A A medieval castle in the heart of the Old Town, where tall granite buildings cling to narrow cobbled alleys. A not so "new" New Town of majestic Georgian architecture, with the smell of hops and malt hanging thick in the air along hills that slope down to the sea. And all of this, set against the backdrop of a rugged natural landscape, rendered either brooding or beautiful by the fickle Scottish weather.

The streets of Edinburgh famously teem with history, but they are also alive with a rich and diverse cultural identity that is always evolving, constantly unravelling and forever surprising even its most seasoned inhabitants. The city is perhaps at its best in August, when artists, actors and musicians arrive for the annual Fringe festival, meant as "a platform for the flowering of the human spirit." Whether you visit in the summer when it's light until midnight, or in the winter when the wind nearly picks you off your feet, Edinburgh is such a beautiful city that you can never tire of just walking, perhaps aimlessly, as you drink it all in.