The building, designed by architect Enric Miralles, is home to some 129 members of Scottish Parliament, representing constituencies from all over Scotland.   The building received mixed reviews from Edinburgh residents when it was opened in 2004 as the design was considered too modern. However the design blends well into the adjacent Queens Park.

The Scottish Parliament is a great place for visitors but perhaps younger children will not be as enthralled by the inside designs as older ones, our recommended age is 8 upwards. Visiting the Scottish Parliament is free and you are able to access the public areas of your own free will or partake in a guided tour. A guided tour of the building is highly recommended as you will learn lots of fascinating facts about the building and the Scottish Parliament. You are also able to sit in on a debate though you will need to book tickets. It is worth noting that parliament does not sit on a Monday or a Friday.

Of particular interest are the inside designs of the Debating hall where the ceiling architecture is frequently described as ‘Striking’. There is an exhibition which describes how the Scottish Parliament works which you will find factual and entertaining.

The Scottish Parliament website has everything you will need to know to make you visit to the Scottish Parliament enjoyable. Please feel free to comment below on your visit and leave your tips for other visitors.

With thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/global-jet/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderdog/ for photographs.

Photo Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/nigeljohnwade/

Looking for a breezy, sunny spot to while away the hours on a warm. dry Scottish day? Look no further than The Meadows, a beautiful field where  in summer Edinburgh’s residents gather with bottles of beer and wine and picnics to feed themselves, their friends and families while impromptu games of soccer and frisbee take place across the span of these beautiful green spaces. In Winter, the Meadows plays host to cyclists, jogging groups, parents with children and while its patrons are perhaps not as relaxed as during the long summer days, there is still a lovely atmosphere.

The Meadows host two fantastic children’s play  parks, which are always bustling full of children happily playing. The play park at the South side has nearby (clean) toilet facilities and local coffee houses. It is an ideal meeting place for young families, ensuring their off spring catch up on ‘fresh air’ and they catch up with friends. The play park  located at the Bruntsfield end is more geared towards younger children.

But despite it’s appeal with Edinburgh residents and visitors alike, The Meadows were not always a place for relaxation. A little scroll back through history depicts The Meadows at the centre of Edinburgh’s Bubonic Plague outbreaks. During those outbreaks, the fields that now lend grassy relaxation areas to the individuals who visit were sites for the burying of the recently dead – what a macabre thought to greet visitors on a summer’s day!

Phot Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/bods/

The Meadows are easily accessible from Tollcross and Southside, as well as Bruntsfield, and are only a short bus ride or walk from the Royal Mile. They are far enough from the center of town that they draw a crowd made up more of locals and students than of tourists, making them ideal for relaxed afternoons. As long as the weather is dry, The Meadows has vast expanses of open space to kick a football, throw a frisbee, walk along the paths, cycle, stop for coffee at the Starbucks or simply a stroll through some city greenery.

Edinburgh's Cockburn Street on a gorgeous day

Several shops and restaurants open onto both Cockburn Street and the North Bridge, which spans Waverly Valley, while the western side of the street sports the famous Baked Potato Shop (where you can put any imaginable topping onto a baked potato and revel in its stodgy goodness) and small jewelery and t-shirt stores.

[image credit: 0olong]

Walking Down Cockburn Street

The street itself, as well as Hunter’s Square across the Royal Mile, is one of the prime areas for Edinburgh’s goth and emo teens to rove, particularly thanks to shops like Whiplash Trash and a few other retailers who cater to these teens’ more bizarre or esoteric clothing tastes with styles that are hard to find in high street chains.

Looking down on Cockburn Street coming from the Royal Mile

[image credit: Óscar Palmer]

Continuing on, you pass a number of small closes on either side; these small streets stretch like herringbones along the length of the Royal Mile, and you’ll find places like Fleshmarket Close, whose name harks back to the original purpose of the street. As Cockburn Street continues on, you’ll pass small grocery stores (full of local charm, then the prices are a sight higher than some of the major chains) and restaurants that cater to Edinburgh’s young and trendy wine bar crowd.

Unique little shops on Cockburn Street in the heart of Edinburgh

[image credit: contagiousmemes]

The foot of Cockburn Street is home to a more traditional pub (with live music) and entryway to steps that lead back up to the Royal Mile, as well as a store that sells cute, asian-style toys, and a traditional candy shop.

Cockburn Street is a charming and enticing street which is also a microcosm of Edinburgh as a whole, with its trendy shops and restaurants as well as some seamier elements. Walking down Cockburn Street can take five minutes or five hours, depending on where and for how long you stop, and it’s an experience not to be missed.

The People's Story on the Canongate, part of Edinburgh's Royal Mile

The People’s Story is housed in what is probably the most important building in this region of Edinburgh; the Canongate Tolbooth. Also one of the most beautiful buildings along the Royal Mile, (and indeed the country), the Tolbooth was built in 1591 and has been, at varying times in history, a judicial center, a prison, and a place where taxes were collected for the burgh of Canongate.

[Image credit: MikeLeone]

Edinburgh & Scotland’s History Is Told In The People’s Story

The People’s Story provides locals and tourists alike the opportunity to time-travel to various points in Scottish history. By engaging all the senses, including pictorial representation, audio tracks, and even smells and tastes coming from the kitchens, the People’s Story seems to actually transport you into the Scottish past. When entering the museum, a twenty minute video sets the mood and gears you for an afternoon of learning and fun. The main exhibits include a pub where you can feel the camaraderie in the air, an old fashioned tea room, a town square full of shouting political dissidents, a prison cell which shows just how miserable being locked up in the past would have been, and a dungeon where one could imagine even despair dying.

The People's Story is hard to miss on Edinburgh's Canongate!

The People’s Story Edinburgh is open Monday through Saturday, and also a handful of Sundays in August. The Royal Mile is one of the oldest and well-known streets in Edinburgh, and the Tolbooth looms large, so it will be easy to find. There is no admission. What better way to spend a present afternoon than by engaging the past? You won’t be sorry you did.

[Image credit: Peter Nijenhuis]

The Mercat Cross in Edinburgh

This is the place where Edinburgh’s criminal class found their ears nailed to the Edinburgh Mercat Cross (mercat being a spelling of the Scottish pronunciation of the word “Market”) when caught in their crimes, and where the mobs gathered to stone those unlucky enough to be sentenced to such a dismal fate.

Nearby shops and restaurants give hardly a glimpse of the macabre stories that tell the history of the Edinburgh Mercat Cross. Tour companies depart from the Edinburgh Mercat Cross to show visitors the sights and sounds of the city, from the winding closes that wheedle their way between tenement buildings to the underground vaults created when the city government built the massive bridges that help the city lay itself out along two levels.

[image credit darjeeling wanderer]

Edinburgh’s Mercat Cross, A Central Feature

Edinburgh's Mercat Cross features a unicorn on a high pedestal

At Halloween, nearby Parliament Square is filled with the Beltane Fire Society’s Samhain rituals, which begin at the top of the Royal Mile and progress by torchlight down to Parliament Square, culminating in a battle where the spirit of winter slays that of summer. At Hogmanay, Edinburgh’s version of Times Square’s New Year’s celebration, the streets are crammed with tourists and locals enjoying a toast and the verses of Auld Lang Syne.

As in Medieval times, the Edinburgh Mercat cross is a central part of the city – a monument to days gone by and a gathering point for the energies of this fine city as it moves into the twenty-first century. With so many attractions and opportunities within minutes’ walk of the monument, it makes for a first-rate stopping point for any visitors to the city.

[image credit itmpa]