- Princes St
- John Knox’s House
- Calton Hill
- The Castle
- Forth Road Bridge
- Linlithgow Palace
- Tantallon Castle
Le piéton qui souhaiterait échapper à l'incessant va-et-vient de Princes Street, peut trouver la tranquillité à quelques pas de là dans les Jardins de Princes Street. Le parc est en deux parties, séparées par la rue du Mound et les galeries d'art à l'architecture classique.
Dans la partie Ouest des Jardins, remarquez la fameuse horloge florale d'Edimbourg, située en haut des escaliers à l'entrée du Mound, sous la statue du poète Allan Ramsay. C'est la plus vieille horloge florale du monde; chaque année elle est repiquée de milliers de plantes minuscules et un coucou mécanique annonce l'heure.
Die Anlagen von de Princes Street befinded sich zwischen Alt- und Neustadt; links sieht man die bekannte Burg und rechts das denkmal Sir Walter Scotts.
Edinburgh
Princes Street
The panorama of Princes Street with Princes Street Gardens, the Scott Memorial and the Castle is one of the most famous views in the British Isles. The street’s incomparable setting should make it as fine a boulevard as will be encountered anywhere. Unfortunately, it’s like shopping in a tourist-infested wind-tunnel on a bad day, and the quickest way to walk along Princes St is to head a block north to George Street. Many of Edinburgh's best known shops have a Princes Street address, and the hotels can offer a magnificent prospect across the green valley of Princes Street Gardens to the high ridge of the Old Town, crowned by the castle.
Princes Street Gardens are in two parts, separated by the roadway of the Mound and the classical architecture of the art galleries. In West Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh's noted floral clock — the oldest in the world — is located beside the flight of steps at the Mound entrance, below the statue of the poet Allan Ramsay.
On the upper promenade of West Princes Street Gardens is the Scottish American War Memorial, scuplted by R. Tait Mackenzie of Philadelphia. Entitled ‘the call’, its central feature is the seated figure of a young man in uniform, leaning forward, gazing intently towards the castle. Nearby is a heather garden, established following the Falklands conflict, and below in the valley is a peace garden, which includes a number of commemorative trees.
The Ross Theatre stands in the middle of West Princes Street Gardens stands, and the massive boulder situated a short distance west of the Ross Theatre is a gift from the Norwegian people to commemorate friendships forged during the Second World War, when large numbers of Norwegians found refuge in Scotland
At the eastern end of the gardens stands the memorial of the Royal Scots, the oldest regiment in the British Army. The handsome equestrian statue, opposite Frederick Street, is the regimental memorial of the Royal Scots Greys.
The authority of Parliament was obtained in 1816 to protect the radical concept of no building on the south side of Princes Street in perpetuity. It is because of this Parliamentary statute that the art galleries at the foot of the Mound stand in splendid isolation. The same statute ensured that the prize-winning Waverley Market shopping centre (1985), at the east end of Princes Street, lies below pavement level. The railway was introduced through Princes Street Gardens in 1846, but tunnelling and embankments, together with the well-wooded valley floor, have safeguarded the environment of the gardens. Railway passengers arriving from the west and north find themselves approaching Waverley Station through wooded parkland.
Tthe 200-ft spire of the Scott Monument, Edinburgh's tribute to one of her illustrious native sons, the novelist and patriot Sir Walter Scott, is in East Princes Street Gardens. The marble statue of Scott at the base is by Sir John Steell; Scott's favourite dog, Maida, lies at his feet. Many characters from Scott's novels, as well as figures from Scottish history, adorn the monument at various levels, and there is a small exhibition area halfway up. A circular stairway can be climbed to the top (287 steps in all).
The statue standing a few yards from the Scott Monument is that of David Livingstone, the Scots doctor/missionary/ explorer who worked in the African interior and who was located there by the intrepid H.M. Stanley in a famous encounter. Stanley, an American citizen, was made a freeman of Edinburgh on 11 June 1890.
The smallest memorial in East Princes Street Gardens, consisting of a bronze plaque embedded in stone near the north-west entrance, commemorates those volunteers who, as members of the International Brigades, fought on the Republican side during the bitter Spanish Civil War (1936-39).
The Edinburgh Information Centre on the roof of Waverley Market, by Waverley Station, provides full tourist and travel information facilities.
The Royal Scottish Academy is at the foot of The Mound and was designed by William Henry Playfair (1789–1857) whose work adorns many parts of the city. Behind the RSA is the National Gallery of Scotland, also by Playfair.
- Map Location (National Gallery of Scotland)