Edinburgh and Scotland, Tourist Information

Edinburgh (pronounced Edinbura) is the capital of Scotland and is a major European financial centre. During the period around the conference, Edinburgh will host the Edinburgh International Festival - the largest arts festival in the world. In 2002 Edinburgh became home to Scotland's first parliament since 1707 (when the act of Union was signed linking the Scottish and English parliaments).

Scotland is one of the four countries making up the United Kingdom. It has a strong Celtic heritage with two languages unique to the country (Scottish Gaelic and Lallans). With some stunningly beautiful mountainous regions one of the major industries is tourism, although Scotland also has very strong academic, financial and electronic sectors - not to mention whisky production.

Edinburgh is an inspirational conference destination and one that, with our help, you can discover for yourself.

At the time of the conference the average temperature high in Edinburgh is around 17°C and an average low of around 9°C, with an average of 65mm rainfall per month. Current forecasts are available from Online Weather (UK based), Yahoo (US based).

The currency in the UK is pounds sterling (£/GBP). Scottish banks have the right to produce their own notes in addition the UK standard Bank of England notes, so there are four versions of each note (Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank and Bank of England). Currency conversion and conversion tables for printing (cheat sheets) are available from Oanda. (Note: Euros can be accepted in some stores in the UK, but that sterling fluctuates against the Euro).

EU and US citizens require a valid passport but no visa for a UK visit (however, we recommend checking with your travel agent at booking time). Official information for all countries is held at The Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

For further information about Edinburgh can be found at Edinburgh & Lothians Tourist Board.