These are my rules of thumb. Do you have anything you want to add?
1: Lyn Gardner goes to eight shows a day so you don't have to...
Years of bitter experience have made me very wary of going to shows entirely on spec. I've been stuck in too many dark rooms where the minutes have crawled by like years to feel the need to be the Indiana Jones of the Edinburgh Fringe, braving every kind of unknown danger in the faint hope of uncovering treasure. That is Guardian theatre critic Lyn Gardner's job. That is why she barely sleeps or eats during August. That is why she has a slightly deranged, if joyful, look in her eye. Watch her like a hawk, read her reviews as soon as they come up online, if necessary flag her down in the street: and then seek out her four- or five-star shows.
The same goes, needless to say, for our esteemed comedy critic Brian Logan. He was born with a special gene that allows him to watch comedy all afternoon and all night, disport himself in bars until the small hours, return to the Guardian flat when most of us are contemplating breakfast - and still have a bright eye and a bushy tail. Ordinary mortals are not fashioned thus.
2: ... But sometimes there are exceptions to the best rules.
Trusted venues such as the Traverse and the now sadly defunct Aurora Nova have a certain built-in quality control. Such places can be safely visited on spec without personal danger. And it's also undeniably fun to be one of the first people to "discover" a good show and do your bit by spreading the word. This year's hot tip is Forest Fringe - a venue so alternative that it's not even in the Fringe brochure, and where tickets are free or what you can pay. The true spirit of the Fringe may yet live on. 3: Talk to people
Apart from close-reading Gardner and Logan, the best way to navigate the festival is by talking to people, however ghastly a prospect this may seem to those of us with repressed Anglo-Saxon souls. It's always, always about word of mouth.
4: Mix it up
Make a virtue of the sheer volume of events and shows at Edinburgh - don't just go to see comedy, or theatre, or classical music, or literary events, do a little bit of everything. The art festival at Edinburgh gets better and better, and, for the large part it is restful and doesn't try to make you laugh. Aside from the beautiful National Gallery of Modern Art (where there's a Tracey Emin retrospective) head to Inverleith House in the Botanical Gardens (where there's a Richard Hamilton show). And go to some of the private galleries: Doggerfisher, and the Ingleby's new space. Finally, don't forget that the National Gallery of Scotland is one of the best museums in the world - Titian and Velázquez in abundance. 5: Go for a walk
Refresh the soul and the limbs with a walk along the beautiful rus-in-urbe idyll that is the Water of Leith. Amble through the Botanical Gardens and, if it's chilly (as it often is), warm up in the glasshouses. Climb Calton Hill for the best views of the city, and admire Edinburgh's spirited attempt at an Athenian Acropolis. Scale Arthur's Seat (sturdy shoes only). Wander through the New Town and Stockbridge - a million miles from the crowds and ridiculousness of the Royal Mile - and admire some of the finest 18th-century architecture in Britain. 6: Beware any late-night drinking clubs requiring some kind of (easily procurable) pass and frequented by comedians.
Ditto the Traverse bar. But give in to the urge anyway. Live a little.
