City Highlights - Edinburgh Hybrid Tour

Discover Edinburgh Castle, Scotland's crown jewels, stare over Scotland's capital to the Firth of Forth from the battlements, pose beside mighty Mons Meg cannon, listen for the one o'clock gun marking time. Tread the cobbles like Scottish Queens from Mary Queen of Scots to Queen Elizabeth, follow the path of King Charles III and his ancestors Charles I and II. Weave your way through the Old Town where history, life, death, heroism and mystery oozes out of all the aleyways, known as closes, used to bring Outlander to life. Process down the Royal Mile, pop inside the imperial crown-spire-topped St Giles Cathedral, the site of critical events in Scotland's tortured religious history. Contrast the narrowness of the medieval Old Town with the wide, planned streets of the New Town, famous for its splendid sandstone architecture. Marvel at skills of craftsmen long departed and the beauty of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Gaze out from Carlton Hill guided by a local to observe what is hidden.

Each itinerary can be customised. You choose how much is chauffeured luxury 4x4 and how much is walking. Walking is best in the Royal Mile, wider Edinburgh inc Rosslyn Chapel is accessible by car. Often starting at Princes Street, and Calton Hill touring the beautiful neoclassical architecture of the 250-year-old New Town before climbing upwards, to enter the castle. Culturally nourished we descend the Royal Mile, from mighty castle to majestic palace, down the tail of a long-extinct volcano, possibly via the Grassmarket and Greyfriars Kirk, birthplace of religious ferment, its atmospheric graveyard said to have inspired JK Rowling's Harry Potter characters. Past Scotland's historic parliament, Mercat Cross and City Chambers, into the Canongate with its Tollbooth, Kirk and period drama movie set closes. The new parliament building opposite the Palace of Holyroodhouse, its ruined abbey overshadowed by ancient Arthur's Seat and stunning Salisbury Crags dolerite rock.