Edinburgh has been named Britain's best city in an annual poll compiled by a leading travel industry bible.

Readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine have voted Scotland's capital ahead of runner-up Oxford and last year's winner, London, citing its "culture" and "user-friendliness" as its major plus points.

Edinburgh has topped the list three times since the awards began in 1989.

Conde Nast asked its readers to score each city out of a maximum of 100 according to criteria such as service, culture and value for money.

"This result is great news for the city and confirms what we all know: Edinburgh is a great place in which to visit, invest, live, work and study," the Scotsman quoted Jenny Dawe of Edinburgh City Council as saying.

"The city truly has the best of everything; historic buildings and great atmosphere, a vibrant leisure and retail offering, abundant green space, outstanding schools and universities -the list goes on. It is little wonder that people continue to think of Edinburgh as a must-visit location," she added.