Want to know how to get free entry into Edinburgh's leading attractions? Well, St Andrew's Day, the annual celebration of Scotland's patron saint, is your answer. The end of November event is your once-a-year opportunity to wander in and out of sites including Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh Zoo, Craigmillar Castle and a host of other places - all without paying a penny.

Next Wednesday, October 28, begins Edinburgh's official count-down to Christmas. That's when the city flicks the switch on Edinburgh's most distinctive Christmas feature; the giant Christmas Ferris Wheel in the city centre. Standing next to the Gothic Victorian Scott Monument, just outside Waverly Station, Edinburgh's main train station, the wheel is a prominent fixture in city life and dominates the city skyline around this time of year. Forget about 'shopping days' to Christmas; personally, it's when the Edinburgh wheel starts turning that I know December 25 can't be far away.

What better place in the world than Edinburgh to say goodbye to 2009 and hello 2010? With its Harry Potter architecture, famous Midnight Fireworks and street party excitement, the city is the perfect backdrop to spectacular New Year's celebrations. Tickets for Edinburgh's Hogmanay 2010 went on sale earlier this month. Full details are available here. 

The name Edinburgh Castle can be misleading, since it's not so much a single castle as a complex of buildings from different eras. One of these is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, St Margaret's Chapel, which dates back to the early 12th century.

With the opening of the John Hope Gateway Centre, the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh has acquired a world-class biodiversity and visitor centre that is already drawing the crowds. The Gateway project, housed at the Gardens' West Gate on Arboretum Place, is home to a restaurant, shop, science studio, interactive media, plant sales, education rooms and exhibitions. It's the perfect destination for a weekend stroll or family day out.

Anyone visiting Edinburgh with kids - or, indeed, anyone with an interest in animals and animal conservation - will enjoy visiting the Budongo Trail at Edinburgh Zoo.

The annual Edinburgh Doors Open Day (Sept 26-27) gave people the chance to see for free dozens of landmark city buildings, ranging from police stations to dance studios, monuments to geological surveys, and caves to paper-making premises. Many of the buildings are normally out of bounds to the public or would charge for entrance, so this was a rare opportunity to explore more of Edinburgh's heritage.

The Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh probably has the highest concentration of writers anywhere in the world. That is, with the possible exceptions of London's Hampstead and Manhattan's Upper West Side, which also have higher-than-average numbers of writers in their midst. Respected authors including Alexander McCall Smith, JK Rowling, Ian Rankin, Nicola Morgan and crime writer Lin Anderson all live in and around Bruntsfield and neighbouring Merchiston.