The National Home & Design Show at Ingliston's Royal Highland Centre recognises the best quality products in the home interiors market. Companies from all over the UK exhibit and showcase their latest products and services.
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Oct 2013 (annual)
The Scottish Home Improvement & Self Build Show at Ingliston's Royal Highland Centre outside Edinburgh. One of the largest self build, renovation and home improvement shows in Scotland, over 100 companies display their innovations and run workshops and seminars.
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Oct 2013 (annual)
Scotland's premier music festival, T in the Park returns this summer with scores of acts across five stages at Balado near Kinross. The legendary T in the Park funfair and cinema also return, and don't forget Friday is fancy dress...
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Jul 2013 (annual)
Sixty-seven thousand fans pack into Murrayfield for Scotland's Six Nations rugby union matches. Following antipodean excitement of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, Scotland in 2012 welcome England and France to Edinburgh.
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Feb 2013 (various dates)
Rugby Union side Edinburgh Gunners welcome RaboDirect PRO12 teams to the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh for the 2011/2012 season. Matches are generally played on Friday evenings - with some weekend and Boxing Day fixtures.
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Sep 2012 - May 2013; Mon, Fri, Sat, and Sun only (annual)
The Dean Gallery was opened in 1999 to complement the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, which stands opposite, and to house the latter's collection of Dada and Surrealist art and work by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi. A converted orphan hospital built in the 1830s, it is yet another of the Scottish National Galleries' lavish and prestigious museums, and an Edinburgh art "must-see".
Available :
Daily
The mansions of Dean Village, just north of the New Town, are from the 19th century, but the milling village dates back 700 years. Walk along the Water of Leith to see ivy-covered statues, quaint houses and the 17th-century baxters' building.
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Daily
Underneath the Old Town's streets lurks the parallel neighbourhood of The Real Mary King's Close. In this preserved piece of medieval Edinburgh, you'll meet resident ghosts and find out how they lived until the plague exterminated them in the 1600s.
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Daily
The Alva Highland Games has been taking place since the 19th century and in 2006 celebrated its 150th gathering. It continues to be characterised by sports, including the "heavy" events, and the celebration of local culture - from whisky to bagpipes and tartans.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
Part of Edinburgh's festival mix since 2004, the Edinburgh Art Festival now brings cutting-edge visual art to the city every summer. Despite its young age its reach is great, with new commissions and exhibitions across the city's galleries.
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Aug 2013 (annual)
Edinburgh International Magic Festival materialises in the city in July with master-classes as well as traditional shows. Organisers, local magician and husband-and-wife team Kevin McMahon and Svetlana Shevchenko, promise a festival for the general public rather than an exclusive magic circle.
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Jun - Jul 2013 (annual)
A vibrant celebration of traditional arts, Edinburgh's Ceilidh Culture Festival shows off local and international talent at a variety of venues. Contemporary folk artists perform dance, song, music and storytelling, which remain a vital part of Scottish culture.
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Mar - Apr 2013 (annual)
Argentine passion and flair come to Edinburgh during the International Tango Festival, first held in 2008. Attendees can watch and learn from some of the best dancers in the world and also burn up the dance floor at the Spring Ball.
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May - Jun 2013 (various dates)
Fighting rock music's corner in the oversubscribed Edinburgh festival market is The Edge Festival. It takes place in some of the city's best live music venues, including the HMV Picture House, the Playhouse, Corn Exchange, Queen's Hall and Cabaret Voltaire.
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Aug 2013 (annual)
If you think mud and sweat make a good weekend then mark the Swamp Soccer World Cup in your diary. Teams of six broach the mud for 24 minutes to compete for the ultimate prize, held in 2012 close to Inverness Airport.
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Jun 2013 (annual)
Amateur performers of all ages try to impress the judges at the Edinburgh Festival of Music, Speech and Dance. The festival culminates with the Final Concert (usually at The Queen's Hall) where the best soloists are accompanied by a full orchestra.
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Feb - Mar 2013 (annual)
The Edinburgh Marathon - Britain's second biggest - is the climax of a May festival weekend attracting 30,000 runners. There is also a half marathon, a team relay, 10km, 5km and junior runs through Scotland's historic capital.
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May 2013 (annual)
While the official Edinburgh International Festival concentrates on what some like to call "the high arts", the famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe is more eclectic, developing out of a spontaneous, grass-roots response to the international high-flyers up the road.
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Aug 2013 (annual)
The Edinburgh International Science Festival attracts around 70,000 visitors for a variety of hands-on activities, workshops and shows for children, demonstrations, exhibitions, talks and tours, offering more than 200 events in 20 venues throughout the city.
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Mar - Apr 2013 (annual)
Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Society presents the Samhuinn Festival every Halloween. It's a spectacular procession of music, folk dance, physical theatre and fire illuminating the city.
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Oct 2013 (annual)
Bearing in mind the Scottish propensity for old-fashioned revelry, one would expect a few choruses of Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve. In this spirit Edinburgh hosts four days of festivities including processions, concerts and a world-famous street party.
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Dec 2013 - Jan 2014 (annual)
Formerly the Capital City Challenge and a part of the BUPA Great Caledonian Run, the BUPA Great Edinburgh Run attracts several thousand runners each year.
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May 2013 (annual)
Edinburgh hosts the annual Imaginate Festival, Britain's biggest performing-arts festival for kids. Leading international children's theatre groups bring wonder, drama and excitement to theatres around the city in productions for kids from tots to teens.
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May 2013 (various dates)
The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) - now programmed by Jonathan Mills - is the original centerpiece of Edinburgh's hotbed of artistic excellence every August. Around it cluster the Fringe, Military Tattoo, Jazz and Blues, Book and Edge festivals.
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Aug - Sep 2013 (annual)
Every year the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival presents top-quality performers in venues around the city. Founded in 1978 when jazz guitarist Mike Hart booked a weekend of bands, it is now the longest-running jazz festival in the country.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
Original Scottish-designed gifts are for sale at Concrete Wardrobe in the New Town. Browse accessories made from Shetland wool and cashmere, funky jewellery, and other hand-crafted goods by Scottish designers.
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Daily
Edinburgh's beautiful people gather to eat and drink at Oloroso. The roof terrace, which provides views of the castle on one side and the Firth of Forth and Fife on the other, is a particularly special place to sip a cocktail.
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Daily
A 30-year-old institution in New Town, Alistir Wood Tait's jewellery store specialises in Scottish gems and designs, as well as antiques. Splash out on cuff-links made from Highland gold nuggets, a plaid pin or a silver quaich (double-handled bowl for drinking whisky).
Available :
Daily; not Mon or Sun
Urban Angel is a versatile, simple café-bistro in the New Town specialising in organic and fair-trade food. Its philosophy is to provide outstanding fare that "won't cost you the earth". It is ideal for a relaxed lunch or dinner. Try the staple crayfish risotto, or choose from a list of excellent vegetarian and carnivore options.
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Daily
The Opal Lounge is a stylish bar in Edinburgh city centre where an award-winning mixologist creates the cocktails for a chic crowd. Make sure you dress to impress, as the clientele like to make an effort at this popular hangout.
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Celebrating the music of Scotland, the Scots Fiddle Festival moves to the intimate Queen's Hall in Edinburgh. Amidst a welter of workshops and masterclasses, the fiddling fun includes concerts, ceilidhs and recitals.
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Nov 2013 (annual)
The Filmhouse on Lothian Rd is an Edinburgh institution. Along with blockbusters, the cinema programmes arthouse film, mini film festivals and the summer International Film Festival. There's also a good selection of DVDs for sale here.
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Daily
The Edinburgh International Film Festival remains firmly at the centre of the UK film industry. Despite its advanced years, the festival - now starting in June - consistently showcases cutting-edge work and attracts the biggest names in the business.
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Jun 2013 (annual)
Quite literally a horrifying fixture at Edinburgh Filmhouse since 1993 (bar a break in 2010) Adele Hartley's Dead by Dawn Festival, was Britain's first film festival devoted to horror. Gorge on gore for four days of non-stop terror, blood and screams.
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Mar 2013 (annual)
The Saturday Farmers' Market is below Castle Rock. Over 70 stalls sell local organic produce, breads and meats. Bag a jar of Scottish honey, chutney or cheese, and lunch on gourmet sausages and home-baked goodies.
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Sat only
Edinburgh Farmers' Market offers organic and locally produced delights every Saturday. From Wild Boar burgers to Black Isle Ale the market has a great variety and if it's a dreich (dismal) day Stoats' whisky porridge will keep you toasty.
Available :
Sat only
Nargile in the New Town is the only Turkish restaurant in Edinburgh. It has a warm, simple decor with Byzantine-style motifs, and the service is excellent. The "banquet meals" for two people are a feast and a bargain, or try the succulent moussaka-like lamb and Nargile aubergine special. There are also excellent vegetarian choices.
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Daily; not Sun
The world's first rotating boat lift, The Falkirk Wheel is truly an engineering masterpiece. Part sculpture, part canal lock, the wheel takes the same amount of power as eight boiling kettles to sweep canal boats gracefully round.
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Daily
Kirkcaldy's Promenade transforms under the weight of a huge funfair and street festival. The mile-long "market" is filled with every conceivable fairground attraction - some scary, some tame, as well as food stalls for those who can stomach it.
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Apr 2013 (annual)
The Edinburgh International Book Festival is one of the biggest literary festivals in the English-speaking world. Each year it welcomes some 700 writers to Charlotte Square Gardens to appear in 750 events in just 17 days.
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Aug 2013 (annual)
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