The watering holes of today\'s trendsetters are popular places for celebrity-watching in Britain\'s capital cities. In London, Edinburgh and Cardiff new hotels, restaurants, bars and night clubs have quickly established themselves as favored haunts of pop singers and movie and television stars, and even some younger members of the Royal Family.

The watering holes of today\'s trendsetters are popular places for celebrity-watching in Britain\'s capital cities. In London, Edinburgh and Cardiff new hotels, restaurants, bars and night clubs have quickly established themselves as favored haunts of pop singers and movie and television stars, and even some younger members of the Royal Family.

Recently, visiting American celebrities have been giving these hangouts their imprimatur. For instance, on a visit to Scotland\'s capital Edinburgh, singer Justin Timberlake hosted a star-studded party in one night club and gave an impromptu performance in another. Afterwards, he said that haggis and black pudding, two Scottish food favorites, were \"cool\" and that he wanted to buy a kilt next time he was in Scotland.

Timberlake was among a glittering line-up for the MTV Europe Music Awards and he hosted an after-show party in the Opal Lounge, which evolves during the day from chic restaurant and bar to night club. Apparently, Prince William, elder son of the Prince of Wales, is a regular patron.

Timberlake\'s spontaneous appearance was at the City Edinburgh night club, which is in the basement of the former home of The Scotsman newspaper, whose upper floors are now largely occupied by the new, and also trendy, The Scotsman hotel. Where presses once roared nightly, the city\'s nightlife cognoscenti and local and visiting celebrities - Vin Diesel, Missy Elliot and Minnie Driver were there for the MTV show - now commune.

Opal Lounge is on Edinburgh\'s fashionable George Street in the city\'s New Town district, home to a number of other new restaurants and bars, among them the Living Room, a piano bar with live music daily, and Oloroso, a top floor restaurant with stunning cityscape views and Edinburgh\'s first Bollinger Bar. Beluga, located opposite the National Museum, is another favorite of Prince William; with its impressive sweeping staircase and slate waterfall this bar attracts international DJs including DJ Smash from New York\'s Blue Note records.

London\'s night life continues to re-invent itself as fashions ebb and flow. Hotel bars, particularly those in newer boutique establishments, are currently in vogue, including the Met Bar in the Metropolitan Hotel, the Zeta Bar in the Hilton Park Lane, both in Mayfair, and the Light Bar in St. Martin\'s Lane Hotel, in the theater district. London\'s West End clubs such as the Funky Buddha, Chinawhite, where Princes William and Harry have been spotted, Kabaret, a favorite of Madonna and model Kate Moss, and the new Tantra appeal to the chic hip-hop crowd.

Among recent additions to the restaurant/bar scene, Aura Kitchen and Bar in St. James Street, is noted for its exotic cocktails (it is owned by award-winning mixologist David Serlui) and its self-described \"intimate yet funky\" ambience. This is another favorite of Justin Timberlake.

Other newcomers include Harlem, a New York-style diner in the Notting Hill district, specializing in soul food as well as American-style breakfasts; CC Club, in the West End theater district, a popular celebrity party spot (Lisa Marie Presley and Lenny Henry among them); and Destino, in Mayfair, a Latin American restaurant which features hand-painted Spanish tiles donated by the King of Spain in 1929 when the building opened as Britain\'s first Spanish restaurant.

The latest buzz in Cardiff, capital of Wales, surrounds the Big Sleep Hotel, part-owned by American actor John Malkovich, and described by one magazine reviewer as \"super cheap but sexy chic.\" The 81-bedroom hotel\'s design is said to be \"modern retro\" with spacious, but unfussy rooms at affordable rates and its guests include sports, show business and media people.

Elsewhere in Cardiff, the new Sugar bar is the brainchild of Vince Power, a leading live music promoter. Sugar is set over four floors connected through a glass atrium and, since opening last month, has already become a favorite of singer Charlotte Church.

The Hard Rock Café recently opened in the city\'s Brewery Quarter in the restored Brains\' Brewery district, which also has a good selection of lively bars. A number of Welsh actors, including Rhys Ifans, who appeared as Hugh Grant\'s flatmate in the movie \"Notting Hill,\" and Ioan Gryffydd (\"Titanic\" and television\'s \"Hornblower\") frequent the Backpackers Bar in Cardiff\'s Riverside district. There is a wide choice of new dining options in the redeveloped Cardiff Bay waterfront area, including the acclaimed Tides restaurant in the five-star St. David\'s Hotel & Spa, and Turkish, Japanese, Chinese and Mediterranean establishments.

To help American visitors discover and explore these and other cities in England, Scotland and Wales, a guide called \"Britain\'s Cities\" is available free from VisitBritain\'s Travel Center, Suite 701, 551 Fifth Avenue (at 45th Street), in New York City, Mondays through Fridays between 9.00am and 6.00pm. VisitBritain\'s Travel Center can also be reached via email at: travelinfo@visitbritain.org or telephone on Toll Free: 1 877 899 8391. Online: www.visitbritain.com.