Erase that picture of a sleepy highland town filled with old kilted bagpipers from your mind. Edinburgh today is a city pregnant with energy and zest, a city of incessant festivals and feasting, - the Edinburgh International Festival being the most famous of them all. Capital of Scotland since 1437, it is today the second largest city and also home to some world-renowned educational institutions like the University of Edinburgh and famous museums like the Royal Scottish Museum. The political and commercial nucleus of the country, it is also a repository of the historical hallmarks that commemorate Scotland’s long and bloody struggle for independence.