I visited this WHS in July 2019. Right from the start I must say that Allan did a fantastic job showing us around this beautiful city (as an experience it would definitely merit 5 stars!). Even though I had already visited the Royal Mile closes and alleys, Calton Hill at sunset (photo), St Giles Cathedral, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the old and new towns including Dean Village, Allan's attention to detail and perseverance in typical Scottish (wet) weather, together with the great company of WH travellers, made this WHS truly memorable.

The most popular and in my opinion the best views of Edinburgh are undoubtedly from Calton Hill and Arthur's Seat at sunset. Even though very crowded, I was lucky with the weather upon arrival and the sunset views were so beautiful that there was an awkward silence as tourists gazed at the sun going down almost behind the Forth Bridge in the distance. Formed by violent volcanic activity around 340 million years ago and gouged by glaciers during the Ice Age, Calton Hill has a long and fascinating history. In 1724, the Town Council of Edinburgh purchased Calton Hill, establishing it as one of Britain's first public parks.

My favourite closes and alleys along the Royal Mile were Advocate's Close at night time with a sort of eerie view of Scott Monument, the old fishery close, the bakery close where the World Heritage Trust of Scotland is situated, and Wardrop's Court with its peculiar blue dragons. The Regent Walk is also a fine walk for views towards the old town. The Tron also had a free exhibition on Scotland's WHS.

Together with Allan we visited Edinburgh's Castle and St Margaret's Chapel, believed to be the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, and later we met up with Iain along the Royal Mile and together we headed towards the cemetery were Rowling apparently got her inspiration for some of the names of Harry Potter's characters. Allan though pointed out the very interesting iron mortsafes on some of the graves in the cemetery. These were placed over the graves to prevent grave robbers from digging up the bodies to sell them to the anatomy classes in the medical school. Many other measures were taken in the 18th and 19th centuries to stop this repulsive trade, which continued until the Anatomy Act in 1832, but the iron mortsafes were by far the most effective and striking to see.

Strangely enough, there seems to be no official UNESCO WHS plaque in Edinburgh apart from the UNESCO symbol on the Wardrop's Court plaque and a tiny "Edinburgh - WH City" plaque of sorts at Dean Village. Many old banks and classical style financial buildings in Edinburgh have been converted into lavish pubs and it goes without saying that trying the good stuff (Scottish whisky) in such a lovely environment is a must! Last but not least I also visited the new town were I stayed for the second part of my holiday. A visit to the Georgian House was interesting and it reminded me a lot of the buildings in Bath.

I really enjoyed my time in Edinburgh and for me it not only is one of UK's top cultural WHS but also one of the top WHS on the list.