//
Popular ice rink with leisure skating sessions, and ice-discos on Friday and Saturday nights. It's the home rink of the Edinburgh Capitals ice hockey team, who play Sept-March in the Scottish National League, the UK second tier. (Their rivals Murrayfield Racers folded in 2022.) The curling club also play here on a separate rink.
Creative centre for printmaking & visual arts, Two free galleries & shop. Vegan Cafe.
The pandas have returned to China but there's still plenty here. Penguins include gentoo, rockhopper and king, most famously Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of the Bouvet Islands and mascot of the Norwegian King's Guard. Budongo Trail leads through the troupe of 15 chimpanzees. The only koalas in the UK are here, and there are some beautiful tropical birds. The zoo is on the slopes of Corstorphine Hill and some paths are steep but all attractions are wheelchair accessible. Check the website for cheaper online offers, and temporary closures eg in harsh weather or avian flu outbreaks.
The present building is a collegiate church of 1429, becoming a parish church in 1646, and re-modeled in 1828.
This 1590s tower house was extended in the 1820s and housed a series of prosperous families. It passed into council ownership in 1926 and the interior has been preserved in its last occupants' plush Edwardian style. Visit by pre-booked guided tour. There is free entry to the gardens (daily 8AM-4:30PM), where the centrepiece is the Japanese garden. The castle is also used as an event space.
The main stadium has a capacity of 67,000 and hosts all Scottish rugby internationals. The premier tournament is the Six Nations held each February-March: in odd-numbered years, Scotland hosts Wales, Ireland and Italy, and in even-numbered years the visitors are England and France. These games almost always sell out, and the city is mobbed when they're on; you've more chance of tickets and accommodation for other internationals which take place each November, or, if it's a Rugby World Cup year, warm-up friendly games in the summer. Stadium tours are available on non-match days.
Mainly mainstream cinema with some art-house & foreign cinema. IMAX screen.