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The Royal Mile is another name for High Street, Edinburgh. The street is, as the name suggests, a mile long, and stretches from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Mound down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, hence the 'Royal' of the street's title. The Royal Mile is Edinburgh's busiest tourist street, rivalled only by Princes Street. The street features many tourist shops, and divides the Old Town from the New Town.
During the annual Edinburgh Festival, the street becomes the city's central focus, and is crowded with tourists, entertainers and buskers. The Royal Mile is famously built directly on top of part of the Old Town, which was walled in to prevent the spread of the bubonic plague in the 17th century.
The future Scottish Parliament building is on the Royal Mile, as is St Giles Cathedral. It is also the site of the old Tolbooth prison. Behind St Giles is the Heart of Midlothian, a mosaic built into the pavement. Tolbooth prisoners used to spit as they entered the prison, and this tradition is maintained by some people, who spit on the Heart as they walk past.
The street bisects the Bridges, forming North Bridge (leading to the New Town) and South Bridge (leading to the Old Town).