Edinburgh is known for its incredible scenery, world-class landmarks and rich history.
Not only is the city known for attracting tourists from all over the world, but it is also partnered with some remarkable cities from all over the globe.
A twin partnership occurs when two cities with similar interests or history form a commercial partnership which benefits the two locations.
Edinburgh has ten sister cities, here are some of the incredible reasons why:
Aalborg, Denmark
Aalborg in Denmark and Edinburgh are sisters with a love of all things festival. Aalborg hosts one of the biggest festivals in Scandinavia.
While their Aalborg Carnival isn't quite as big as the Edinburgh Fringe, the colourful event does attract an impressive 100,000 tourists.
The two cities were twinned in 1991 and are both considered to be cultural hubs of the world.
Dunedin, New Zealand
All the way on the other side of the world, Edinburgh is twinned with a New Zealand city known as Dunedin.
And did you know that Dunedin actually translates as Edinburgh in Gaelic? So why is there another 'Edinburgh' all the way in New Zealand?
Scots settled in this city back in the 1840s and built the city to mirror Edinburgh's New Town. The two cities officially twinned in 1974.
Florence, Italy
These two cities are twinned by arts, culture, fashion and tourism and became sisters in 1964.
Both Florence and Edinburgh have been named as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Florence is considered the birthplace of the renaissance movement and is often nicknamed 'the Athens of the Middle Ages’
Similarly, Edinburgh has adopted the title of 'Athens of the North’ due to its greek style pillared buildings such as The National Monument of Scotland on Calton Hill.
Kiev, Ukraine
Like Edinburgh's Old and New Town, Kiev is home to UNESCO World Heritage Site, St Sophia Cathedral.
The seventh most populated city in Europe became Edinburgh's sister in 1989.
Kiev is one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe and just like Edinburgh, it is steeped in history.
Krakow, Poland
So Krakow is not technically twinned with Edinburgh, but the cities have been partnered since 1995.
Krakow is a UNESCO City of Literature while Edinburgh's Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Krakow is also partnered with 34 cities across the world.
Nice, France
While Edinburgh might not be as sunny as France's fifth-largest city Nice, they are both just as popular.
Edinburgh and Nice became sisters in 1958 and both attract a sizeable amount of tourists each year due to their incredible landmarks.
With its glorious French Riveria, Nice attracts four million tourists each year, only slightly beaten by Edinburgh at four and a half million.
Munich, Germany
The German city of Munich was twinned with the capital back in 1954.
Much like Edinburgh is famous for the annual Fringe Festival, Munich is famous for its huge beer festival Oktoberfest.
The two cities are also architectural sisters with both cities known for their mixture of both old and new buildings.
San Diego, USA
Did you know that Greyfriars Bobby has made it all the way over to America? Well not quite, but San Diego has its very own version of a lucky dog statue know as Bum the stray dog.
Edinburgh has paid homage to its sister dog, Bum, with a statue of him in West Princes Street Gardens by the King’s Stables Road entrance.
In 1977 the twin dog cities, who are both known for their amazing museums, officially became sisters.
Vancouver, Canada
All the way in Canada, Edinburgh has a sister known for her remarkable beauty, popularity with tourists, and love of sport.
Sound familiar? That's why Edinburgh twinned with this remarkable city in 1977.
Vancouver is also known for its fantastic quality of life and Edinburgh made the top 50 list back in 2016.
Xi’an, China
The city of Xi'an is Edinburgh's biggest sister. The Chinese location has a whopping population of 8.7 million people (that is way more than the whole of Scotland.)
Much like 'Scotland the brave' Xi'an is known for having the world-famous Terracotta Army. The two cities were twinned in 1985 which is the same year Edinburgh hosted an 'exhibition of the warriors', in the capital.
