Outside the western door of St Giles Cathedral is a cobblestone heart set into the paving that marks the site of the 15th-century Tolbooth. The Tolbooth served variously as a meeting place for parliament and the town council before becoming law courts and, finally, a notorious prison and place of execution. Immortalised in Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Heart of Midlothian, the Tolbooth was demolished in the 19th century. Passers-by traditionally spit on the heart for good luck (don’t stand downwind!).
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.37 MILES
Edinburgh Castle has played a pivotal role in Scottish history, both as a royal residence – King Malcolm Canmore (r 1058–93) and Queen Margaret first made…
6.62 MILES
Many years may have passed since Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code and the subsequent film came out, but floods of visitors still descend on Scotland's…
2.29 MILES
Built on Clydeside, the former Royal Yacht Britannia was the British Royal Family's floating holiday home during their foreign travels from the time of…
24.13 MILES
One of Scotland's great country houses, Traquair House has a powerful, ethereal beauty, and exploring it is like time travel. Odd, sloping floors and a…
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
1.4 MILES
Edinburgh's gallery of modern art is split between two impressive neoclassical buildings surrounded by landscaped grounds some 500m west of Dean Village…
0.68 MILES
The Scottish Parliament Building, on the site of a former brewery and designed by Catalan architect Enric Miralles (1955–2000), was opened by the Queen in…
1.27 MILES
Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden is the second-oldest institution of its kind in Britain (after Oxford), and one of the most respected in the world…
25.45 MILES
Completed in 2002, the Falkirk Wheel is a modern engineering marvel, a rotating boat lift that raises vessels 115ft from the Forth & Clyde Canal to the…
Nearby Old Town attractions
0.02 MILES
The great grey bulk of St Giles Cathedral dates largely from the 15th century, but much of it was restored in the 19th century. One of the most…
0.04 MILES
Edinburgh's 18th-century City Chambers were built over the sealed-off remains of Mary King's Close, and the lower levels of this medieval Old Town alley…
0.04 MILES
This magnificent 17th-century hall, with original oak hammer-beam roof, is where the old Scottish parliament met before its dissolution in 1707. Now used…
0.05 MILES
Outside the eastern end of St Giles Cathedral stands the Mercat Cross, a 19th-century copy of the 1365 original, where merchants and traders met to…
0.06 MILES
The imposing Georgian City Chambers, home to the City of Edinburgh Council, were originally built by John Adam (brother of Robert) between 1753 and 1761…
0.08 MILES
Housed in the Bank of Scotland's splendid Georgian headquarters, this museum is a treasure trove of gold coins, bullion chests, safes, banknotes,…
0.08 MILES
One of Edinburgh's most prominent 17th-century merchants was Thomas Gledstanes, who in 1617 purchased the tenement later known as Gladstone's Land. It…
0.09 MILES
Tucked down a close between the Royal Mile and the Mound you'll find Lady Stair's House (1622), home to this museum that contains manuscripts and…