However， the smooth running of the Palace today owes much to the foresight of an earlier predecessor， Charles II， who built the spacious upper floor where the Royal Family，s private apartments are situated
The longest and largest room in the Palace is the Great Gallery which is decorated with 89 of the original 110 Jacob de Wet portraitsportrait n.肖像， 人像 of the real and legendary kings of Scotland， from Fergus I to Charles II.
The room has served many purposes. It was used for the election of Scotland，s representative peers after the Union of Parliaments in 1707. George V made it into the State Dining Room， and today it is used for receptions， State occasions and Investitures.
St. Giles， Cathedral
圣吉尔斯大教堂
走出爱丁堡城堡的大门，沿着大道顺坡而下，很快就到了圣吉尔斯大教堂。它具有1000年的历史，高耸的钟楼、雄伟的建筑、五颜六色的玻璃、古色古香的装饰、教堂门前自由觅食的鸽子等，给人留下了深刻的印象。
这是爱丁堡最高等级的教堂，它的塔像一顶皇冠，给人印象深刻。大教堂原建于1120年，后遭大火烧毁，于1385年重建。教堂内有一座20世纪增建的苏格兰骑士团的礼拜堂，新歌德式的天花板与饰壁上的雕刻极为精美华丽。
St. Giles， Cathedral is the historic City Church of Edinburgh with its famed crown spire on the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh， it is Presbyterianism，s Mother Church and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle （Scotland，s chivalricchivalric adj.有武士气概的，有武士风范的 company of knights headed by the Queen）.
A prominent feature of the Edinburgh skyline， St. Giles Cathedral decorates the midpoint of the Royal Mile with its rounded hollowcrown tower.
The cathedral is the High Kirk of Edinburgh， and is a very important part of the city，s spiritual life， and has been for at least 900 years. Today it is often regarded as the mother church of PresbyterianismPresbyterianism n.长老会制， 长老派主义； since the Church of Scotland became Presbyterian in the 17th century， St. Giles is no longer a cathedral in the technical sense， although the name survives colloquiallycolloquially adv.用白话， 用通俗语. As the name implies， it is dedicated to Saint Giles， who was the patron saint of cripples and lepers and a very popular saint in the Middle Ages.
The oldest parts of the building are four massive central pillarspillar n.［建］ 柱子， 栋梁， 重要的支持者， dating from 1120. Over the years many chapels have been added and by the middle of the sixteenth century （before the Reformation） there were about fifty altars in the church. Today the chapel of the Order of the Thistle is attached to the eastern end of St Giles.
In 1637 King Charles I attempted to impose Anglican services on the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. On Sunday July 23， when Dean John Hanna began to read from the new Book of Prayer， Jenny Geddes， a market-woman or streetseller， threw her foldingfolding adj.可折叠的 stool at his head starting riots. This led to the National Covenant and hence the Bishops， Wars； the first part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms， which included the English Civil War.
Its many monuments and memorials， as well as its sheer size and location， has made it a very popular tourist attraction， drawing special notice during the annual Edinburgh Festival， which centers on the Royal Mile.
St. Giles，
St. Giles， was the mediaeval parish churchparish church 教区教堂 of Edinburgh， founded with the burgh in the 12th century. It was subdivided after the Reformation and was a Cathedral during the 17th century. After falling into decay， it was repaired and remodelled by William Burn in the 1830s. In the 1880s the interior was reunited by William Hay.
A programme of repairs was initiated in 1974 and over twelve years the low roofs were releaded， the crown spire and weathercock restored and repairs to the stoneworkstonework n.石雕工艺， 做石工的场所 and windows begun. The Thistle Chapel undercroftundercroft n.圆顶地下室 and adjacent rooms were converted into what is now the Lower Aisle， linked to the church by a new sandstone stair in the South Choir Aisle. Originally conceived as part of a major project to create a new “East Hall” by excavating beneath the whole eastern part of the church， this is now unlikely to be realised.
Important changes were made to the interior. A new Sanctuary arrangement was established with the Holy Table beneath the low vault of the crossing tower. Art works include a West window by Leifur Breidfjurd commemorating Robert Burns， six tiny windows in the Lower Aisle by Christian Shaw， a handrailhandrail n.栏杆， 扶手 by Alan Dawson and lettercutting by Dick Reid.
Princes Street
王子街
王子街是爱丁堡最繁华的街道，它把爱丁堡分为新旧二城，北面分为新城，南面为旧城。新、旧两城之间有一座长条山丘，天然壁垒分明。王子街素有“全球景色最佳的马路”之称。全长不过一里，许多华丽摩登的商店汇聚在此条马路旁。南侧则是一片青翠的绿地，东端尽头是王子街花园。
古堡下的王子街花园风景如画，里面屹立着苏格兰着名文学家司各特的纪念塔。在花园的另一块绿地上，伫立着蜚声世界的苏格兰钟，其主要结构设于地下。此钟建于1803年，分针长2.4米，时针长1.5米，钟面直径3.5米，花钟图案由2.4万朵各种鲜花组成，每1分钟就有一枝杜鹃花跳出来。据称，它是世界上最大、最独特的一座花钟。
每逢节庆时，王子街上都会挂满蓝白国旗，身着苏格兰裙的男女老少是王子街上一道别致的风景；有足球比赛时，狂热的球迷脸上涂着蓝白国旗的油彩、手持啤酒热情地招呼游客加入到其中。据说苏格兰裙本来也只是一大块布，为了适合寒冷的气候，而做成方便包裹全身的形式，后来才渐渐变成裙子。
The most famous street in Edinburgh， Princes Street is the main street in Edinburgh， dividing the new town from the old town. Probably one of the most beautiful streets in the world， Princes Street runs below the majesticmajestic adj.宏伟的， 庄严的 Edinburgh Castle. Originally， Princes Street was residential， but nowadays it is mainly a commercial one.
On the right hand site of Princes Street lie some of Edinburgh，s most well known shops， while on the left， there are the Princes Street Gardens， the Old Town and the Castle Rock. This feature is just one of the reasons why Edinburgh，s city centre so special and different.
Princes Street is the main shopping street in Edinburgh city centre， although it was originally designed to be a residentialresidential adj.住宅的， 与居住有关的 street. It is the southmost street of Edinburgh，s New Town. It is roughly a mile （1.6 km） in length， reaching from Lothian Road in the West to Leith Street in the East. The street is mostly closed to private cars traveling east， and has few buildings on the south side， allowing views of the Old Town and the castle and the valley between.
