The Royal Yacht Britannia

The Royal Yacht Britannia is the most intimate royal visit in Britain. Launched on Clydebank in the early 1950s and decommissioned in 1997 after more than four decades of service, she carried Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family on state visits, Commonwealth tours and family holidays — more than a million nautical miles in all — and she now lies permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal in Leith, Edinburgh's port. Unlike the palaces, Britannia feels lived in, because she was: the Queen described her as the one place she could truly relax. The self-guided audio tour leads you through all five main decks, from the bridge and the admiral's quarters down to the engine room, and the contrasts are the point. Up top are the State Apartments — the drawing room and dining room where presidents and prime ministers were entertained, the sun lounge with its simple furnishings, and the separate, surprisingly modest bedrooms of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Below are the crew's world: the cramped mess decks, the Royal Marines barracks, the laundry, the sick bay and the gleaming engine room, still polished to naval standards. Details tell the stories — the clocks stopped at the moment the Queen last left the ship, the honeymoon cabin used by several royal couples, the Rolls-Royce garaged on deck. Halfway round, the Royal Deck Tea Room serves soups, sandwiches, scones and cakes made on board, with views over the water. Tickets cost the same online and at the desk, but booking gives you a barcode that skips the queue, and the visitor centre is on the second floor of the Ocean Terminal shopping centre.

Getting there is part of the plan. Britannia is about three kilometres from the city centre, and the easiest route is the tram from Princes Street or York Place to the Ocean Terminal stop, which drops you outside the shopping centre; Lothian buses 10, 34 and 35 also run there, and there is free parking in the Ocean Terminal car park (Level E is on the same floor as the visitor centre). The ship is berthed behind the centre and is not visible from the entrance: head up to the second floor at the east end, walk through the exhibition and across the bridge walkway on board. A shoreside lift tower serves all five decks, so the ship is accessible to most visitors.

Pacing the visit: the average audio tour takes about an hour and a half, and you have two hours after last admission to finish. Hours vary by season — in winter Britannia opens at 10am and last admission is mid-afternoon, so do not leave it until the end of the day — and it is closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. If you want the tea room, start your tour at least half an hour before last admission and take it about midway, as tables are unreserved. Children enjoy the engine room, the sailors' bunks and the hunt for royal details, and the audio tour keeps the pace brisk enough for younger ones.

Make it a Leith afternoon. The Shore, the old harbourfront a short walk or bus ride away, is lined with restaurants, bars and some of the city's best seafood cooking, and the walk along the Water of Leith from the Shore makes a good contrast with the Old Town crowds. Britannia also anchors several combination products — on Tiqets it is sold within the Royal Edinburgh attractions bundle with a hop-on hop-off bus, useful if you plan to see Holyroodhouse too. Whatever the ticket, give it half a day including the travel: it is one of the few Edinburgh sights that rewards rain, and one of the most consistently loved by visitors of every age.