ATTRACTIONS
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle now has its own official website to further enhance visitors’ experience of the iconic Castle. The website provides information on the many attractions (including a 3D Castle Tour) and events and for the first time, enables online ticket purchasing.
A new Edinburgh Castle Visitor Reception, complete with streamlined systems, replaces the old ticket office and final completion is due by Easter 2008.
www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk
Royal Yacht Britannia
The RYB has unveiled plans to bring the ship’s Royal Deck back into use to enhance the range and size of evening events that can be hosted on board. The Royal Deck will open in October 2008, the same month that Britannia celebrates ten years as one of Scotland’s best visitor attractions.
www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk
Rosslyn Chapel
From January 2008, Rosslyn Chapel no longer allows photography or video inside the building.
www.rosslynchapel.org.uk
Scottish Mining Museum
The Scottish Mining Museum (Lady Victoria Colliery) in Newtongrange, Midlothian, has won a public vote to find Scotland's most Treasured Place, as represented by an archive image from RCAHMS' (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland) national collection. The online and postal poll attracted over 20,000 votes, and the Colliery surged ahead of former front-runners Glasgow School of Art and King’s College Aberdeen in the final days to win the title by 288 votes.
Treasured Places was set up by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) to help celebrate its centenary in 2008. The project asked the public to vote for their favourite image of a treasured place from a longlist of one hundred, all drawn from RCAHMS’ national collection.
RCAHMS plan to exhibit their Treasured Places images in a touring exhibition from August 2008 - May 2009. They plan to visit ten venues across Scotland including the City Art Centre, Edinburgh.
www.rcahms.gov.uk
RESTAURANTS
The Champany Inn
The Champany Inn restaurant, by Linlithgow, in West Lothian has joined the elite list of Scottish eateries to be awarded a Michelin star.
www.champany.com
ACCOMMODATION
New Hotels in the pipeline:
- Missoni House/Royal Mile/Opening tbc
- Hotel du Vin/Bristo Place/Opening tbc
- Apex/Waterloo Place/Early 2009
- Express by Holiday Inn/Royal Mile/Opening tbc
- Novotel Edinburgh Park/Hermiston Gait/April 2008
Balmoral Hotel Spa
The Balmoral, on Princes Street, is included in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine's 50 best spas in the world. Other hotels to feature cinlude the upmarket Mandarin Oriental in New York and Le Meurice, a luxury hotel in Paris.
www.thebalmoralhotel.com
EVENTS
Taste of Edinburgh
Following the success of last year's inaugural Taste of Edinburgh, the Channel 4 festival is set to return to The Meadows, from 29 May - 1 June 2008, with an even bigger and better line-up planned, showcasing the very best of Scotland's celebrated national larder.
The country's top culinary talent - including two of Scotland's Michelin-starred chefs, Martin Wishart and Andrew Fairlie, as well as Nick Nairn, Lady Claire MacDonald and the Tower's James Thomson - will headline, and join forces with the finest restaurants and food and drink producers in what will be the epicurean event of the year.
Taste Festival official website
Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival
Scotland's first time hosting this event celebrating the spirit of Golden Oldies Rugby. The event will take place at Murrayfield.
1 - 8 September 2008
www.goldenoldiessport.com
The Art of Italy in the Royal Collection: The Renaissance/The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse
The highly-acclaimed exhibition of Italian art in the Royal Collection comes to Edinburgh in two parts. Part one brings together some of the finest paintings and drawings by many of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. The exhibition also celebrates the artistic legacy of the Stuart Kings, Charles I and his son Charles II. Agnolo Bronzino's Portrait of A Lady in Green and Parmigianino's Pallas Athene will be shown alongside drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.
25 April - 26 October 2008
www.royalcollection.org.uk
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The EIFF moves to a June date this year.
The Festival will run this year from 18 - 29 June 2008.
www.edfilmfest.org.uk
Tracy Emin/Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Tracy Emin is one of the most celebrated artists of her generation, yet remarkably this will be the first retrospective exhibition of her work to be held in the UK. Emin's work draws directly upon her personal experiences, and often refers to traumatic episodes in her early life. The forthcoming exhibition will occupy the entire ground floor of the gallery and will feature work from 1993 to present day.
Early August (tbc) - 9 November 2008
www.nationalgalleries.org
