Cities of Scotland
Scotland is a mountainous country in the north of the island of Great Britain and shares a land border to the south with England and is bounded by the North Sea on the east and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. Its capital city is Edinburgh. Scotland has some 790 islands - 130 inhabited. It is famous for:
Its fresh water lochs (lakes) – there are over 600 square miles of them. One of the most famous is Loch Ness where a mysterious monster is said to lurk in the depths of the water.
It is also famous for its clans, kilts, medieval castles, as well as poetry and songs of Robert Burns.
Theatre lovers from around the world come to Edinburgh for its famous theatres festival.
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is the home to the Parliament of Scotland. Outside of its political importance, Edinburgh is also prominent due to the fact that it is home to many cultural events, museums, and galleries.
The city itself is divided into two different sections, the New Town and the Old Town. The New Town is now the major home of the shopping and entertainment areas, while the Old Town is near Holyrood and contains most of the political and business areas. Within the central area of Edinburgh is not only one of the most cultured locations, but also the National Library of Scotland, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the National War Museum. Additionally, Edinburgh is home to five of Scotland’s National Galleries as well as two of the most world renowned private collections.
Outside of the major attractions in Edinburgh and sightseeing landmarks such as the Edinburgh Castle, the area also offers plenty of outside entertainment such as shopping and nightlife. Most of the main shopping is found along Princes Street and the Royal Mile, which is where the high end stores and specialty boutique shops are located.
Most people arrive in Edinburgh via the Edinburgh International Airport although there is a rail service that arrives in the Waverly Station near St. George’s Bridge. Once at the airport there are two options to get into the city outside of taking the taxi or hiring a car, which is not recommended given the fact that the streets are pedestrian friendly and the traffic is very congested within the Old and New Town sectors of Edinburgh.
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 29th most populous city. Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen's buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, whose mica deposits sparkle like silver. The city has a long, sandy coastline. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe. Aberdeen received Royal Burgh status from King David I (1124–53), transforming the city economically. The city's two universities, the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and the Robert Gordon University, which was awarded university status in 1992, make Aberdeen the educational centre of the north-east. Aberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom competition a record-breaking ten times, and hosts the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, a major international event which attracts up to 1000 of the most talented young performing arts companies.
Aberdeen has long been famous for its 45 outstanding parks and gardens, and citywide floral displays which include two million roses, eleven million daffodils and three million crocuses. The city has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom 'Best City' award ten times, the overall Scotland in Bloom competition twenty times and the large city category every year since 1968. However, despite recent spurious reports, Aberdeen has never been banned from the Britain in Bloom competition. The city won the 2006 Scotland in Bloom "Best City" award along with the International Cities in Bloom award. The suburb of Dyce also won the Small Towns award.
Aberdeen has been the host of a few theatres through history. Some of them has been converted or destroyed over the years. The most famous ones includes:
His Majesty's Theatre (HMT), on Rosemount Viaduct
The Tivoli, on Guild Street
Capitol Theatre, on Union Street
The Palace Theatre, on Bridge Street
The Lemon Tree on West North Street
The main concert hall is the Music Hall on Union Street, built in 1822.
The city has a wide range of cultural activities, amenities and museums. The city is regularly visited by Scotland's National Arts Companies. The Aberdeen Art Gallery houses a collection of Impressionist, Victorian, Scottish and 20th century British paintings as well as collections of silver and glass. It also includes The Alexander Macdonald Bequest, a collection of late 19th century works donated by the museum's first benefactor and a constantly changing collection of contemporary work and regular visiting exhibitions.