Edinburgh

Rosemary Goring explores the Scottish capital’s expansion and evolution though the centuries – roaming its castle and old town and venturing into historic closes and tenements How was Edinburgh transformed from an ancient defensive site on top of a volcanic crag into a major centre of power, faith, commerce, and learning? In this second of our two festive bonus episodes, travel writer and history buff Paul Bloomfield is joined by historian Rosemary Goring to visit a city that really lights up at New Year: Scotland’s magnificent capital, Edinburgh. Along the way, they’ll meet some of the colourful characters that shaped the city, and lead listeners through the most captivating historic sites and moments. As well as touching on the colours and sounds of Hogmanay, they’ll sample Edinburgh’s cultural delights, sharing top insider travel tips. History’s Greatest Cities is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine and HistoryExtra. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including the HistoryExtra Podcast, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories and HistoryExtra Long Reads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast. We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch. You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d. This episode was hosted by Paul Bloomfield and produced by Jack Bateman.