The streets worth walking
Walk the Royal Mile early, then leave it. The good bits are the turnings: Advocate's Close for the view north over the New Town, Riddle's Court and Lady Stair's Close for the courtyards, and the Vennel steps off the Grassmarket for the classic photograph of the castle over the Flodden Wall. Victoria Street curves below George IV Bridge in a row of painted shopfronts and is busy for good reason; the Grassmarket underneath it is where the city drinks on a summer evening. South of the bridges, the Meadows opens out into a mile of grass and cherry trees — in late April the blossom on Middle Meadow Walk is the best free sight in Edinburgh.
Eating and drinking
Timberyard, in an old prop warehouse near the Grassmarket, is the long dinner worth planning your evening around. Ondine does the best seafood on George IV Bridge, and Makars Gourmet Mash Bar on the Mound is the unfussy answer with children in tow. For coffee, Lowdown and Milkman are both a short walk north; Mary's Milk Bar in the Grassmarket makes gelato in small batches and sells out. The pubs are the point in this part of town: Bow Bar for whisky and cask ale, The Jolly Judge down a close off the Lawnmarket for a low-ceilinged fire in winter, and Sandy Bell's for folk music most nights of the week.
What to see
Edinburgh Castle needs a timed ticket and an early slot. The National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street is free, enormous and has a roof terrace most visitors never find. Greyfriars Kirkyard, the Real Mary King's Close and the Camera Obscura fill an afternoon between them, and St Giles' Cathedral is worth ten minutes for the Thistle Chapel alone. In August the whole district becomes the Fringe: brilliant, relentless, and worth knowing about before you book.
Getting around
Nothing central is more than twenty-five minutes on foot from an Old Town flat, but the ground is steep and the setts are uneven — pack shoes accordingly. Waverley is five minutes downhill; the airport tram is picked up at St Andrew Square or from Princes Street. Buses 35 and 300 cover Holyrood and the airport respectively. Vehicle access on the Royal Mile is restricted at various points, so we send arrival directions with the nearest drop-off for each home.
