Edinburgh - an expanding Scottish city with a fascinating history.
They don't call Edinburgh the festival city for nothing. The highlight of Scotland's calendar is the Edinburgh International Festival, held every August. Since its inception in 1947, it has grown into one of the world's largest and most important arts festivals. The Fringe Festival began unofficially at the same time and grew in tandem to become the largest such event in the world. Over 500 amateur and professional groups present every possible kind of avant-garde performance in venues all around the city. Also held in the same period is the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which takes place on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. The show is an extravaganza of daredevil displays, regimental posturing and swirling bagpipes and ends with a single piper playing a lament on the battlefields. Hogmanay, the Scottish celebration of the New Year, is another major fixture in Edinburgh's festival calendar with concerts, street parties and a massive bonfire on Calton Hill. There's also the frenzy of other international fests: Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival in July-August, Edinburgh International Book Festival in August, Edinburgh International Film Festival and a whole lot more in between.
Public holidays
1 January - New Year's Day
2 January - New Year Bank Holiday
2nd Monday in April - Spring Bank Holiday
1st Monday in May - May Day Holiday
3rd Monday in May - Victoria Day
3rd Monday in September - Autumn Holiday
25 December - Christmas Day
26 December - Boxing Day.