Britain's major cities consistently attract visitors from around the world year after year. In fact, Edinburgh, Scotland's capital and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK, attracts over 13 million visitors every year. This is largely attributed to Edinburgh's renowned summer festivals and its infamous New Year's Eve celebrations. However, there is a lot more to Edinburgh during the year than the Fringe and Hogmanay - and this is evident in its rich year-round theatrical scene, strong literary heritage and stunning architecture.

Edinburgh's theatre scene, in particular, is replete with dramatic gems year-round, although this does tend to suffer a slight tail off in July and September, the months on either side of the festival. Old theatres like the Festival Theatre, the Kings Theatre and the Royal Lyceum Theatre showcase the best original and touring dramatic work in the country. This year, for example, the King's Theatre played host to the touring stage play of Alan Bennett's "The History Boys", a play which has been lauded across the world as one of the first truly great plays of the 21st century. If you're looking for dance, ballet and opera, then you'll enjoy the offerings of the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, as well as the Edinburgh Playhouse, which often plays host to large-scale musicals.

Edinburgh's literary past also plays a huge role in attracting tourists. In fact, Edinburgh was recently graced with the title of World City of Literature and boasts a range of writers as its former residents - including Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott, as well as more modern archetypes of the literary world, such as Alexander McCall Smith, Ian Rankin and J.K. Rowling. Visitors can even take a literary pub tour along famous spots in Edinburgh's Old Town and revisit sites of great literary and historical interest.

Edinburgh's pubs provide great excitement and fun for visitors as well. Take a walk along the Royal Mile - one of the city's oldest streets, which stretches from Edinburgh Castle down to Holyrood Palace, situated beside the new Scottish Parliament building. The Royal Mile boasts some of the best pubs in Edinburgh, including Deacon Brodies, the Jolly Judge tavern and the Royal Mile Tavern.

Enjoying the delights of Edinburgh is not hard, wherever you live. Many airline companies offer cheap flights to the city's airport, and it's always possible to find great deals on hotels in Edinburgh if you look in the right places. So you'll have no excuse to miss out on the delights of Edinburgh - one of Europe's most beautiful cities.

Martin McAllister
http://www.hilton.co.uk/