Climb this central hill in the morning or early evening hours to experience a great sunrise/sunset over Edinburgh. However, try to avoid hours of complete darkness. The hill is home to various monuments including the '''National Monument of Scotland''' (also known as ''Edinburgh's Folly''), an unfinished replica of Athens' Parthenon, built as a memorial to the Napoleonic Wars, and '''[http://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/Venues/Nelson-Monument Nelson's Tower]''', built in the shape of an upturned telescope in honour of the naval hero. The latter features a ''Time Ball'' at the top, which drops at 1PM every day to enable ships at Leith docks to set their clocks. The time ball was originally operated by the City Observatory, which was located here until it was replaced by the larger Royal Observatory of Edinburgh in the south of the City, in the late 19th Century when light pollution in the City centre became too much of an obstacle to celestial viewing. The '''City Observatory''' is being refurbished by the [http://www.collectivegallery.net/ Collective Gallery] as a modern art exhibition space, with a small exhibition space and cafe open at present.

Local

Eat and Drink

• The Gardener's Cottage - Edinburgh (0.2 miles) - The Gardener’s Cottage is a restaurant in Royal Terrace Gardens at the foot of Calton Hill. Built ...
• Cranachan & Crowdie - Edinburgh (0.3 miles) - At Cranachan & Crowdie you’ll find all those quintessential Scottish food and drink souvenirs from...
• The Voodoo Rooms - Edinburgh (0.3 miles) - The Voodoo Rooms is an award-winning bar, restaurant and events venue located in central Edinburgh, ...
• Scottish Storytelling Centre - Edinburgh (0.3 miles) - The Scottish Storytelling Centre is a vibrant arts venue with a seasonal programme of live storytell...
• Monteiths - Edinburgh (0.3 miles) - Monteiths is a boutique cocktail bar & restaurant in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town. The award ...

See and Do

• Scottish Storytelling Centre Edinburgh (0.3 miles) - The Scottish Storytelling Centre is a vibrant arts venue with a seasonal programme of live storytell...
• Scottish Storytelling Centre Edinburgh (0.3 miles) - The Scottish Storytelling Centre is a vibrant arts venue with a seasonal programme of live storytell...
• The Edinburgh Dungeon Edinburgh (0.4 miles) - The Edinburgh Dungeon is a uniquely thrilling attraction that'll take you back to the past's...
• Fudge Kitchen, Edinburgh Edinburgh (0.4 miles) - Nestled in the beautiful streets of Edinburgh, you can smell the sweet fudge being made all the way ...
• Run the Sights Edinburgh (0.4 miles) - We believe to truly experience and connect with your surroundings you must sweat in them :-). Run th...

Shopping

• Cranachan & Crowdie - Edinburgh (0.3 miles) - At Cranachan & Crowdie you’ll find all those quintessential Scottish food and drink souvenirs from...
• Gallery Close - Edinburgh (0.8 miles) - We show and sell work by a diverse range of photographers mainly from the UK. We sell limited editio...
• Carington Mouse's Larder - Edinburgh (0.9 miles) - We are Daryll and Carey and along with Carington Mouse we run Carington Mouse's Larder for her. ...
• Old Bakehouse Tearoom - Aberlady (13.0 miles) - The Old Bakehouse Tearoom has a very welcoming and characterful family atmosphere for seating up to ...
• Five Sisters Zoo - West Calder (16.0 miles) - The role of Five Sisters Zoo is to support the welfare of all our animals and to encourage education...