Things to do in Edinburgh

Three days. One for the Old Town — Castle, Royal Mile and the closes; one for the New Town with its Georgian crescents and the National Gallery; one to climb Arthur's Seat, walk along the Water of Leith and finish in Leith for dinner. Add a day for Rosslyn Chapel or the Forth Bridges.

The Royal Mile from Castle to Palace — a single medieval ridge with the closes (narrow alleyways) branching off it like fish bones. The Castle is fine but the closes are the real Edinburgh: Mary King's Close (underground), the Real Mary King's tour shows what street life was actually like.

Stockbridge for cafés along the Water of Leith and an independent shopping street; Leith for the regenerated docks, gastro pubs and the Royal Yacht Britannia; Bruntsfield and Marchmont for the leafy student feel south of the Meadows. Dean Village is a 10-minute detour into a fairy-tale gorge.

Haggis, neeps and tatties at a proper pub like the Sheep Heid Inn (Scotland's oldest, in Duddingston). Cullen skink (creamy smoked haddock soup) at any decent restaurant. Whisky tasting at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society or the Whiski Rooms — single malts paired by region.

Mostly on foot — the centre is compact and hilly enough that walking IS the experience. Lothian Buses are excellent for longer hops (Leith, Bruntsfield, Cramond), pay by contactless. The tram covers a single line from the airport via the centre to Newhaven. No metro.

Calton Hill at sunset — five minutes from Princes Street, with the half-built National Monument (Edinburgh's 'shame') and the Nelson Monument. The view across the New Town to Arthur's Seat in golden light is the best free panorama in the city and rarely crowded outside Hogmanay.