Edinburgh

Access is through the shopping centre, on the 2nd floor· Moderate

This ship was commissioned in 1954 and was the royal transport and residence on overseas tours until 1997. She has a length of 412 ft / 126 m and oil-fired twin turbines; she was also designed to act as a hospital ship in wartime but was…

Bus 8, 23 or 27 to East Gate· Free

Impressive gardens with a large collection. Great place to wander around on a sunny day, or to sit and have a picnic. Highlights include the Rock Garden; the 165-m-long herbaceous border, backed by a huge, century-old beech hedge, and the…

153 Canongate EH8 8BN· Free

In 1687 James VII (II of England) chucked the Protestants out of Holyrood to convert it to a royal Roman Catholic chapel, the sort of behaviour that got him ousted from the monarchy the following year.

High St, EH1 1RE· Free

It's often called a Cathedral, but the Church of Scotland brooks no such episcopal entity, and Charles I dubbing it "cathedral" in 1633 was one reason his head was chopped off.

Chambers St EH1 1JF· Free

Superb museum of Scotland's heritage. You enter into the lofty Victorian Grand Gallery, where the millennium clock chimes on the hour. Exhibition halls cover Scottish and world history and culture, science, technology, art and design, and…

Canongate EH8 8DX· Moderate

The Palace is a royal residence, closed when the king is here for a week in July and for similar state occasions. It's been repeatedly smashed up and rebuilt, and the present building is mostly from the 1670s.

14 India Street EH3 6EZ

Isaac Newton realised that what caused the apple to fall was the very same force moving the moon, planets and stars. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was born in this house, before the family moved to Kirkcudbright.

99 Kirkgate EH6 6BJ

Stately neo-classical building of 1818 which is now a maritime museum, but only open for special events. It's built over its predecessor of 1560, which in turn was built over a medieval monastic site.

The west portion fills the valley beyond the Mound, spanning the railway tracks to the foot of castle crag. The east portion is the terrace around the Scott Monument.

tram: Murrayfield Stadium

The main stadium has a capacity of 67,000 and hosts all Scottish rugby internationals. The premier tournament is the Six Nations held each February-March: in odd-numbered years, Scotland hosts Wales, Ireland and Italy, and in even-numbered…

Easter Road, Albion Place EH7 5QG

The "Hibs" play soccer in the Premiership, Scotland's top tier. The all-seater stadium, capacity 24,000, is at the south edge of Leith. Hibs have played at Easter Road since 1893; in 2000 the pronounced slope of the ground was levelled…

Lothian Bus 4 or 15

This has a main slope of 400 m, a loop alongside, 3 nursery slopes, a chairlift and 2 tows. Equipment hire is available or bring your own. Wear long trousers, long sleeves and gloves as the dendrex matting will skin you when you fall.

20 min walk southwest from Haymarket station or south from Murrayfield Stadium tram stop· Pricey

Hearts aka "the Jambos" and "the Gorgie Boys" play football (soccer) in the Scottish Premiership, the game's top tier. Their home ground Tynecastle Park (capacity 20,000, all-seater) is a mile west of Haymarket station in the Gorgie area…

One of the iconic images of Edinburgh for millions worldwide is the yearly Tattoo, kilted pipers skirling below the battlements of Edinburgh Castle.

The original that spawned all the rest. Founded in 1947 and still seen as more "high-brow" than any of its offspring. Surprisingly, tickets are often priced more reasonably than for many Fringe shows.

opposite Camera Obscura· Moderate

Tour of the history and craft of whisky distilling, with expert guides - the basic or "silver" tour works well for beginners. They have a huge selection; the core of it is the 3384 bottles collected by Brazilian whisky enthusiast Claive…

31 Market Street EH1 1DF· Moderate

"Haunted House" experience, where you take a 70 min tour through 11 shows and 2 rides loosely based on Scotland's horrible history: William Wallace, Mary King's Ghost, cannibal Sawney Bean, Burke and Hare and more.

access from East Fettes Avenue, Inverleith Place or Arboretum Place

Large park with several sports pitches for rugby, football and cricket, and public tennis courts. The south of the park has a pond divided into a wildlife area popular with swans, and a boating pond which is often used for model boats.

at Ocean Terminal· Pricey

This converted biscuit factory is a vertical distillery - water is pumped just once up the nine-storey building and gravity does the rest, more efficient than multiple intermediate pumping.

21 George IV Bridge EH1 1EN

Consistently good coffee and light bites, cafe is full of university and creative types; JK Rowling wrote much of the first Harry Potter book here.

1-3 Cumberland Street EH3 6RT

Readers of Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street will recognise this literary haunt. It's a traditional pub popular with New Town locals, students, the suits from local offices, pretty much everyone in fact.

115 Broughton Street EH1 3RZ

This often features in the novels of Christopher Brookmyre as the pub where journalist "Jack Parlabane" gets tip-offs from the police. The Cask is a proper boozer with a wide selection of Real Ale plus draft and bottled lagers and whisky.

24 Coburg St EH6 6HB· Pricey

They make gin, named for James Lind the Scottish surgeon who advocated the use of limes to treat and prevent scurvy at sea. In 1747 he conducted the world's first controlled clinical trial, comparing six different remedies for scurvy while…

Queensferry Road EH4 6DY

Popular chain steakhouse getting great reviews. The old Cramond Brig is now a footbridge over River Almond, follow the east bank for the village and island, and the west bank to hike to South Queensferry.

Princes Street EH1 2AB· Expensive

Grand hotel presiding over the west end of Princes St, facing the castle. It was built as the terminus station and hotel for the Caledonian Railway, vying with the rival North British terminus at the east end, now Waverley.

20 North Bridge EH1 1TR· Expensive

This iconic building stands like a castle guarding the entrance to Old Town from North Bridge. From 1904 to 2001 it housed The Scotsman newspaper, with editors and reporters above, printing presses below, and newspapers loaded onto trains…

Alexandra Dock, EH6 7DX· Expensive

Now permanently moored in Alexandra Dock, MV Fingal was the support vessel for the northern lighthouses. She was built in 1963 and stationed in Oban then Stromness.

14 The Shore EH6 6QN· Expensive

A smaller mid-price version of Fingal, so perhaps it should be called "Ossian Mist". Built in 1919 as a minesweeper but not so used as the war had ended, it was the pleasure yacht of a series of playboys, albeit the Second World War saw it…

on Prestonfield golf course· Expensive

On the site of a former monastery hence "Priestfield", this was built in 1687 as a country mansion, and is now an upscale hotel with 23 rooms near the foot of Arthur's Seat.

Harvest Rd, Ingliston EH28 8LX· Expensive

Villa built in 1840 as country retreat, and now a hotel and spa in woodland close to the airport. Great welcome and service, smart modern interior.