The U.K.'s first underground railway line is now a lively thoroughfare for runners and cyclists.

Overlooking the burial ground is a tower designed to prevent thieves from snatching the recently deceased.

This charming old building's loose connection with the Scottish Reformer is what saved it from demolition after it split apart.

Once home to a Scottish baronet, this 18th-century historic house doubles as a legendary art space.

Come for the oysters, stay for the priceless art honoring inventors across history and Scotland's favorite outdoor sports.

The colorful stairs are made with marble from the world's major quarries.

This obscure walkway links Edinburgh’s Old Town with one of the city's prime vantage points.

A beautiful Greco-Roman structure houses a well once believed to have healing powers.

Anonymously sculpted and donated, these sculptures made from poetry books and pages are sprinkled around the city.

The world’s first museum dedicated to the history of childhood opened in Edinburgh in 1955.

A labyrinthine network of chambers with a storied past hides below Edinburgh's South Bridge.

A verdant 17th-century-style garden hidden along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.

A six-ton wedding present for the King of the Scots.

This 16th-century house tells the city's history through old artifacts and quirky tales.

This king penguin is a knighted brigadier of the Norwegian Army.

This early version of the guillotine was used to execute the man responsible for its construction.

An American ghost town hides along a side street in Scotland's capital.

This historic pub has maintained much of its 1906 decor, including a small sequestered room for women, where orders were slipped through a tiny window.

This otherwise ordinary close on the Royal Mile constituted the end of the world for Edinburgh’s poorest residents.

Remnants of the 16th-century defensive wall still stand unassumingly within Edinburgh.

This allegedly haunted 16th-century tower house-turned-museum exhibits thousands of spectacular objects.

This small museum in a 17th-century building honors three iconic Scottish writers.

The 16th-century church has the only stained glass windows that survived the Scottish Reformation intact.

Overlooked by many, the two famous Scottish warriors guard the main gate of Edinburgh Castle.