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There are many good (and some not so good) restaurants around the Festival Theatre area. My favourite is the rustic French restaurant La Garrigue, which is literally across the road and down in the basement area. It is a lovely little restaurant but be sure to book a table as it gets very busy. The prices are not too bad either and I am sure if you contact them they may be able to supply a birthday cake for your party. Be aware that the chairs when we were there are wooden and not particularly comfortable, but the food and service makes up for that. As to what to do and see, there is so much going on even outwith the main tourist months. A definite must do is one of the ghost tours visiting the underground vaults. There are a few companies which do these and there are many different types. I would recommend looking at Mercat Tours website to give you an idea. The meeting place of all of these tours is on the High Street (Royal Mile) and they are really worth doing. The castle of course is another must but entry fees can be expensive, check out the website at Historic Scotland for details. Holyrood House is also a good place to visit at the foot of the Royal Mile and if you happen to visit on a dry day (fingers crossed!) you can take a nice walk around Arthur Seat and the Queens Park afterwards, or perhaps organise a visit to the Scottish Parliament which is just across the road! I believe this needs to be prebooked, so check out their website also. Dynamic Earth is also down at that end of town if the weather is awful (which it usually is) and is indoor, quite entertaining and interesting. Do a google search to see if there are any ceilidh's on during your visit. I know that the King James Hotel at the East End of Princes Street used to do these, but probably only during the peak visiting months and during the Festival. The open top tourist buses are also worthwhile as you buy your ticket and can jump off and jump on wherever takes your fancy. I believe they go past the Museum of Modern Art and the Dean Gallery, which are two buildings worth a visit (they are opposite each other on the Belford Road) and the Museum of Modern Art has a lovely restaurant/coffee shop downstairs. Talking of art galleries, if one of your parties is an architect, be sure to visit the Portrait Gallery on Queen Street. The facade outside is beautiful and the staircase inside is beautiful (little carved oak leaves and acorns). There is of course also the National Gallery at the foot of The Mound/Princes Street if the weather is wet it is a great place to escape to for a couple of hours. Take a bus from Princes Street (No 41) out to South Queensferry to see the Forth Road and Rail Bridges - fare £1.20 per person each way (exact money required as no change given on buses). There is a lovely restaurant called Hawes Inn which do nice lunches. The best tip I can give you as a visitor is to buy a day pass ticket for the buses (Lothian Transport - red and white buses). This costs £3.00 per person and allows you unlimited travel from 06h00 to 23h30 on a daily basis. Each single fare on the buses is £1.20 so it is well worth taking this ticket. Another good place to visit is the Edinburgh Whisky Heritage Trail at the top of the Royal Mile near the castle. I took my niece and nephew from South Africa and they thoroughly enjoyed it - especially the whisky sampling! It is quite expensive (about £20) but the tour is really informative and you get a free dram at the end as well as learning all about the process, etc. Also at that end of the Royal Mile (across the road) is the Camera Obscura. Not too sure of admission prices as its been a while since I visited but very interesting place to visit. Anyway, enjoy Edinburgh the people should make you feel very welcome. Do not be afraid to ask anyone for directions! I hope this info has been of use to you. Cheers Lynda