St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral
Built openly in 1814 — the moment Edinburgh's Catholic community stopped merely being tolerated.
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Seat of the Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh since the restoration of the Scottish hierarchy in 1878, and elevated to Metropolitan Cathedral in 1886, it holds the National Shrine of Saint Andrew and was visited by Pope John Paul II in May 1982. The interior is a readable timeline of additions: aisles cut through the original walls after a neighbouring theatre fire in 1892, a war memorial and high altar by Reginald Fairlie in 1921, and a baldachino added above the sanctuary in 1927.
What to look for
- The baldachino over the high altar, added 1927
- Reginald Fairlie's war memorial and high altar (1921)
- Side aisles with arches punched through the original walls — forced by the Theatre Royal fire of 1892
On Broughton Street between York Place and Leith Street, East End of the New Town — a short walk from the top of Leith Street.
St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral is one of 28 sights worth the detour in Edinburgh, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Edinburgh pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Edinburgh
- Edinburgh CastleAttacked 26 times over 1,100 years — research calls it the most besieged place in Great Britain.
- Holyrood PalaceScotland's working royal residence since the 1500s — the actual rooms where Mary, Queen of Scots lived are open to walk through.
- The National (Scottish National Gallery)Since 1912, two near-identical neoclassical buildings have stood side by side on The Mound — visitors have been walking into the wrong one ever since.
- National Museum of ScotlandDolly the sheep, one of Elton John's extravagant suits, and a Victorian cast-iron hall — all under one free roof on Chambers Street.
- Murrayfield StadiumScotland's largest stadium opened in 1925 with a Grand Slam win — 70,000 people watched it happen.
- St Giles' CathedralA prayer book read here in 1637 caused a riot that sparked a rebellion pulling three kingdoms into war.