Stirling is the former capital of Scotland and still bears scars from its role in military campaigns that changed the course of Britain. Many iconic figures in Scotland's history, such as Robert Burns and John Knox, made appearances in the Old Town.
Stirling has many historically significant buildings for such a compact city. For example, the 'Church of the Holy Rude', founded in 1129, is the second oldest building in Stirling after the castle and has been a parish church for 600 years. Other than Westminster Abbey, it's the only British church still in daily use to have held a royal coronation – King James VI's coronation in 1567.