Mr & Mrs Smith

Have one meal at The Saint (+44 (0)131 225 9009) on St Stephen Street and you’ll wish it was your local – food is fresh, colourful, and full of punchy flavours. Chef Tom Kitchin’s been turning many a restaurant critic’s head – see why at The Kitchin (+44 (0)131 555 1755) on Commercial Quay. Sample Michelin-starred cuisine at Martin Wishart (+44 (0)131 553 3557) at the Shore.

On North West Circus Place, laid-back café 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).

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).

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 George 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; for details, go to www.edinburgh.org/pass.

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).