One Royal Circus

Local restaurants

Iglu is an award-winning gastropub on Jamaica Street (+44 (0)131 476 5333); the food is organic, local, eco, ethical or all of the above. Insist on a window seat at Oloroso, a rooftop restaurant and lounge bar on Castle Street (+44 (0)131 226 7614), for gourmet Mediterranean food and a fantastic selection of sherries.

Local cafes

On North West Circus Place, laid-back caffè Zanzero serves as a sassy-but-simple lunch spot, wizarding up a full-circle range of fresh Italian produce (+44 (0)131 220 0333). Valvona & Crolla, the pre-eminent deli on Elm Row, keeps gastronauts smiling with cooked-to-order pasta lunches and crumbly lemon cake (+44 (0)131 556 6066). When only a refined afternoon tea accompanied by a harpist will do, visit the Balmoral Hotel’s Palm Court on Princes Street (+44 (0)131 556 2414).

For a full list of eating and drinking recommendations in Edinburgh, check out our Edinburgh eating & drinking guide

Nightlife

You want chic cocktails, cutting-edge interiors and disco attitude, all tucked away inside a Georgian townhouse? Tigerlily’s the place for you. This smart hangout also has an excellent restaurant and its own club, Lulu (+44 (0)131 225 5005).

Worth getting out of bed for

Fancy an alfresco mooch? Head to the Water of Leith for pleasant walks along the river (www.waterofleith.org.uk). If shopping’s on your agenda, the retail riches of Princes Street are only a five-minute walk away. Invest in an Edinburgh Pass, which gets you into more than 30 attractions and allows free bus rides in the city centre, as well as return transfers to the airport.
A one-day pass costs £24; for details, go to www.edinburgh.org/pass.

Diary

25 January Burns Night. March Ceilidh Culture Festival (www.ceilidhculture.co.uk). July Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival (www.edinburghjazzfestival.co.uk). August The Edinburgh Festival colonises the town, along with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (see our events guide Smith 52 for details, or buy the book for the full insider lowdown), the Book Festival and the International Film Festival (www.edinburgh-festivals.com). December Shoppers ahoy! Edinburgh's Christmas market lights up East Princes Street  (www.edinburghscapitalchristmas.org). Hogmanay (also featured in Smith 52) is Edinburgh's way of ringing in the new year (www.edinburghshogmanay.org).

For a full list of recommended activities in Edinburgh, check out our Edinburgh destination guide