Hotel Indigo Edinburgh

The mighty Edinburgh Castle has dominated the city’s skyline since the 12th century. Part museum and part garrison, it houses the glittering Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny, an ancient symbol of Scottish monarchy. If you’re here in August, celebrate our heritage with bagpipe music at the castle’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The gorgeous Edinburgh Playhouse theatre is set in a beautifully converted 1920s cinema. It stages all the big-name West End musicals and other hugely popular mainstream shows year-round, but it’s also one of the main venues for the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe Festival, when you can catch anything from contemporary dance to satirical comedy.

The contemporary Scottish Storytelling Centre is a top Edinburgh Festival venue on the Royal Mile. Visit and you’ll be spellbound by the traditional storytelling sessions and performances at the cosy Netherbow Theatre. Right next door, you’ll find exhibits on Reformation leader John Knox in his 15th-century former home.

The highest point in Edinburgh sits in gloriously wild Holyrood Park. Several footpaths wind up to the volcanic summit of Arthur’s Seat, with the shortest taking 30 minutes from Dunsapie Loch. The (often literally) breath-taking views sweep over the New Town to the Firth of Forth, taking in the Castle and Scottish Parliament Building.