Less than a day in Edinburgh

I spent a lovely 6 hours in Edinburgh and the first thing I did upon arrival was head to Edinburgh Castle via the HoHo bus (it was an arranged tour via train from London, as a newbie this seemed a good idea but now of course I would have stayed a few days in Edinburgh because there's a lot to see and do--live and learn), spent a couple of hours exploring the buildings and grounds and then headed down the Royal Mile, where you'll find tons of souvenir shops and also shops with handmade & unique items, had lunch and poked around before continuing my journey to other sites such as Holyrood on the HoHo bus and back to the Waverly station area for my last couple of hours--lots to see there as the Edinburgh Fringe festival was happening.

We were in several areas of Scotland in the summer of 2014, and while we didn't pick these up in Edinburgh, particularly good things we did get were Scottish soaps and sweaters. If a place in Edinburgh is carrying sweaters from Shetland, that would be particularly good. You may or may not be looking for anything-in-a-kilt souvenirs, but there will be plenty around!

Also, you'd probably have to pack this in a checked suitcase (not a carry-on), but how about a can of haggis to take home? :-)

A couple of options. The hop on/off buses all start on the bridge. So you could easily one of those for a quick and decent overview of the City. As I remember the ticket is good for 24 hrs. and you can easily catch two or three different loops. A second option would be to walk the Royal mile. You could walk up to the Castle. Hard to miss it since looms over the town. You need a ticket for the castle. You can buy a ticket in advance but may not need it for that time of year. There are several interesting little museums and points of interest all the mile from the castle to Holyrood palace and the parliament building plus pubs and many shops. The castle will take a lot of time to see it well so maybe just wonder along the mile especially if doing some shopping. Just judge your time accordingly.

Rick Steve's top three plus one of my favorites:
http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scotland/edinburgh
▲▲▲ Edinburgh Castle Iconic 11th-century hilltop fort and royal residence complete with crown jewels, Romanesque chapel, memorial, and fine military museum.
▲▲▲ Royal Mile Historic road — good for walking — stretching from the castle down to the palace, lined with museums, pubs, and shops.
▲▲▲ National Museum of Scotland Intriguing, well-displayed artifacts from prehistoric times to the 20th century.
▲ Sir Walter Scott Monument Climbable tribute to the famed novelist.

Are all within a 10 minute walk from Waverley Station. Might be quicker to just walk rather than wait for a bus.

I'm with everyone else--head for the castle. You can get a good view of the city from there, the history is marvelous and you can walk down the Royal Mile to other sites. If it is raining, think about going to the Museum of Scotland. Otherwise, Gladstone's Land is one of my favorite stops on the mile. I like it because it gives you an idea of what it was like to live in medieval Edinburgh. You could think about going to the Grassmarket for lunch. If you have time, and are interested in Georgian Edinburgh, I really like the Georgian House.