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Royal Scottish Academy
The distinguished Greek Doric temple at the corner of The Mound and Princes St, designed by William Playfair and built between 1823 and 1836, houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and architectural drawings by academy members dating from 1831, and also hosts temporary exhibitions throughout the year - details are posted on the website.
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Royal Yacht Britannia
The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's home-away-from-home during their foreign travels from her launch in 1953 until her decommissioning in 1997. Now permanently moored at Ocean Terminal, she is a floating monument to the Queen's tastes and predilections.
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Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre
Johnnie Walker meets Walt Disney in this series of interactive exhibits telling the story of whisky from barley to bottle. The tour kicks off with a wee taste of the real thing (soft drinks for the under 18s), and involves a 'whisky barrel ride' (mildly embarrassing for anyone over 12) through 'smell-surround' tableaux depicting the history of Scotland's national drink, before finishing - surprise, surprise - in a shop full of whisky.
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Scott Monument
The massive Gothic spire of the Scott Monument was built by public subscription in memory of novelist Sir Walter Scott after his death in 1832. You can climb the 287 steps to the top for a superb view of the city; the stone figures that decorate the niches on the monument represent characters from Scott's novels. The statue of Scott with his favourite deerhound, Maida, was carved from a single 30-tonne block of white Italian marble.
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Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art
Housed in bright, modern exhibition rooms that belie the building's austere neoclassical facade, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art concentrates on 20th-century art, with various European art movements represented by the likes of Matisse, Picasso, Kokoschka, Magritte, Miro, Mondrian and Giacometti. American and English artists are also represented, but most space is given to Scottish painters.
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Scottish National Portrait Gallery
The galleries in this Venetian Gothic palace depict Scottish history through portraits and sculptures of famous Scottish personalities, from Robert Burns and Bonnie Prince Charlie to Sean Connery and Billy Connolly. It also houses the National Photography Collection, which includes works by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, the 19th-century Scottish pioneers of portrait photography.
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Scottish Parliament Building
Edinburgh's most spectacular and controversial building, officially opened in 2004, houses Scotland's devolved parliament. Built from concrete, steel, oak and granite, it was a flagship architectural project that went way over budget and schedule, and was dogged by contention and bad luck at every step. The Main Hall, which houses an exhibition, shop and café, and the public gallery overlooking the Debating Chamber are open to the public.
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St Giles' Cathedral
The great grey bulk of St Giles Cathedral, capped by a beautiful 15th-century crown spire, dominates the Royal Mile. John Knox served as minister here, preaching his uncompromising Calvinist message, but its proudest moment came in 1637 when a local woman called Jenny Geddes, incensed at the king's attempts to impose bishops on Scotland, hurled her stool at the dean.
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Stills Gallery
Scotland's top photographic gallery hosts changing exhibitions of the best of international contemporary photography. It also has darkrooms, studios and equipment for hire.
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Surgeons' Hall Museums
Surgeon's Hall houses a fascinating trio of museums. The History of Surgery Museum takes a look at surgery in Scotland from the blood-letting and amputating barbers of the 15th century to the body-snatching anatomists of the 19th. The Dental Museum displays a wince-inducing collection of extraction tools, while the Pathology Museum houses a gruesome but compelling 19th-century collection of diseased organs and tumours pickled in formaldehyde.
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Talbot Rice Gallery
This small art gallery has two exhibition spaces. The neoclassical Georgian Gallery, designed by William Playfair, houses a permanent collection of works by old masters, including Dutch landscapes by Van der Velde and Van der Meulen, and a striking bronze anatomical figure of a horse, created in Florence in 1598. The White Gallery is a more modern space used to exhibit the works of contemporary Scottish painters and sculptors.
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The Shore
The most attractive part of Leith is the cobbled waterfront street alongside the Water of Leith, lined with pubs and restaurants. Before the docks were built in the 19th century this was Leith's original wharf. An iron plaque set into the quay in front of No 30 marks the King's Landing - the spot where King George IV (the first reigning British monarch to visit Scotland since Charles II in 1650) stepped ashore in 1822.
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Tron Kirk
Built in 1637, and taking its name from the tron or public weighbridge that once stood on the site, this church is famous for its magnificent oak hammer-beam roof, which rivals that in the Great Hall at Edinburgh Castle. The floor has been excavated by archaeologists to reveal the cobbled surface of Marlin's Wynd, a late-16th-century alley with the remains of cellars, staircases and medieval drains on either side.
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Union Canal
Built 200 years ago and abandoned in the 1960s, the Union Canal was restored and reopened to navigation in 2002. Edinburgh Quays, its city-centre terminus in Tollcross, is now a focus for redevelopment and a starting point for canal cruises, walks and bike rides. The canal stretches west for 31 miles through the rural landscape of West Lothian to Falkirk, where it joins the Forth and Clyde Canal at the Falkirk Wheel boat lift.
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Writers' Museum
Lady Stair's House, built in 1622 and restored in grand Jacobean style, houses a fascinating museum dedicated to Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. In the basement is a tall mahogany cabinet built by none other than the notorious Deacon Brodie. It sat in Stevenson's bedroom when he was a child, and played a part in the author's inspiration for The Strange Tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde .
