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Taking place all through the Festival on the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a sound-and-vision spectacular that attracts sell-out audiences year after year. Here’s a guide for the uninitiated. Just what on earth is it? It’s a large-scale, outdoor, music-and-marching performance held in front of Edinburgh Castle every night from 5–27 August. It features military bands predominantly from Scotland and the UK, with additional international guests. There’s also choreographed dance performances and a visual element as well, usually in the form of son et lumiere light projections and fireworks. Why the ‘Tattoo’? Are they all inked up or something? Nope – the name comes from the Dutch ‘doe den tap toe’, which roughly translates as ‘last orders’. Back in the 18th century, British regimental bands start playing when it was time for troops to quit the local saloons and head back to the barracks. From there it developed into a sort of late night ceremonial sign-off – a song before bedtime, so to speak. Steeped in military tradition, then – doesn’t necessarily sound like a natural fit with the world’s biggest liberal arts festival. We’d consider it more as a counterbalance: while the Fringe is all freewheeling artistic chaos and experimental risk-taking, the Tattoo prides itself on tightly orchestrated, precision-drilled professionalism. The Fringe welcomes all comers, regardless of talent or ability, so audience members are often taking a punt on somet

There are many reasons why you should visit Edinburgh during the summer (particularly when, post-lockdown, it's looking likely that we'll be holidaying closer to home), yet perhaps most overlooked is the city's coastal location.  Edinburgh has countless beautiful beaches on its doorstep, and whether its views across the Forth you're after or the rugged beauty of East Lothian, you don't have to look far to find the perfect spot to whittle away those long sunny days. Here's a round-up of the best beaches the area has to offer... 1. Cramond A short ride on the number 41 bus will take you straight to the quaint hamlet of Cramond, where whitewashed houses overlook the Firth of Forth.  The beach at Cramond is vast, and can change dramatically as the tide comes and goes.  At certain times of the day, you can walk across the kilometre-long causeway to the mysterious Cramond Island, but just remember to check the tide times first - you don't want to end up marooned with the gulls! The village may be small but it's certainly endearing, and you'll be sure of a friendly welcome at the harbour-front inn. Cramond Island   2. Portobello 'Porty Beach', as it is fondly known, is one of Edinburgh's nearest and most popular beaches. Just a 15 minute bus ride from the city centre, the traditional seaside town draws in huge crowds on a sunny day, and it's easy to see why; with over two kilometres of golden sands, a lengthy promenade, amusement arcades and even Turkish Baths to explore, there's

Hidden Door festival returns to Edinburgh at the end of May for ten days and nights of theatre, music, art, spoken word and film in the rooms, corridors and stunning main auditorium of the abandoned old Leith Theatre. This non-profit, 100% volunteer run multi-arts festival aims not just to provide a diverse program of events and performances from some Scotland's (and beyond!) best creative talent, but also provide the spark to return this wonderful old art deco building to life as a functioning new arts venue for the city. Musical highlights include performances from Scottish indie heroes Idlewild and Scottish Album of the Year award winner Anna Meredith, while the theatre offering includes a brand new work in progress from the Grid Iron theatre company and Andrew Simpsons frighteningly delightful 'Party Shrimp'. Meanwhile, over 20 different artists have been selected from an open call to exhibit at the festival, alongside 11 specially invited visual creators. Completing things is a solid film programme, with guest curators including Edinburgh Short Film Festival and Kino Club. The festival is free to explore every day until 6pm, with evening events ticketed (available from the Hidden Doors website). For full details of this year's programme and tickets for evening events, head over to the Hidden Door website.   Hidden Door Festival, Leith Theatre, May 26 - June 4. www.hiddendoorblog.org

Edinburgh’s food scene is fairly febrile in Scottish terms - and over the last year there's been a steady stream of new openings to tempt diners. If you’re looking for fist food, then toastie specialist Meltmongers is wowing them at 80 Bruntsfield Place, while there’s a new café-bar in the shape of Southpour at 1-5 Newington Road – they’re very enthusiastic about their venison bridies. The Byron burger chain recently landed in the city with two branches at Lothian Road and North Bridge, while Stockbridge welcomed Smith & Gertrude at 26 Hamilton Place, an award-winning wine bar that also has a fantastic selection of cheeses and charcuterie. As for our pick of new eateries in the Scottish capital, here are a select six that are yet to celebrate their first birthday… Chop House Bar & Butchery  © Chop House     Edinburgh had hardly recovered from the 2015 festival when this new steak house landed in Leith last September. With its booths and banquettes, feature glass panelling, exposed brickwork, angular fixtures and essential food proposition, it’s quite a masculine environment. That said, there's a serviceable cocktail menu so you can sip on a Rhubarb Fizz (Botanist Gin, Aperol, lemon, rhubarb bitters) as you read the meat’s CV: dry-aged in house for a minimum of 35 days using Himalayan salt then cooked on a charcoal grill. You could have a vegetarian main involving mushroom, goat cheese and hazelnut crumb, but this is really where you want a starter like crispy squid or oyste

Your laughter muscles duly rested by a diet of Dostoevsky and Adam Sandler movies throughout the early summer, you’ll be ready and crying out by now for the comedic onslaught of the Edinburgh Fringe. Everywhere from street corners to enormo-venues, you’ll find all kinds of people vying to make you think they’re the most hilarious thing since internet videos of cats, be they stand-ups, sketch troupes, improvisers, absurdist performance artists or just plain freeform weirdoes. Let us help you sort the funny hahas from the funny hows by highlighting six shows we think will be definite winners this Fringe, from promising up-and-comers to senior stars.   Katy Brand: I Was a Teenage ChristianLong before her critically-acclaimed Big Ass Show for ITV and subsequent sidestep into novel writing, Katy Brand (pictured) was literally a teenage Christian who attended church four times a week between the ages of 13 and 20, doing her utmost to put the “fun” into fundamentalism. An autobiographical solo show on that subject heralds Brand’s very welcome return to live comedy for the first time since 2010, as she relives seven years of being “an obnoxious, self-important dick”, albeit one who at least knew she was going to heaven. If heaven is a three-week run of daily shows at the Pleasance, then truly she has made it. Pleasance Courtyard, until August 29 (not 15), 4.45pm   Burnistoun Live at the FringeGlaswegians go where no true Glaswegian goes willingly: 50 minutes east on the train to that

The massive irony of paying so much for digs in Edinburgh during the Fringe is that you don’t go there to do boring things like sleep. With opening hours relaxed during August – 3am for most pubs, 5am for clubs and some of the larger venues – you can entertain yourself more or less 24/7. There are always a load of good (and typically quite noisy/rowdy) shows on to cater to the night owls. Here’s a round-up of eight different reasons to stay up well past your bedtime at the Fringe, from late-night comedy and cabaret, to club nights. Who eats breakfast anyway?   Russian Standard House of Davai presents PingTronWe’re not sure who had the ingenious idea of a quickfire table tennis tournament with the lights turned off and a load of Russian vodka poured into the mix, but we definitely salute them. Illuminated only by the spooky-futuristic glow of UV lights to help guide the balls over the net, this sure to be wildly popular event sounds like stupidly good fun. Gilded Balloon Teviot, August 11-14, 18-21 and 26-28, 12.15am   Beardyman: One Album Per HourLondon beatboxer, live looping maestro and comedian Beardyman – AKA Darren Foreman – takes musical prolificacy to the next level with his latest sure-to-sell-out Fringe show. The vocal virtuoso capable of emitting, manipulating and capturing just about any sound you can conceivably think of will create a whole album every night based on audience suggestions. Pleasance Courtyard, August 18-24, 11.45pm   Frisky and Mannish: CabaRIOTFam

Circus is increasingly becoming an established part of the Edinburgh Fringe, as one of the world’s oldest forms of public entertainment only rightly should. The Underbelly Circus Hub venue on The Meadows has returned for 2016 with an even bigger programme of British and international artists, each of them helping to reshape audience’s preconceptions of what circus is all about (clue: it’s not custard pie throwing clowns or lion-tamers). There’s a whole variety of other acrobatic, gymnastic, equilibristic and comedic circus routines to be seen at other venues throughout the city. Here’s a round-up of five that have caught our eye.   Ockham’s Razor: Tipping Point Returning for a second consecutive year, following 2015’s award-winning double-bill ‘Arc and Every Action…’, one of the UK’s leading aerial theatre companies present another inspired and fearless new work at the Fringe. Performed in the round, up close and personal with the audience, its sees five performers manipulate five-metre metal poles to create a rich variety of images and situations; from a seesaw with a 360-degree rotation to a swaying forest. The original music is by Adem Ilhan and Quinta, who are know for collaborations with Radiohead, Hot Chip and Bat for Lashes as well as their respective solo outputs. C Venues – C Scala, until Aug 25 (not 16, 23), 3pm   Silver Lining & Jacksons Lane: Throwback Youthful and energetic aerial and acrobatic work from one of the fast-rising companies in British theatre Silve

Each August, Edinburgh International Book Festival sets up its tented village at Charlotte Square Gardens in the New Town. There are talks, spoken word performances, music, a full children’s programme, a Speigeltent, cafés, a signing tent, a bookshop and even an ice cream tricycle! The 2016 jamboree involves something like 800 authors from more than 55 countries taking part in over 700 events. Whether you want to hear Chinese novelist Can Xue talk about her work or just sit under a tree having a picnic with the kids; the Book Fest has it all. Below are half a dozen highlights from this year's programme.   Unbound   Unbound is the Book Fest’s free, drop-in evening event where you can grab a drink from the bar and then anything might happen. Scheduled performances this year include Scotland’s former national poet Liz Lochhead with Dundee indie poppers the Hazey Janes doing “a celebration of the lyric impulse” (16 August), an appearance from alternative Scottish hip-hop ensemble Stanley Odd (24 August) and a great deal besides. Loose, informal and fun, it’s always worth sticking your head round the door to see what’s going on. Daily 14-29 August, 9pm, Speigeltent, free   Shappi Khorsandi   The accomplished Anglo-Iranian stand-up Shappi Khorsandi has delved deep into her comic talent to produce a shocking but witty debut novel, published this summer: 'Nina Is Not OK'. It deals with a young woman’s struggles with alcohol until she wakes up one Sunday morning with little memory o

While you won’t find many of them listed in the Fringe programme, the club nights and parties that roll on through the night are one of the best things about Edinburgh in August. Thanks to 5am extended licenses and a huge influx of young people looking for a good time the city’s nightlife takes on a whole new dimension. Here’s a round-up of some of the best ones to look out for this month, running the gamut of music styles from funk and soul, to house and techno, hip-hop, Afrobeat, dub and more.   Horse Meat DiscoAnother one of 99 Hanover’s free Thursday specials sees London leftfield disco tastemakers Horse Meat Disco’s James Hillard head north for a night of anything-goes dancefloor movers from classic to cosmic to deep disco, italo, punk funk, house, techno, oddities and a whole lot more. Get down early to avoid disappointment. 99 Hanover Street, August 11   Hot Dub Time MachineAn annual Fringe fixture, self-styled ‘Best.Party.Ever’ Hot Dub Time Machine is a nostalgia-powered decades-and-genres spanning club experience that sees party goers travel back in time and music history, to the birth of rock'n'roll - and then dance, sing, yell, rave and hug their way back to the present day. It’s a twisting to ‘Twist and Shout’, doing the running man to New Kids On The Block and bouncing around to The Proclaimers kind of night out. Corn Exchange, August 12-13, 18-20   Soulsville presents Rhythm Machine “Tom tom heavy ​synth boogie and smoke hazed new wave disco,” so they say, with

From highly-strung thespians in homemade dress-up to attention seeking comedians; you’ll find no shortage of overgrown kids at the Edinburgh Fringe. But what is there to appeal to actual young people at the festival this summer? A great deal as it happens – 183 shows in the programme altogether, variously made for newborns, toddlers, teenagers and everyone in-between (plus their adults). Here’s a round-up of a mere six among many that have caught our eye, including a couple of popular book adaptations, a playful introduction to a theatre great and an inspirational true-life story.   MermaladeLike her hit at last year’s Fringe ‘Land of the Dragons’, Laura Stevens’ new interactive comedy play features a strong female role model who won’t let anyone get in her way. Based on the book by Clare Cockburn-Martin, ‘Mermalade’ is the story of a mermaid left to try and make sense of a cryptic note, with just three annoying oysters for company. She’s brave enough to stand up to some of the biggest entities in the universe – the booming-voiced God of Thunder included – but is she wise enough to find the answers she’s looking for? Pleasance Courtyard, until August 29 (not 17-18, 22-24), 11.15am.   Molly WhuppieThe return of an old favourite from Edinburgh kids theatre company Licketyspit. Adventuring young maiden Molly Whuppie is determined not to let the great winter that's frozen even the sea, stop her, her mum and her sister from enjoying a winter feast. So she’s off on a journey, over