Expect history and excellent pub food, including the required haggis, neeps and tatties. Photo / Getty Images
If you fancy something a bit different for breakfast you should absolutely try Dishoom. Perhaps you will fancy a bacon naan, or a sublimely melted kejriwal (chilli cheese toast), and make sure you get the chai tea. You'll spend around $20 per person and the food, service and
surroundings are all brilliant. Ask about the dice game when you get there, "Matka", and something nice might happen.
Most visitors, for good reason, start with the World Heritage Sites, museums and galleries of Old Town – which lies densely packed on a hill around Edinburgh's castle – and the Georgian-era New Town.
Many of the city's greatest treasures are huddled close together. There's the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (free) and the National Museum of Scotland (free), for starters. One of the lifts at the back of the national museum takes you up to a nice rooftop terrace area with fantastic views. Top tip: Look for alleys off the side of the Royal Mile. Known as "wynds", they're worth wandering up and down to get a feel for the city's medieval street plan.
To guarantee entry to Edinburgh Castle, buy your tickets in advance ($35). Alternatively you could hike up Arthur's Seat - a must if the weather is decent. The peak gives excellent panoramic views of the city and beyond and is relatively easy to climb. At the bottom of the hill is the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the Monarchy in Scotland. A combined ticket ($40) includes admission to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Russia, Royalty and the Romanovs at The Queen's Gallery.
