With so much to choose from at the Edinburgh Festival, it seems implausible to suggest you might ever be at a loose end. But one way or another, there's always that odd bit of time - between two shows, perhaps, or when you've had your dinner but don't feel like going home - when you'd like to find something to entertain you, right there and then. That's where the Festivals Daily Guide comes in.

The Guide is published by national newspaper The Guardian, and you can pick it up for free from literally hundreds of sites across Edinburgh. Step into all but the tiniest of Fringe venues, and you'll find them in a distinctive metal holder near the door - though the stock does run down as the day goes on, so it's best to bag your copy early.

Daily Guide

The Guide gives you an immediate overview of the shows which could fill a particular slot in your diary

Other daily listings

If you're within reach of the Internet, though, it's easier to go onto edinburgh-festivals.com. Run by local newspaper The Scotsman, this excellent website similarly lets you search the whole Festival programme, within a specified time range - but with the added advantage that you can click through to read more about any shows which pique your interest. There are links to reviews from The Scotsman, as well, to give you a head-start on choosing a good show.

Of course, one final way to fill a spare couple of hours is just to turn up at a venue, and see what takes your fancy from the listings posted up there. It's a risky approach, but if you'd like to roll the dice, you could do worse than to head for Bristo Square: you can see what's on offer at the Gilded Balloon before checking out the Pleasance Dome, where you can also see the schedules for the Pleasance Courtyard, just five minutes' walk away.