Scottish Parliament worth a visit - whatever your opinion

On September 11, 1997 Scots voted in favour of the establishment of a new Scottish Parliament. In addition, 63.5 per cent voted in favour of giving the new Parliament tax raising powers. The ability of the Scottish Parliament to raise taxes has placed the current minority led Government of Alex Salmond on a collision course with Westminster over the Scottish First Minister's proposed abolition of Council Tax. That is another story.

The Scottish Parliament was formally opened by Her Majesty the Queen on July 1, 1999.

Visitors to Edinburgh can take a look round the impressive new Parliament building for free. Independent travellers can hear about a gruesome murder that took place in the oldest surviving part of the complex, Queensberry House, with the Royal Mile & More, Edinburgh travel guide.

The new Scottish Parliament was finally opened by Elizabeth II, October 9, 2004. Unfortunately, the delays in building the parliament and the spiralling of costs attracted much adverse criticism. The new parliament cost more than ten times its original budget of £40 million and took three years longer than planned to complete.

Listeners to the Royal Mile & More, Edinburgh audio walking tour will also hear about some of the Scottish art that inspired the Spanish architect responsible for designing the project, Enric Miralles. To hear an audio extract from the Royal Mile & More, Edinburgh iPod travel guide please click here.

The Scottish Parliament won the prestigious Stirling Prize as the best building constructed in Britain in 2005. Sadly, both Miralles and Scotland's first, First Minister, Donald Dewar have passed away.

Listeners to the Royal Mile & More, Edinburgh city guide can hear about the history of the Scottish Capital's Old Town at the touch of a button. With a Walk Talk Tour Edinburgh travel guide you're in charge. No need to struggle to follow the man with the umbrella. With either of the Walk Talk Tour Edinburgh city walking tours you can start, stop and resume your tour as you see fit - or as the weather dictates. Visitors can make the most of their tour and their time in Edinburgh by checking out our Where & When pages which provide information about the opening times and admission charges of key visitor attraction's along the route of each of the Walk Talk Tour Edinburgh travel guides.

There are two Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tours of Edinburgh. Each tour of the Scottish capital costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing both tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount.

Both of the Walk Talk Tour Edinburgh city guides can be completed in two hours. Both of the Edinburgh audio walking tours represent excellent value for people sightseeing in groups and parties.