It’s easy to love Edinburgh. Walking up Broughton Street at night, with its pavement cafés and stylish student bars, the mist from the North Sea giving the scene an ethereal, other worldly feel, its hard to imagine wanting to live anywhere else. At the top of the hill, the imposing Balmoral Hotel looms out from the gloom and, in the background, the lights of Edinburgh Castle are just visible. It’s a stunning scene.

- sights

The castle itself is an amazing sight. Perched atop an extinct volcano right in the middle of the City, it is a powerful national symbol, and one intricately linked to Scotland’s history. It is home both to the Stone of Destiny, stolen by the English King Edward I in 1926 and returned some 700 years later, and Scotland’s Crown Jewels, the oldest surviving regalia (the emblems and symbols of royalty) in Europe. It attracts around one million tourists every year, and is well worth a visit.

The rest of the capital’s architecture isn’t too bad either – the castle is only part of a gorgeous skyline that dominates the city centre.

The City itself is built on seven hills, which goes some way to explaining the skyline and the fit cyclists.

- about the city

Despite a population of 500,000, the city centre is very compact, and easy to walk (or cycle) around. Divided by the main thoroughfare, Princes Street, the Georgian New Town, built during the ‘Scottish Enlightenment’ of the Eighteenth century, falls north down the hill to the Forth in a series of dignified a regular terraces and squares.

To the south of Princes Street is the more intriguing Old Town, dating from the 11th century, with the Royal Mile straggling from The Castle to Holyrood Palace (Queen Elizabeth's Scottish seat). It's here you’ll find tall, narrow, higgledy-piggledy buildings divided by steep closes and mysterious passageways - and some of the best ghost stories around.

Adam Lyal, a 19th Century highway robber who was hanged for his crimes in 1811, recounts in his famous book, Witchery Tales, the story of Mary Kings Close, an old alleyway situated under the royal mile. In 1645, during a particularly troublesome outbreak of the bubonic plague, the local authorities quarantined the city’s sufferers in the Close and simply boarded it up, leaving the inhabitants to die. It is said their screams for food and water could be heard for weeks. Scary, huh?  Thrill-seeking tourists can see the Close for themselves by joining one of the City’s many night-time ghost tours.

Edinburgh is also the seat of the new Scottish Parliament, reconvened in 1999 after almost 300 years. The parliament is currently situated on The Mound, but a new building designed by the late Enric Miralles is being constructed at considerable expense in Holyrood.

Those who enjoy a bit of fun in the evenings will not be disappointed by Edinburgh’s nightlife. The large student population (about 20,000, with almost 4,000 international students) means that the city centre is devoted to student nightlife with a very European feel. The Grassmarket and the Cowgate, deep within the bowels of the old town, are regular student haunts and across the city you will find an eclectic mix of pubs, clubs and restaurants (Edinburgh actually has more restaurants per head of population than London) that cater to even the most unusual tastes. The city’s New Year celebrations (Hogmanay to the locals), which are part of the winter festival and include the largest street party in Europe, have to be seen to be believed.

- events

But Edinburgh is also a city of culture, offering an impressive array of art galleries, museums (including the National Museum of Scotland and the excellent Our Dynamic Earth), theatres and cinemas, as well as a high quality programme of classical music, dances, and operas and comedy throughout the year. The Stand comedy club, just a few minutes walk from Princes Street, is particularly recommended.

You will also the Royal Botanic Gardens, the National Library of Scotland, the Palace of Holyrood and St Giles’ Cathedral all within easy walking distance of the city centre.

Being a university city, there are also many live music venues throughout the city, offering everything from rock to jazz, folk and hip-hop.

Edinburgh is home to no less than 10 international festivals. The city’s population doubles for three weeks in August tourists flock to the world famous Edinburgh International Festival, as well as the fringe festival, military tattoo, and book jazz and film festivals which run concurrently with the main event.

Edinburgh is quite simply The Place To Be during the festival. Street entertainers line the Royal Mile, with acts as varied as street plays to mine to fire-breathing, and the city centre is transformed into fervour of festivities, lit by fireworks above the castle. The fringe festival shows some of the most fresh and innovative comedy and alternative theatre you’re ever likely to see, with many students taking an active role in proceedings.

Despite being Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh is in fact only the country’s second largest city. Glasgow, a mere 40 miles away on the west Coast, is larger, and there is considerable rivalry between the two cities – Glasgow regards Edinburgh as snobbish and stuck up, whilst Edinburgh regards Glasgow as boorish and uncultured. Having grown up on the west coast and moved to Edinburgh three years ago, I can say that both observations are a little unfair. As for which city is better, well, Edinburgh does have the best architecture and culture, but then Glasgow has the best football teams…

The popular Glasgow saying that you’ll find more fun at a Glasgow funeral than you will at an Edinburgh wedding is one best ignored, however.

- hospitality point

Edinburgh is a striking city in many ways – the stunning buildings and landscape, the juxtaposition of old and new in an ever evolving and prosperous city centre, the dramatic contrast between affluence and poverty, the bustling nightlife and the hospitality of a diverse and cosmopolitan mix of people combine to make Scotland’s capital one of Europe’s liveliest and most memorable travel destinations. Visit Edinburgh, and you might find you never want to leave!

By Kieran McCaffrey, EURplace26 Participant