If you're only in Edinburgh a short time and fancy getting some exercise, why not consider a drop-in class at the city's Dancebase in the Grassmarket. Unlike most dance classes, there's no need to book an entire term, you can simply turn up half an hour before the class and buy your ticket. Or buy a ticket on-line from 10am on the day of the class. Prices vary, from around £6 to £7.50.

If, like most of us, you can't afford a holiday somewhere warm this year, then you might enjoy heading along to Edinburgh's Butterfly and Insect World, where the tropical glasshouses climate means a visit there is like stepping into a Caribbean island. Except without the same expense.

The weekly Edinburgh Farmers' Market is staging a pre-Christmas special on Tuesday, December 22 to give shoppers a chance to stock up on last-minute festive goodies. Even though the market nestles on top of a multi-storey carpark entered via King's Stables Road, it's a taste (if you'll forgive the pun) of the Scottish countryside in the heart of the city.

One of Scotland's top visitor attractions, the cotton mills of New Lanark were built over 200 years ago in a dramatic gorge in southern Scotland, close to the famous Falls of Clyde. The village became famous all over the world under the enlightened management of the social pioneer, Robert Owen.

There's something disconcerting about seeing toys I remember from my own childhood on display in Edinburgh's Museum of Childhood. It's an uncomfortable reminder of getting older, when you see a 1970's Raleigh Chopper on an exhibition stand. It just doesn't square with my memories of riding around the Edinburgh suburbs on the back of one.

If you're walking through the Old Town, you can't help but notice that the National Museum of Scotland is shrouded in scaffolding. But fear not: even though half the museum , has closed to the public due to a £46m renovation project, there's still lots to do and see.

Next week sees the start of a great new exhibition at the Scottish Parliament about the influence of Scots abroad. This Is Who We Are is an exploration of the links between Scotland and Canada. Organisers paired a dozen towns in each country and set up a photographic project between them. More than a thousand Canadian towns are named after ones in Scotland, so there was no shortage of material to inspire people taking part in the project.