Armstrong's is an Edinburgh institution, a second-hand clothes emporium offering everything from elegant 1940s dresses to funky 1970s flares. As well as retro fashion, it's a great place to hunt for a 'previously owned' kilt or to seek inspiration for that fancy dress party.

Geoffrey can fit you out in traditional Highland dress, run up a kilt in your own clan tartan, or just hire out the gear for a wedding or other special event. Its offshoot, 21st Century Kilts, offers modern fashion kilts in a variety of fabrics; celebrity customers include Robbie Williams and Vin Diesel.

If it's a drop of the cratur ye're after, head here. Named after the shop's location, these whisky enthusiasts have a thing for single malts. There is a vast selection on offer, in miniatures as well as full-size bottles. They don't turn up their noses at other whiskies either - you can also buy bourbon and blends.

The brooding, black crags of the Castle Rock, shouldering above Princes St Gardens, are the very reason for Edinburgh's existence. This rocky hill - the glacier-worn stump of an ancient volcano - was the most easily defended hilltop on the invasion route between England and central Scotland, a route followed by countless armies over the centuries.

The place has seen plenty of action: back in the 6th century it was used as a defence against the Picts, while in the 18th century Bonnie Prince Charlie's army tried but failed to breach its walls. These days hostilities are more likely to erupt between competing tour groups.

By the mid-18th century, the castle looked much as it does today. Partly thanks to Sir Walter Scott, in the 19th century it began to recover its importance as a Scottish symbol.

Visitors enter from the Esplanade, a parade ground where the changing of the guard occurs on the hour. Sites within the castle proper include Mills Mount Battery, where a gun salute takes place on weekdays; St Margaret's Chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh; the Palace, built between the 15th and 16th centuries; and the Scottish United Services Museum, which houses displays on the history of Scottish regiments.

This cobblestone Heart of Midlothian marks the site of the Tolbooth. Built in the 15th century and demolished in the early 19th century, the Tolbooth served variously as a meeting place for parliament, the town council and the General Assembly of the Reformed Kirk, before becoming law courts and, finally, a notorious prison and place of execution.

Passers-by traditionally spit on the heart for luck (don't stand downwind!).

Opened in 1998, this is one of the city's most distinctive new landmarks, and the imaginative interior design is an attraction in itself. The five floors of the museum trace the history of Scotland from its geological beginnings to the 1990s, with many stimulating exhibits - it could take several visits to do it justice.

The 'camera obscura' itself is a curious 19th-century device - something like a periscope, using lenses and mirrors to throw a live image of the city onto a large horizontal screen. The accompanying commentary is entertaining and the whole exercise has a quirky charm. The Outlook Tower offers great views over the city.

Founded as a monastery in 1128, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is The Queen's official residence in Scotland. Highlights include the royal apartments, with intricately carved plaster ceilings, floor-to-ceiling tapestries and mythological paintings.

The abbey, founded by David I in 1128, was probably named after a fragment of the cross (rood is an old word for cross) said to have belonged to his mother St Margaret. Most of the surviving ruins date from the 12th and 13th centuries, although a doorway in the far southeastern corner survives from the original Norman church.

James IV extended the abbey guesthouse in 1501; the oldest surviving section of the building, the northwestern tower, was built in 1529 as a royal apartment. Mary Queen of Scots spent six eventful years living in the tower. During this time she married Lord Darnley (in the abbey) and Bothwell (in what is now the Picture Gallery), and this is where she debated with John Knox and witnessed the murder of her secretary Rizzio. This older part of the palace is by far the most interesting, with the dim lighting adding to its sense of skullduggery. There's a certain fascination in following in Mary's footsteps and seeing the room where Rizzio was cut down.

The complex sometimes closes for State functions or when the Queen is in residence, usually in mid-May and mid-June to early July (check the website for upcoming closures).

The City Chambers were built over the sealed-off remains of Mary King's Close, and the lower levels of this medieval Old Town alley have survived almost unchanged in the foundations for 250 years. Now open to the public, this spooky, subterranean labyrinth gives a fascinating insight into the everyday life of 17th-century Edinburgh.

A drama student in period costume will take you on a guided tour through the vaults, whilst practising their old-world enunciation.

The scripted tour, with its ghostly tales and gruesome tableaux, can seem a little naff, milking the scary and scatological aspects of the close's history for all they're worth, but there are things of genuine interest to see. There's something about the crumbling 17th-century tenement room, with tufts of horsehair poking from the collapsing lath-and-plaster walls, the ghost of a pattern on the walls, and the ancient smell of stone and dust thick in your nostrils, that makes the hairs rise on the back of your neck.

In 1617 Thomas Gledstanes, a 17th-century merchant bought the tenement later known as Gladstone's Land. Built in the mid-16th century and extended in the 17th, it gives a fascinating glimpse into the Old Town's past. The comfortable interior contains fine painted ceilings, walls and beams and some splendid furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Housed in a former school, the Centre explains the making of whisky from barley to bottle, in a series of exhibits combining sight, sound and smell. The first, more interesting part is led by a guide, while the second part involves riding a 'barrel car' past several tableaux depicting the history of the 'water of life' - Johnnie Walker meets Walt Disney.

As a reward, you get a wee taste of the real thing, before being channelled into a shop full of whisky. There's also a restaurant, Amber, that serves traditional Scottish dishes with, where possible, a dash of whisky thrown in.

This centre has an accommodation booking service, currency exchange, gift and book shop, and city tour and Scottish Citylink bus tickets. There is also a centre at Edinburgh Airport.

This huge place has a variable rate of GBP 1.60 per hour.

Edinburgh's main general hospital has a 24-hour accident and emergency department.

The Ardmor is a stylishly renovated Victorian house with five gorgeous en-suite bedrooms. You'll get a warm welcome from the charming owners, Robin and Colin, whose impeccable taste and attention to detail have created a perfect fusion of old and new.

The decor successfully blends period features such as Victorian fireplaces, wooden sash windows, panelled doors and ceiling cornices with contemporary furniture and mellow modern colours. The bedrooms deliver all those little touches that make a place special - good reading lights, powerful showers, thick towels and crisp white bed linen. Breakfast includes a free newspaper and the cooked options include scrambled egg with smoked salmon, and waffles with bacon and maple syrup (there are vegetarian options, too). The owners are a font of knowledge for all things Edinburgh, from sights and walks to restaurants, pubs and clubs, and can also advise on Edinburgh's gay cafes, bars and nightclubs, most of which are within easy walking distance.

The Ailsa Craig is a grand Georgian townhouse dating from 1820, set on a peaceful, tree-lined terrace overlooking Royal Terrace Gardens. For the price, it enjoys a great location on a quiet street, only 10 minutes' walk from Princes St and close to the Playhouse Theatre and Broughton St nightlife.

The decor is beginning to look a little dated, lying somewhere between chintzy and chain-hotel bland, but many of the 18 comfortably upholstered rooms have grand views - the ones at the front of the building look across the city rooftops to the Firth of Forth, those at the back overlook the secluded and peaceful Regent Gardens. The bedrooms on the first floor are the best - huge, airy and high-ceilinged, with windows big enough to drive a bus through. Second-floor rooms are smaller, and the stairs are a long and winding road that are sure to give your hamstrings a thorough workout.

Edinburgh's most environmentally-aware guesthouse is wholly vegetarian and vegan, uses low-energy light bulbs and recycles as much as possible; even the soap and shampoo are free of animal products. Stay too long in the Greenhouse and you might put down roots.

Set in an attractively refurbished Victorian terrace, the Greenhouse has six tastefully decorated bedrooms enlivened by brightly coloured counterpanes and paintings on the walls; four of the rooms have en-suite bathrooms, the other two have a private bathroom each. Ask for room No 3, a spacious double with large bay windows and wing-back armchairs. The breakfasts here will be a highlight of your stay, with a menu that uses organic and GM-free foods as much as possible and ranges from pancakes with maple syrup to bagels with Tofutti cream cheese by way of a vegetarian fry-up with home-made veggie sausages (the sun-dried tomato, parsnip, cashew nut and parmesan sausages are a particular favourite).

Owned by shellfish farmers on the west coast, the Mussel Inn provides a direct outlet for fresh Scottish seafood. The busy restaurant is all bright beech wood, with pavement tables in summer. Your pot of mussels comes with a choice of sauces - try leek, bacon, white wine and cream. Queen scallops, soup, pasta, oysters and catch of the day are also on offer.

A doorman guides you to a private elevator that whisks you up to this sleek restaurant, perched atop the Museum of Scotland building. Decked out in black leather, purple suede, oak and brushed aluminium, the Tower boasts grand views of the castle, a superb wine list, and a menu of simply prepared, top-quality Scottish produce.

Try half a dozen Scottish rock oysters followed by a chargrilled Aberdeen Angus fillet steak, and you'll see why it's a favourite among visiting celebrities such as Joanna Lumley and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Pronouncing any place as Edinburgh's best chippie is always contentious, but with a busy knot of cars always shuffling for parks out the front this place gets the nod from many locals. But it's more than a chippie; you wouldn't expect a 300+ winelist at your average deep-fryer, nor could you get zesty prawn suppers or veggie haggis.

This brasserie has an Art Deco feel, with pale green walls and dark-wood furniture, and white-aproned, black-waistcoated waiters. There are posh versions of Scottish favourites such as salt-and-pepper prawns (with chips and mayonnaise), confit of pork belly with apple sauce, and duck-filled spring rolls with hoisin sauce and pickled cucumber.

In 2001 this restaurant became Edinburgh's first to win a Michelin star. The eponymous chef brings a modern French approach to the finest Scottish produce, from fillet of halibut to roast saddle of lamb. The dining room is crisply elegant, the service professional and discreet, and the food beautifully presented. Book ahead as far as possible.

Set among the modern coloured-glass and steel architecture of the Holyrood district next to the new Scottish Parliament building, the Tun has chunky leather sofas, steel bar stools and a sloping back wall that looks like a page from a floor-tile catalogue. It is frequented by media people from the neighbouring BBC studios and the Scotsman newspaper offices.

The Claremont is a friendly, gay-owned bar that looks like a traditional Scottish pub at first glance. Then you notice the Star Trek paraphernalia (check out the model USS Enterprise behind the bar, and the wee red-eyed alien up the stairs), and the flyers for the cross-dressers' night Absolutely Dragulous, and you realise it's way more special than that!

The curving glass-and-steel façade of the Festival Theatre houses the city's main venue for ballet, contemporary dance and opera; it also stages musicals, concerts, drama and children's shows. Performances by the critically acclaimed Scottish Ballet are a regular feature of the programme. The Dundee-based Scottish Dance Theatre also performs here.

The raddled old queen of the Edinburgh gay scene, CC's offers two floors of deafening dance and disco. It's a bit overpriced and overcrowded but worth a visit - if you can get past the bouncers and the crowds of drunks looking for a late drink. A traditional last stop of the night, with all that implies.

The Café Royal's main claims to fame are its magnificent oval bar and the series of Doulton tile portraits of famous Victorian inventors. Check out the bottles on the gantry - staff line them up to look as if there's a mirror there, and many a drink-befuddled customer has been seen squinting and wondering why they can't see their reflection.