Best Edinburgh Castle Day Trips & Things to Do

See Edinburgh's most famous and iconic attraction and the oldest building in the city. Edinburgh Castle dominates the city skyline atop Castle Rock. The castle has been a royal residence as well as a military fortress. The gateway to the castle is flanked by statues of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace and opens to a cobbled lane that leads up beneath the 16th-century Portcullis Gate. The castle is also home to the famous One o’clock Gun, where crowds gather to watch the cannon fire at exactly 1 p.m. every day except Sunday, and St. Margaret’s Chapel, the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh.