Edinburgh for The Romantics: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

Table tombs lettered with the names Rowling borrowed, Bobby's statue at the gate, and the castle over the wall; go in by the back gate from George IV Bridge as the light goes.

A narrow pub where fiddlers have played nightly since the 1950s; take a half of heavy and the seat by the wall.

A candlelit French bistro down a New Town lane, with Scottish produce and a short wine list. Ask for a table by the window, and walk home along Queen Street.

Mill cottages and the red turrets of Well Court in the gorge below the city; follow the Water of Leith walkway to Stockbridge and stop at St Bernard's Well.

Mary Queen of Scots' supper room where Rizzio was stabbed, then the roofless abbey nave where the kings of Scotland were buried.

A Parisian bistro hidden in a New Town lane, mirrors and bentwood chairs, and a wine list that leans to the Loire.

Twelve columns of a Parthenon abandoned in 1829 when the money ran out, and the best view of the whole city for the price of a short climb.

Take the 37 bus to the collegiate chapel of 1446, the Apprentice Pillar, the green men and the carved cubes nobody has decoded.

Oak panelling, red leather and tapestries by candlelight at the top of the Royal Mile; order the hand-dived scallops.

Burns, Scott and Stevenson in a 1622 townhouse with a tripping step built into the staircase to catch intruders.

Robert Fergusson's grave with the headstone Burns paid for, and Clarinda, the married woman Burns wrote his best letters to; read one on the bench.

Lace tablecloths, soup and a scone near the foot of the Royal Mile, named for the woman in the kirkyard next door.