About the town » Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain

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Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, situated in South East Scotland on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. It is the largest settlement in Lothian, with a population of 495,360 in 2011 (up 1.9% from 2010), and lies at the centre of a larger urban zone of approximately 850,000 people. From its prehistoric roots as a hillfort, following periods of Celtic and Germanic influence, Edinburgh became part of the medieval kingdom of Scotland in the 10th century and grew to become Scotland’s biggest merchant town. By the time of the European Renaissance it had officially become Scotland's capital. Political power flowed south after the Treaty of Union in 1707, but the 18th century saw an unprecedented cultural revival and outpouring of new ideas when the city assumed a leading role in the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1999 a measure of political power returned when the devolved Scottish Parliament was created and Edinburgh now faces the prospect of becoming an international capital again in 2014. Edinburgh has a high proportion of independent schools, one college and four universities. The University of Edinburgh (which now includes Edinburgh College of Art) is the biggest university in Scotland and ranked 21st in the world. These institutions help provide a highly educated population and a dynamic economy. Edinburgh has the UK's strongest economy outside London and was named European Best Large City of the Future for Foreign Direct Investment and Best Large City for Foreign Direct Investment Strategy in 2012/13. Each August the city hosts the biggest annual international arts festival in the world. This includes the Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Other festivals are held throughout the year, such as the Science Festival, Film Festival and Jazz and Blues Festival. Other annual events include the Hogmanay street party and Beltane. Edinburgh is the world's first UNESCO City of Literature and the city's Old Town and New Town are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world and regularly polls as one of the best places to live, having won more than 12 UK Best City Awards in 8 years to 2013. Attracting over one million overseas visitors a year, Edinburgh is the second most popular tourist destination in the UK and was voted European Destination of the Year at the World Travel Awards 2012.