The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: August second, enjoying Edinburgh in August.

Even though Scotland and England were united for three centuries, Edinburgh still has the proud feel of a capitol city. Situated atop an extinct volcano on the south side of the sea inlet known as the Firth of Forth, Edinburgh has preserved much of its distinctive architecture. Its magnificent castle still dominates the skyline, along with Calton Hill and Holyrood Park. North of the castle, Princes Street is a wide shopping promenade. To the south, the Royal Mile defines the spine of Old Town. Each evening in August on the broad Esplanade in front of the Castle, Edinburgh stages a military tatoo, its famous, floodlit display of bagpipe pomp and circumstance.

August is also festival month in Edinburgh. The big draw is the International Arts Festival, billed as the world's largest celebration of classical theater, dance, and music. It starts on August 15th, and will present nearly 250 world-class performances over its three-week run. There are huge and world acclaimed Film and Book Festivals, which run simultaneously during the last two weeks of the month.

As if all that's not enough, there's the Festival Fringe, a celebration of unsanctioned, sometimes outrageous artistic events. What started as an antidote to the International's classical seriousness has grown into the world's largest arts festival, a cornucopia of entertainment. From August 8th to 30th, the Fringe Festival will present up to 500 performances and exhibitions every single day.

Needless to say, finding hotel rooms in or around Edinburgh at this late date

Back to July 2002 Main

Look through the list of fascinating places and off-beat features we’ve covered. Search text versions of past episodes and articles in our archives.