Grassmarket Market

The Grassmarket does this every Saturday, Castle looming over the stalls, but August is the version worth timing a visit around — the city's fullest, most alive self, with the Fringe crowd spilling down from the Royal Mile and the market holding its own against all of it. Expect art, jewellery, small craft and a solid run of street food, none of it especially aimed at tourists despite the setting.

It's an easy one to build a morning around: market first, while it's calm, then up into the Old Town once the streets fill in. Runs every Saturday through the month, ten till five, free to wander.