Lonely Planet have named three Edinburgh sites as places where you can experience 'true Scottish history.'
The acclaimed travel site shared their nine top pics for Scotland that give a real insight into the country's past, with Edinburgh featuring more than once. Steeped in stories from centuries ago, the capital saw Mary King's Close highlighted as a place to really get a feel for how the city lived inside the Old Town alley.
Lonely Planet wrote: "On a tour of the Real Mary King’s Close, which was buried when the city was redeveloped in the 18th century, you can start to imagine the smells and other textures of life in the city during this era.
"You’ll be taken around the now entirely subterranean street by lively guides, who’ll talk you through daily life in the 17th century – not to mention tales of plagues and ghost stories.
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"The experience is a telling reminder that beneath Scottish history’s epic headlines and royal exploits, millions of ordinary people lived and died in often brutal conditions."
Although Edinburgh Castle missed out on a mention, the Scott Monument received a glowing review, for its interesting history and spiral staircases.
Lonely Planet added: "It’s fair to say that the 1846 Scott Monument, rising 61m (200ft) over Princes Street Gardens in central Edinburgh like a soot-blackened steampunk spaceship, has divided opinion since it was first raised. Charles Dickens dismissed it as “the spire of a Gothic church taken off and stuck in the ground,” and the dust thrown up when its marble blocks were carved gave many of the city’s greatest stonemasons tuberculosis.
"Today, you can climb its spiral staircases and platforms to see Edinburgh’s breathtaking architecture, with the jumbled maze of the Old Town on one side and the airier Georgian New Town on the other."
Finally, the Scottish Parliament received a mention for how it was able to 'set a course for the future' of the country, with the list adding: "In 1998 Scotland got its first parliament in nearly 300 years, with a building to house the newly minted politicians arriving six years later.
"Conceived as a “flower of democracy rooted in Scottish soil,” the Scottish Parliament Building came in £40 million over budget – and with attendant controversy. Today, the dust has settled, and the building is justly celebrated."
You can find the full Lonely Planet article here.
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