Edinburgh

Edinburgh's drama comes from its geology. Carved by glaciers around plugs of dark volcanic basalt, the city splits cleanly across the green ravine of Princes Street Gardens. To the south rises the jagged spine of the Old Town, where multi-storey stone tenements ("lands") and narrow flagstone alleys ("closes" and "wynds") tumble downhill from Edinburgh Castle along the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Across the valley to the north lies the symmetrical 18th-century Enlightenment grid of the Georgian New Town, Dean Village and Stockbridge, while at the eastern edge of the centre rises the 251-metre volcanic peak of Arthur's Seat. Start with our first-timer briefing before you book Castle tickets.

Edinburgh Airport (EDI) lies 12 km west of the centre and is connected 24 hours a day by the blue Lothian Airlink 100 express bus to Waverley Bridge, as well as the Edinburgh Tram line running through the West End, Princes Street and St Andrew Square all the way down to the port of Leith and Newhaven. High-speed trains from London King's Cross pull right into Edinburgh Waverley in the valley between the Old and New Towns. See how to get to Edinburgh.

Sleeping in the Old Town or Grassmarket puts medieval stone closes outside your window, though you will carry luggage up steep gradients and stepped alleys. Choosing the New Town, West End or Stockbridge gives you flatter pavements, Georgian proportions and quieter nights. We compare six areas in where to stay in Edinburgh.

Tour Edinburgh Castle and duck into the hidden closes of the Royal Mile, hike up Arthur's Seat or watch sunset from Calton Hill, follow the Water of Leith walkway through Dean Village to Stockbridge, and spend an afternoon inside the free National Museum of Scotland. See the full list in things to do in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh eats far better than old British stereotypes suggest: traditional haggis, neeps and tatties or sticky cranachan in an Old Town tavern, fresh Scottish langoustines, mussels and smoked salmon in the dockside restaurants of Leith, and rare single malt whiskies poured in preserved 1890s tile-and-mahogany pubs. Read where to eat and drink in our viewpoints and food guide.

Capital of Scotland since the 15th century and powerhouse of the 18th-century Scottish Enlightenment (home to David Hume, Adam Smith, Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson), Edinburgh became the world's first UNESCO City of Literature. Every August it hosts the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, the largest performing arts gathering on earth.