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Sir Arthur's Seat.
The area beside the Palace of Holyroodhouse used to be a park for royal hunting. These days, Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags are open spaces used by locals and tourists for brisk, bracing walks - and magnificent views over the city.
The volcanic plug rises to over 800 feet and the open space has a circumference of four miles, yet it is in the middle of the city.
The best walk in the city is to the summit of Arthur's Seat, from where you get the very best view of the city, as well as the Pentland Hills to the south, the Firth of Forth and of Fife to the north, and, on a clear day, to the Highland peaks, 70 or 80 miles away. The walk to the top is a popular one, and easier than it looks. If you want to avoid the crowds during summer, then make an early start before breakfast and watch the sun rise over East Lothian.
There are several different routes, all of which take less than an hour, but a good circular walk that takes in the wilder bits and the lochs, starts from St Margaret's Loch, little more than an artificial pond, at the far end of the park from the palace.
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