinburgh

Of course this article would not be complete without a fabulous Edinburgh summer sunset to end with!

A summer sunset in Edinburgh

[Image credit: ewanmcdowall]

We hope you enjoyed this summer gallery of Edinburgh, are there any places you feel we should have added too?

Edinburgh Castle dominates the city's skyline

The huge, forbidding presence is a major tourist attraction that spell bounds with its wonderful 3000 years story and an unparalleled potential to explore its rocky perch. That’s because throughout the centuries, Edinburgh Castle played an important role as a fortress built to protect its inhabitants, as a royal residence where kings, queens and their households lived in the past, and as a military base and prison.

Edinburgh Castle shrouded in mistery?

Edinburgh Castle at night

Among the few destinations in the world to charm with its amazing historical attraction,  Edinburgh Castle is located at the top of the Royal Mile— Old Town’s busiest tourist street, which connects the Holyrood Palace (queen’s residence in Edinburgh) with the Castle Rock.

Divided into three wards (Lower, Middle and Upper ward) separated by gates, with sheer cliffs to north and south, and a steep ascent from the west, Edinburgh Castle is an uncompromisingly defensive structure that seems to grow organically out of the living rock beneath. It’s a stronghold in its true meaning, with the coat of arms and motto above the main entrance, “Nemo Me Impune Lacessit” — Latin for “No-one assails me with impunity”, standing as fiercely proof.

Inside Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle views of the city

Edinburgh Castle and the Firth of Forth

First meant as a parade ground in 1753, the long sloping forecourt in front of the castle— the Castle Esplanade, is now used for entertainment purposes. The Esplanade is the place where the world-famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo is being held each year. For three weeks in August, the Scottish regiments puts up an amazing programme that includes an unique blend of music, marching and historical re-enactments. All these set against the magnificent backdrop of Edinburgh Castle, that guards from behind.

The Edinburgh Castle Esplanada

But before you leave the Esplanade, how about a look in the north-east corner for a small iron wall-fountain known as the Witches’ Well— the place where centuries ago, women found guilty of witchcraft were being sentences to death. Another popular tourist attraction is the One O’clock Gun on Mill’s Mount Battery. It has been established in 1861 as a time signal for ships in the Firth of Forth, and is now being fired every day (except on Sundays) at precisely 13:00 by the District Gunner. Find your spot and wait for the gun to go “boom”, the experience is amazing!

One O'Clock Gun on Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle - Mons Meg

There are many things that can be said about a place visited by 1 million people each year, but we’ll get into detail about Edinburgh Castle next times. Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures and plan your vacation …

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Cockburn Street in Edinburgh's Old Town

Situated close to the North Sea on the East Coast of the Central Belt, just south of the Firth OF Forth, Edinburgh is the second largest city in Scotland, but the main tourist attraction for those visiting “the greatest country in the world”. Also, it’s one of the country’s biggest educational hub with an intellectual history that earned its nickname, the Athens of the North.

Thanks to an amazing cityscape that adds dramatic contours to the magnificent architecture with long surviving buildings, Edinburgh is shifting from the historic, yet bustling city centre of the medieval Old Town to the urbanity and the contemporary of the New Town, in the most stunning possible way. That must be the reason why Auld Reekie (Scots for Old Smoky) is now on an exquisite list that includes other World Heritage Sites. And “probably” with some help from the mind-blowing ancient stronghold that dominates the sky-line— the Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh Castle as seen from Princes Street gardens

But Edinburgh is not stuck in the past as some may think. It knows how to entertain, enlighten and intrigue, all at the same time. Although there’s a wide variety of good pubs, restaurants or bars, culture, arts, sports and plenty of “green” to spend some relaxing time, the thing that Edinburgh does best, are festivals. Every summer the city explodes and population even quadruples when the Edinburgh Festival (world’s largest festival, they say) opens its gates. So it’s quite obvious that they don’t call it the Festival City, for nothing.

And did we mention, that Edinburgh gets a lot of votes each year as one of the most desirable places to live, in the world? By now I suppose you know why! It’s one of those special cities that knows how to be both ancient and modern at the same time.

A busy Princes Street

There are many more things we could say about Edinburgh, and we’re making a sacred promise that we will. All you have to do is buckle up and enjoy while we delve in deeeper and deeper into the true heart of Edinburgh.

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