CityCulture
Nick Nairn, Celebrity Chef
The Glasgow Farmers' market in Mansfield Park is a real treat. There's every type of Scottish produce imaginable from meat and cheese to vegetables and home baking. If you want seafood, The Cellar in Anstruther, near St Andrews, is my favourite seafood restaurant in Scotland. The owner buys the fish from the day boats so you get the freshest, most premium produce available. My favourite place to enjoy a dram, however, was 'until recently' my back door: I live on the lake at Port of Menteith, not far from Stirling, and there's nothing better than looking out at the sunset over the Menteith Hills with Ben Lomond in the background. It's Scottish heritage to enjoy stunning landscape and the national drink in unison. My new favourite place to do that is the Lake of Menteith Hotel across the lake, which I've just bought. The view of Inchmahome island is absolutely breathtaking.
Roddy Woomble of Idlewild
For such a small country there's a long list of things to do and see in my homeland. The capital, Edinburgh is one of the prettiest cities in the world, so just wandering around the Old Town - up the Royal Mile to the Castle for instance - or the New Town with its Georgian architecture, is almost enough. It's a good city for art galleries and theatres, the Modern Art Gallery and the Traverse Theatre being the pick of the bunch. A walk on the Salisbury Crags, with its panoramic views, followed by a drink in the Waverly pub is always a day well spent. Glasgow has more attitude than Edinburgh and is the music and party capital of Scotland: good bars, good bands, good people. Stereo, Nice 'n' Sleazy, King Tuts and Uisge Beatha are all great. Byres Road and the West End are good places to people watch: if you're lucky you might see Alasdair Gray.
Ian Rankin
I have three top Scottish authors. One: Muriel Spark - I love her books, her restless energy and openness to new ways of telling a story. Two: William McIlvanney - he taught me that the crime novel needn't just be about red herrings and bodies in the library. Three: Robert Louis Stevenson - because he excelled at everything he tried, from travel writing to children's poetry to horror and adventure. My favourite reading venue has to be the Edinburgh Book Festival, it's such a melting pot of great minds and attitudes. I love record shops and can usually be found in Cockburn Street, bouncing between Fopp Records for the cheapies and Avalanche for great, obscure indie stuff. But it's the main hall of the Royal Scottish Museum that never ceases to take my breath away. I love to stand in front of the Millennium Clock there: every time I look at it I see something new.
Craig Hill
I love The Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh: I'm always surprised and impressed by how different each exhibition is. Also, you can start there and follow the Water of Leith all the way down to the harbour where you can indulge in a satisfying liquid lunch, knowing you've earned it. While shopping once in Aberdeen, I had a real surprise find: a fantastic shop called Mackays that sells original Seventies Levi jeans, shirts and jackets still in their packs. And if you're looking for vintage dresses (not that I was), you'll come away with something truly unique from Starry, Starry Night in Hillhead in Glasgow. I'd also love to recommend one of the best guesthouses I've stayed in: Edinburgh's Ardmor House on Pilrig Street. It has the décor and taste of a boutique hotel with the affordability of a guesthouse. And they do a mean smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast. Very much a must-try experience, if you can.
