A square off the Royal Mile.

Edinburgh's Royal Mile (it is actually one mile and 107 yards from entrance to Edinburgh Castle to the gates of the Palace of Holyrood House) is not only a popular tourist attraction but also provides a fascinating insight into the history of the City and of Scotland itself. It was described by Daniel Defoe as the "Largest, Longest and Finest Street in the World"

Edinburgh Castle sits on top of what was, at one time, a volcano. It has been used as a fortification for over 2,000 years - there was a hill fort there in the time of the Romans. What is now Princes Street Gardens was originally a loch - the Nor' Loch - which added to the defences of the rock.