we started our day to explore Edinburgh city and this was our first stop. we stayed at 'Britannia…read moreHotel Edinburgh' and it was on the way to tram station. St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral sits at the west end of Palmerston Place, a wide attractive Edinburgh New Town thoroughfare named after Viscount Palmerston, a former prime minister, and University of Edinburgh graduate who died in 1865. Building has three tall spires which reach up over the city skyline, meaning that the cathedral can be seen from a variety of viewpoints and outlooks in the city. But the building itself is often overlooked by visitors, perhaps because it's a little further from the traditional tourism area of the Old Town. The central spire of Scott's church is 90m tall, making it the tallest structure in Edinburgh city centre, and the two shorter spires added to the western end of the building later became known locally as Barbara and Mary, after the Walker sisters themselves.

We chanced upon this magnificent cathedral while walking around Edinburgh. It is stunning both on…read morethe inside and outside. Check out the pictures.

Another must-visit location in Old Town Edinburgh - we stopped by after visiting the Castle and had…read morea magical experience. While walking along the aisles and pews and enjoying the stained glass windows, exceptional masonry, gothic architecture and the magnificent vaulted Scottish blue ceiling, the most haunting melodies floated towards us from the far end of the cathedral. It was a choir of young ladies, singing the most beautiful songs. We stayed rooted to where we were, then started making our way towards them. The singing went on for several minutes, and we quietly listened, adding another special memory to our family's trip to Scotland.

St. Giles' Cathedral, also known as Edinburgh's High Kirk or Church, is one of the most remarkable…read morelandmarks in the Royal Mile, a jaw-dropping Gothic temple of great historical importance and, of course, a must-visit if you're in town. You can't really miss St. Giles Cathedral when you are walking on Royal mike, its looming presence in the Old Town of Edinburgh means its visible from all over the city. St Giles' Cathedral is the largest of Edinburgh's Old Town churches, and sits right on the Royal Mile at the heart of the medieval city. One of Scotland's most important medieval buildings the current structure was begun in the 14th century and has been a centre of Scottish historical events ever since. St. Giles' cathedral was always a hub for urban life, both as a place of worship in Edinburgh and as a cultural symbol for Scotland. The church also has a large stained glass window commemorating Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, above the main entrance on the west side of the building The Cathedral is free to enter with donations welcome

Such a beautiful church! Came in for their 7:30pm Sunday…read moremass. Welcoming parish community. Located further away from the hustle and bustle of the touristy area.

st mary's rc cathedral in edinburgh is of gothic design and located on the roundabout at the leith…read morewalk / york place junction (continuation of queen street) - the building dates from 1814 - in 1969 when pope paul VI ordained the first scottish cardinal in rome since the reformation - cardinal gray brought back with him a relic of st andrew which is now incorporated into an altar - in 1982 john paul II said prayers at the shrine of st andrew and addressed the clergy during his pastoral visit to scotland - in 2007 a new cathedral organ was installed and there is a large cathedral choir

I go to St Mary's Catholic Church every weekend for mass and I enjoy it a lot. Though I wouldn't…read morenecessarily consider it a cathedral, this church is big and beautiful. Mass occurs a couple times on Sunday's...I usually go at 9 am to get it done so I can enjoy the rest of my Sundays but other masses done in English happens at 12 and 730pm. I believe the 1.30 pm is the polish mass. If you prefer going on Saturdays, I believe they offer the 5.30 mass... Just check the website for the correct times. They offer other special masses and it gets crowded during important days like Easter, Christmas, ash Wednesday's, etc. This week I went to their advent mass to check out the candlelight mass...was pretty cool cause they turned off all the lights and just had candles everywhere. They also offer free concerts and if you just want to sit and listen to a really great choir, check out the 12 pm mass... A bit longer than the others though and they sing in Latin. The priests and volunteers are all nice and welcoming. They always welcome everyone whether you're Catholic or not, and the church is accessible even without mass. So if you just want to sit in a quiet place and enjoy a beautiful building, this is an awesome place to go.

Not so much a review of the church, but the Undercroft which is a space for rent…read more As I'm special (dietary) needs (GF), our local Coeliac group meets here every few months and they hire the Undercroft for our meetings. I think it is used for other charity and community meetings but it has recently had a bit of work done. There are full kitchen facilities, also multiple rooms for hire - we sometimes have two in use and there are now more added toilet facilities. I think to hire the undercroft it is about £80 for the room with the kitchen for a Saturday afternoon and then £40 for the hire of the extra room. It can be hard to find meeting space in the centre of town, especially that offers catering facilities (DIY), plenty of chairs and tables. I'm not sure whether IT or AV equipment can be hired but this is worth asking about as I am sure there must be something on offer. I think the main room we have with the kitchen and tea/coffee machines just off it can take about 80-100 so cost for this volume of people is great given Edinburgh prices! A great wee place for meetings.

I've mentioned this before, I'll mention it now. A little disclaimer, as it were. I'm not…read morereligious. Quite the opposite it. Don't worry, I won't go into a Dawkins-esque secular rant just now (you can send me a message if you want one of those), but just take it as read I'm an athiest. Why am I reviewing a church then? Well, I went to see a friend performing an opera in here (yeah I'm well cultured). It was actually very good too, called 'Opera Sins' - it had seven scenes, each from a different opera representing a different sin. Worth watching. But it was made that bit better by the venue. It's only a small church, but it has a magnificent feeling of space inside. The ceiling is beautiful too - not over elaborate, but decorative enough to be impressive. So if you're are a worshipper (nothing against you) may be worth a look. If not, try and catch a show there, it's well worth the visit.

Stopped by for a contemporary service while visiting Edinburgh. It was a lively contemporary…read moreservice. They have services both Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings. Beautiful church inside and out.

One of the strange things about me is the fact that I'm not religious in the slightest but I…read moretotally adore churches. I think its their calmness. Its good to get away from the shoulder barging public in edinburgh (they must mean it, I'm pretty hard to miss) to enjoy the contrast of the peace available in a church. I've been in here a couple of times and it has always impressed. Like most small churches P's&G's is fairly innocuous from the outside. All grey, square and turrety. But inside is quite stunning. A lot money has clearly been spent refurbishing the place. It has all new pine floors and cushioned(!) seats. It looks very modern whilst it retains its original features. The stained glass windows are beautiful and the pipe organ and altar look very stately. Unlike a lot of churches it is warm and bright, all the walls are white which makes the place look a lot less like a cave than other similarly aged churches. The thing with churches is to appreciate them you have to go inside. The banality of the outside makes you think the inside will be the same. What look like plain grey windows come to life with vibrant colours. Definetly one of my favourite artforms, stained glass is disgracefully underused. They have successfully combined the old and the new in an interesting and tasteful way. Pop in if you're near the Playhouse and feel like some peace away from the edinburgerers.