LOCAL AREA

Hit all three National Galleries of Scotland. The Scottish National Gallery has masterpieces ranging from medieval religious triptychs to Gainsborough, while the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art covers surrealism to abstract modernism. Then come face to face with national heroes at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, a six-minute walk from the hotel.

It's half a mile from the hotel to the Royal Mile, Edinburgh's main Old Town street. Lined with medieval tenements, it's stacked with shops, cafés and street entertainers. One of the Royal Mile’s more unusual attractions is Edinburgh's Camera Obscura, a magical museum of illusions, where you can see moving images of the city projected through a huge periscope onto a special viewing table.

For a view of Edinburgh’s skyline of steeples, towers and medieval townhouses, hike along the Salisbury crags and up the grassy slopes of Arthur’s Seat, an extinct volcano inside Holyrood Park. The park is home to a medieval chapel, and you can also meander around Duddingston Loch, the city's only natural freshwater loch. Say hello to the herons, and keep your eyes peeled for otters in winter.

You only need to cross the road from the hotel to reach a wealth of dining and entertainment options, including a 12-screen cinema, at OMNI Edinburgh. If you have tickets for a musical or pantomime at the Edinburgh Playhouse, you can relax over a pre-show drink or meal here knowing that the theatre is situated just next door.