> WHEN YOU GO

Get there: It’s a roughly eight-hour direct flight to Edinburgh International Airport. Get around: Edinburgh regularly features on lists of the most walkable cities in the world. What isn’t walkable is easily accessible by bus, tram or if it’s further afield, train. Stay: The Balmoral Hotel. It’s the most majestic hotel in the city and its 1 Princes St. location is perfect for exploring. It’s right next to Waverley train station. The tourist spots are Balmoral hotel each morning. I’m hungover, it’s raining — of course — but mostly I struggle to stop gazing west over the crags of Arthur’s Seat.

I lived here for six years and I will still stop dead to look around.

Walk the Royal Mile, visit the Castle, make time to read tales on plaques in ancient buildings. Make time, too, for storytellers perched at mostly a short walk up the George IV bridge and a whole host of excellent restaurant and bars are within walking distance near George St. or the other side of Princes St. toward Lothian Rd. Explore:

21st Century Kilts (21stcenturykilts.com) is open most days on Thistle St. Find out more: Scotland’s national tourist organization: visitscotland.com. secret bars, relaxed restaurants, distilleries and even kilt shops. Edinburgh is not all whisky and history and tartan tourist traps.

That’s why I love it — it’s the perfect marriage of something old and something new. David Bateman was hosted by Visit Scotland, which didn’t review or approve this story.