What's the must-see thing in Edinburgh?

Edinburgh Castle, first thing in the morning. Not because it's the obvious choice — because standing on that volcanic plug 130 metres above the city at 9:30am, before the Royal Mile tour groups have finished their coffees, you get the only vantage point where Edinburgh's geography makes sense. From the Argyle Battery on the north side, the view drops straight down to Princes Street Gardens, then across the Georgian grid of the New Town to the Firth of Forth. The wind up there is constant and sharp even in June — it's currently about 16°C at street level, which means the castle ramparts feel closer to 12. Bring a layer. Tickets are £19.50 for adults (about $26 USD), timed entry, and you should book online a day ahead during summer. The Honours of Scotland — the Scottish crown jewels — are inside and predate the English set by over a century. Most people spend 90 minutes. You could do it in an hour if the Stone of Destiny doesn't hold you.

Arthur's Seat is the second call, and it costs nothing. The 251-metre volcanic peak sits at the east end of the Royal Mile inside Holyrood Park — a 45-minute walk from the castle, or one bus. The climb takes most people about 40 minutes from the car park at Dunsapie Loch on the east side, which is easier and less crowded than the path up from Holyrood Palace. On a clear day you can see the Highlands. On a typical Edinburgh day — overcast, damp, the city below looking grey and sharp-edged — it's still worth the effort, because the wind hits you at the summit and the gorse bushes along the lower path smell like warm coconut through late spring and early summer. Wear proper shoes. The path is rocky basalt, and it gets slippery when wet. In Edinburgh, that's most days.

Your third stop: the Grassmarket. This old market square sits directly below the castle's south wall, and from here the castle looms overhead in a way that photographs better than the front entrance ever will. On a Saturday morning the square fills with stalls and the smell of roasting coffee drifts from the independent shops along its west side. The pubs — The Last Drop, Maggie Dickson's — have dark-wood interiors with low ceilings and the kind of worn-in warmth that the tourist pubs up on the Royal Mile spend money trying to replicate. To be fair, the Grassmarket is still touristy. But at a human scale, and the prices haven't quite caught up. A pint of 80 Shilling runs about £5.50 here versus £6.50 a block north.

One thing to skip: treating the Royal Mile as a destination in itself. You'll walk it regardless — it connects the Castle to Holyrood Palace, it's a twenty-minute downhill walk, and the closes (narrow stone alleys that drop off both sides into cold shadow) are worth glancing down. But the shops sell the same tartan scarves and shortbread tins available at the airport for less, and the ghost-tour touts work the crowd from about 3pm. Walk through, don't linger. If it rains — and you plan for rain here, not around it — the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street is free. The Grand Gallery's iron-and-glass Victorian roof is worth two hours by itself, and the rooftop terrace has a castle view that matches Calton Hill without the climb.