St Mary’s Cathedral is located in Edinburgh’s New Town district and you should miss the opportunity to visit this fine church.

The building was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1874 and it is a wonderful example of Victorian Gothic architecture. The foundation stone was hollowed out and it contains a copy of the Trust Deed, Oliver and Boyd’s Almanac, coins, newspapers and an edition of the Post Office directory. The nave was opened in 1879 and the twin spires on the west end were added by Sir George’s grandson Charles in 1913.

The church complex comprises the Song School with its lovely murals of the Beneficiate by Phoebe Anna Traquier, and the Chapter House which is open as a crèche on Sundays.

Inside the cathedral you will find Sir Walter Scott’s pew, which was brought here in 2006 and memorials to the Soldiers of the Royal Scots Infantry killed overseas between 1857 and 1870. Other memorials are dedicated to important Scottish Generals.

The Lorimer Rood Cross over the nave altar was placed there in 1922; the raredos behind the High Altar represent Christ with the saints Mary, Margaret, Columba and John.

You can also admire the Paolozzi window – one of the first stained-glass windows in Scotland. It caused a bit of a stir at the time, but as it represented scenes from the Ascension, it was allowed to remain in place. The most notable item in the church is Borthwick’s disturbing painting “The Presence”. Executed in 1910, the painting shows a woman kneeling in prayer at the back of the church, while a ghostly Christ stands over her. Everyone who looks at this painting can’t help casting a quick glance over his own shoulder.

Charlotte Baptist Chapel stands on Rose Street and it is a lovely church to visit to or take part in one of the services because the sermons are lively and congregation friendly.

The church is independent and not part of the Baptist Union of Scotland. It was founded in the Pleasance area in 1808 by Christopher Anderson. Christopher was a junior clerk in an insurance company, but he wanted to be a missionary. He joined the Baptist Missionary Society and trained in England for missionary work in India.

He was unable to go abroad due to ill-health, so he returned to Scotland and gathered a small congregation in a tiny chapel, which soon proved to be too small. He launched a fund-raising program and bought the Charlotte Chapel which had been put on the market in 1816 by the Scottish Episcopal Church.

The chapel is a four storey Georgian building with a large basement area, which today is used as a crèche. The first floor houses a meeting room where after-service coffee, fruit juice and cakes are served. The main worship area is on the second floor, with galleries on the third floor. Most of the ceiling of the second floor has been removed so that the galleries overlook the main hall. Another meeting room is on the 4th floor and is used for youth activities.

Magdalen Chapel is one of Edinburgh’s most beautiful chapels and is certainly worth a visit, but it is only open to the public on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. It is located in Cowgate, near the George IV Bridge.

In the late 15th century Michael MacQuhane, a member of the Incorporation of Hammermen – one of the Trade and Craft Guilds – wanted to establish a chapel, guildhall and hostel for the members of his Guild. He left the money from fund-raising in his will and the chapel was eventually built in 1541. An almshouse for seven men was finished in 1547. The steeple was added in 1628 and the bell in 1632.

This was to be the last chapel to be built in Scotland before the Reformation, and while other places of worship were destroyed or knocked down, Magdalen Chapel survived. Inside the chapel you can admire the stained-glass window with its four round images of the coats of arms of Scotland, St Mary de Guise, MacQuhane and his wife, Janet Rynd and MacQuhane’s family. This is the only stained-glass window that survived the Reformation. You will also see hundreds of plaques put up in memory of the guildsmen who worshipped here.

The chapel was restored in 1923 and is now the headquarters of the Scottish Reformation Society.

Magdalen Chapel is located on Cowgate Street and was built in 1541. Visitors are welcome to discover the 16th century stained glass windows and the tomb of its founders. Not far from the chapel is a bookshop that offers interesting literature and postcards about it.

You will find St Giles Cathedral, or the High Kirk of Edinburgh as it is also known, on the Royal Mile and you shouldn’t miss a visit to this beautiful church.

The first church to be built on the site was put up in the 12th century but was destroyed by fire and only the central pillars remain. The second church was built in 1385 and over a period of time a lot of chapels were added, giving the church a rather haphazard appearance. At one time the church boasted over 50 side altars, called aisles.

In 1466 the cathedral became a collegiate church and the lantern tower in the form of a crown was added in 1490. During the Reformation in 1560, most of the church’s treasures were removed, stolen or sold, including the most precious relic – St Giles’ withered arm and hand which had a diamond ring on one skeletal finger. The church was separated into numerous preaching halls by partition walls during this period.

Although it is called a cathedral, it was only one for two short periods of time during the Bishop Wars in the 17th century, so its statute of High Kirk is more important. It was restored in the 19th century, the partitions were removed and several chapels were pulled down.

The most beautiful of all the remaining chapels is the Thistle Chapel, built in 1911 in a 15th century High Gothic Style. The wood and stone carvings are marvellous; it is filled with heraldry banners and has a breath-taking delicately carved vault.

Among the memorials here, you will see a bronze relief plaque dedicated to Robert Louis Stevenson in the Moray Aisle, a marble sculpture of James Graham, the 1st Marquis of Montrose, in the Chepman Aisle and another dedicated to Archibald Campbell, the 1st Marquis of Argyll, in the St Eloi Aisle. These two men, deadly enemies at the end of their lives, were the main signatories of the National Covenant in 1638.

The Kirk of the Canongate Chapel is located on the Royal Mile and is the church attended by monarchs when they are in residence at Holyrood Palace. Visitors are always surprised by the contrast of the chapel’s plain exterior and its beautiful interior.

The chapel was built in the late 17th century by James Smith, a master mason. It is a rectangular building with a Dutch-style end gable and a Doric columned portico. Outside the gate you will see a bronze statue of Robert Fergusson, the 18th century poet.

The chapel is the official church of the Order of the Thistle; although the chapel dedicated to the Order is to be found in St Giles Cathedral, investitures and ceremonies have been held at the Kirk of Canongate on even years since the reign of King James II of Scotland.

The church was remodelled in 1882 when a central pulpit and galleries were added, but these were removed and the apse re-opened during restoration work between 1946 and 1954. A new pipe organ was installed in 1988.

The interior of the chapel has a cruciform layout and is light and airy, with white walls and sky-blue pews, woodwork and fittings. The cushions on the seats in the apse are rainbow-coloured. The carpet is red and brightly coloured banners hang from the ceiling.