Things to Do in Edinburgh

Arthur's Seat sunrise climb

From the summit you'll see stone teeth bite a pink-orange sky. Fife's hills roll across the Firth. Wind and the odd panting jogger are the only sounds. Basalt crags feel rough under gloves. Air smells of damp gorse and earth after rain.

Palace of Holyroodhouse afternoon tour

Inside Mary Queen of Scots' chambers you'll tread 16th-century floorboards that creak like gossip. Old tapestries mix with fresh beeswax polish. Blood-red bed-hangings still make guides lower their voices.

Raven-spotting at the Tower of London - sorry, Edinburgh Castle

The castle's ramparts echo with rifle-practice cracks and the metallic scrape of the One O'Clock Gun. Glossy black raptors hop near the dog cemetery. Duck into the stone-walled whisky shop for a nose-prickling hit of malt and oak.

Twilight ghost walk down Mary King's Close

Underground, air tastes of centuries-old dust and coal soot. Footsteps echo overhead from the modern Royal Mile. Mannequins stare from 17th-century rooms frozen in candlelight. Guides time stories so a distant door slams exactly on cue.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art picnic

Spread a blanket on the front lawn between the giant neon "Everything is Going to be Alright" sign and the swirling earthwork mounds. You'll smell freshly-cut grass. Traffic hum fades behind gallery walls. Still-warm scones arrive from the café's hatch window.

Old Town: candle-hearth hostels inside 16th-century tenements, minutes from the Royal Mile but expect night-time bagpipe buskers

New Town Georgian grid: wide streets, sash windows, coffee-machine lobbies - George Street bars on your doorstep

Stockbridge: Sunday market vibes, artisan delis, Water of Leith walks. Quieter than centre but ten minutes on a bus

Leith: converted whisky warehouses lofts, waterfront pubs, the Shore's restaurant strip. Tram extension lands you at the port

Bruntsfield: student cafés, second-hand bookshops, cheap eats. Walk to the Meadows for festival picnics

Southside: budget guesthouses behind the university, mosque minaret next to Victorian theatres, Arthur's Seat in your backyard