Places Karin Kross Wants to Go

Come for the oysters, stay for the priceless art honoring inventors across history and Scotland's favorite outdoor sports.

This was once a hall in which a 16th-century royal banquet was hosted by King James VI of Scotland.

Once home to a Scottish baronet, this 18th-century historic house doubles as a legendary art space.

Overlooking the burial ground is a tower designed to prevent thieves from snatching the recently deceased.

The colorful stairs are made with marble from the world's major quarries.

A labyrinthine network of chambers with a storied past hides below Edinburgh's South Bridge.

A verdant 17th-century-style garden hidden along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.

The world’s first museum dedicated to the history of childhood opened in Edinburgh in 1955.

This 16th-century house tells the city's history through old artifacts and quirky tales.

This early version of the guillotine was used to execute the man responsible for its construction.

Remnants of the 16th-century defensive wall still stand unassumingly within Edinburgh.

The tomb of one of Scotland's bloody historic villains is a magnet for bumbling desecrators.

This small museum in a 17th-century building honors three iconic Scottish writers.

The 16th-century church has the only stained glass windows that survived the Scottish Reformation intact.

The most loyal of little dogs, or a Victorian era publicity stunt?

A library where thousands of books explain how to avoid another Great Recession.

Protecting the dead from opportunistic body snatchers.

Near the former site of numerous witch burnings, this lavish Edinburgh mainstay pays homage to Scotland's brutal history.

The final resting place of soldiers' loyal canine companions.

A sweet symbol marks the place where torturous executions were once carried out.

There are plenty of wonderful panoramic vistas in Edinburgh, but not many are hidden smack in the middle of the Old Town.

A 18th century graveyard and its astonishing cortege of macabre iconography.

A book bound in the skin of an infamous criminal, along with countless other specimens.

These tiny effigies are believed to represent victims of Edinburgh’s notorious Anatomy Murders.