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Clark's Bar
A century old and still going strong, Clark's caters to a clientele of real-ale aficionados, football fans (there are three TVs), local office workers and loyal regulars, who appreciate an old-fashioned, no-frills pub with lots of wood panelling and polished brass, and cosy little back rooms for convivial storytelling.
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Cloisters
Housed in a converted manse (minister's house) that once belonged to the next door church, and furnished with well-worn, mismatched wooden tables and chairs, Cloisters now ministers to a mixed congregation of students, locals and real-ale connoisseurs. It has decent grub and coffee, and a nice warm fireplace in winter.
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Cuba Norte
Cuba Norte provides a little touch of Latino levity in the cold northern winters, dishing up good Cuba Libres and Havana cigars as well as hip-swaying salsa beats. You can hone your technique at one of the regular salsa classes, held Monday to Thursday (beginners at , intermediates at , advanced at ).
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Cumberland Bar
Immortalised as the stereotypical New Town pub in Alexander McCall-Smith's serialised novel 44 Scotland Street , the Cumberland has an authentic, traditional wood-brass-and-mirrors look (despite it being relatively modern), and it serves well-looked-after, cask-conditioned ales as well as a wide range of malt whiskies. There's also a pleasant little beer garden outside.
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Dominion
The much-loved Dom is a delightful, independent, family-run four-screener in a 1938 Art Deco building. The programme is unashamedly mainstream and family-oriented, and popular films often have a good old-fashioned intermission so you can buy an ice cream halfway through.
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Dragonfly
A super-stylish lounge bar with a Raffles of Singapore vibe - all crystal chandeliers, polished wood and oriental art - Dragonfly has won rave reviews for its innovative cocktails and designer décor. Grab a seat in the neat little mezzanine where you can look down on the bar as the Singapore Slings are being slung.
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Ecco Vino
With outdoor tables on sunny afternoons, and cosy candle-lit intimacy in the evenings, this comfortably cramped Tuscan-style wine bar offers a tempting range of Italian wines, though only a few are available by the glass - best to share a bottle.
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Edinburgh Festival Theatre
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.
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Ego
A glitzy two-floor venue housed in a former casino with huge Renaissance-style wall paintings, gay-friendly Ego dishes up everything from the dance classics of Fever (second Saturday of the month from ) to the hard house and trance of Nuklear Puppy (second Friday of the month from ).
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Eighty Queen Street
The clubbish Cellar Bar at Eighty Queen Street, with its stone floor, polished mahogany bar and wicker chairs and sofas, provides a traditional setting for live jazz three times a week. There's a jam and open-mic session on Wednesday (from ), a resident band on Saturday afternoons ( to ), and guest bands on Saturday nights ( to midnight).
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Filmhouse
The Filmhouse screens a full programme of art house, classic, foreign and second-run films, with lots of themes, retrospectives and 70mm screenings. It's the main venue for the annual International Film Festival .
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Great Grog Wine Bar
A chilled-out haven in the middle of bustling Rose St, Great Grog is the ideal place to kick back in a leather sofa and choose from a list of more than 30 wines available by the glass (if you want to go for a whole bottle, the choice increases to over 100 varieties).
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Guildford Arms
Located next door to the Café Royal, the Guildford is another classic Victorian pub full of polished mahogany, brass and ornate cornices. The beer is excellent and the bar lunches are good; try to get a table in the unusual upstairs gallery, with a view over the sea of drinkers down below.
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Human Be-In
A stylish café-bar with a choice of tables, comfy booths or chill-out sofas (plus outdoor tables in summer), the Be-In is a popular hang-out for local students (Edinburgh University is across the road). It has live jazz on Sunday nights, and DJs playing on Friday and Saturday nights from .
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Indigo Yard
Set around an airy, stone-floored and glass-roofed courtyard, Indigo Yard is a fashionable West End watering hole that has been patronised by the likes of Liam Gallagher, Pierce Brosnan and Kylie Minogue. Good food - including open-air barbecues during the summer months - just adds to the attraction.
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Jam House
The brainchild of rhythm'n'blues pianist and TV personality Jools Holland, the Jam House is set in a former BBC TV studio and offers a combination of fine dining and live jazz and blues performances. Admission is for over-21s only, and there's a smart-casual dress code.
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Jazz Bar
This atmospheric cellar bar, with its polished parquet floors, bare stone walls, candle-lit tables and stylish steel-framed chairs, is owned and operated by jazz musicians. There's live music every night from to , and on Saturdays from .
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Jolly Judge
Tucked away down an Old Town close, the Judge exudes a cosy 17th-century ambience with its low, timber-beamed, painted ceilings and numerous nooks and crannies. The convivial atmosphere is undisturbed by TV, music or gambling machines, and has the added attraction of a log fire in cold weather.
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Jongleurs
This branch of the nationwide chain of comedy clubs stages comedy shows on Friday and Saturday nights all year round, with four in-house stand-ups and occasional gigs by big-name UK comics. The shows end at , but you can keep on drinking and dancing until .
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Kay's Bar
Housed in a former wine-merchant's office, tiny Kay's Bar is a cosy haven with red leather benches, a gleaming mahogany bar and a fine range of real ales and malt whiskies. Old wine and sherry barrels adorn one wall, and a cast-iron fireplace holds a coal fire in winter. At lunch time food is served in the tiny back room (only two tables, so get in early or book ahead).
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Kenilworth
A gorgeous Edwardian drinking palace, complete with original fittings - from the tile floors, mahogany circle bar and gantry, to the ornate mirrors and gas lamps - the Kenilworth was Edinburgh's original gay bar back in the 1970s. Today it attracts a mixed crowd of all ages and serves a good range of real ales and malt whiskies.
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Liquid Room
Set in a subterranean vault deep beneath Victoria St, the Liquid Room is a superb live music and club venue with a thundering sound system. There are regular club nights Wednesday to Saturday - the long-running Evol (Friday from ) is an Edinburgh institution catering to the indie-kid crowd. Regularly voted as Scotland's top club night out.
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Lulu
Lush leather sofas, red satin cushions, fetishistic steel mesh curtains and dim red lighting all help to create a decadent atmosphere in this drop-dead gorgeous club venue beneath the Tigerlily boutique hotel. Resident and guest DJs show a bit more originality than your average club.
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Malt Shovel
A traditional-looking pub, with dark wood and subdued tartanry, the Malt Shovel offers a good range of real ales and more than 100 malt whiskies, and is famed for its regular Tuesday night jazz and Thursday night folk-music sessions.
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Mathers
Mathers is the 40-something generation's equivalent of the 20-something's Basement bar across the street: a friendly, relaxed pub with Edwardian decor serving real ales and good pub grub, with football and rugby matches on the TV.
