London, Edinburgh & Manchester: What's in a name?

Quite a lot according to branding experts Saffron Brand Consultants. The consultants revealed The City Brand Barometer earlier today. The research compares 72 of Europe's biggest cities and assesses each city's assets against the strength of their brand. The research was backed up by a YouGov poll of 2000 consumers in a bid to try and understand what people want from a city.

London came second, Edinburgh grabbed fifteenth place and Manchester was ranked 32nd in the survey.

Independent travellers can explore all three cities on foot, at their own pace with a Walk Talk Tour audio walking tour and make their own mind up about the relative merits of each city.

Each Walk Talk Tour downloadable travel guide is composed of commentary points. Listeners hear about a particular attraction then receive instructions explaining how to reach their next destination. Walk Talk Tourists are asked to press pause. Listeners are then asked to press play when they reach their next commentary point. Listeners are free to play, replay and pause as they wish. In addition, each professionally produced Walk Talk Tour comes complete with a free downloadable map - for you to print off - so you won't miss a thing.

Visitors to London can explore the British capital with five Walk Talk Tour, London city walking tours. The five Walk Talk Tours audio walking tours of London are available in French, German and Spanish.

Hear about some of the English capital's world class museums and galleries on the Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts mp3 guided tour. This Walk Talk Tour of London begins outside the National Gallery. Listeners to the Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts podcast guided tour will also hear about the history of the neighbouring National Portrait Gallery. The Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts, London travel guide, concludes outside the British Museum. To hear an audio sample from this London city guide please click here.

To make the most of your Walk Talk Tour, London visitor guide, each tour comes complete with Where & When pages, which provide information about the opening times and admission charges of key attractions along each tour's route.

Edinburgh in August is a city awash with colour. The Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book Festival attract devotees from across the country and beyond these shores. A report published four years ago suggested that the Edinburgh Festival Fringe alone contributed £75 million to the city's economy.

Visitors to the Scottish capital can go walk about with two Walk Talk Tour audio walking tours of Edinburgh. Explore the city's famous Royal Mile with the Royal Mile & More mp3 guided tour. Hear about the origins of the name Edinburgh. Learn about the city's long association with witchcraft, which stretched right up into the twentieth century. Hear about gory goings on in part of the complex that makes up the new Scottish Parliament and learn about the turbulent history of the Queen's official residence in Scotland, the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the foot of the Royal Mile.

Edinburgh's Old and New Towns combine to make a World Heritage site. Independent travellers can explore the two Towns with the Old & New Towns audio walking tour. The Old & New Towns mp3 guided tour begins in the Castle Esplanade. Listeners to the podcast guided tour then descend into the Grassmarket. Hear about some of the grisly goings on in the Grassmarket. To hear an audio sample from the Old & New Towns, Edinburgh iPod travel guide please click here.

The Old & New Towns podcast guided tour continues over the Mound and into Princes Street Gardens. The tour continues to St Andrew Square. Listeners then walk along George Street. Hear about some of the famous people who have appeared at the Assembly Rooms. The Rooms now play host to several big names in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Old & New Towns Edinburgh visitor guide concludes in Charlotte Square. The Square is currently open to the public for the annual Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Manchester is a city most often associated with its famous football teams, Coronation Street and its vibrant music scene. There's much more to the city as listeners to the Manchester: Then & Now city guide can discover. Manchester is a city of firsts. The city was the world's first industrial city. A place which drew gasps of admiration and looks of horror.

Hear how an enterprising aristocrat helped jump start the city's industrialisation with the Walk Talk Tour, Manchester travel guide. Hear about the origins of the name Manchester with this podcast guided tour. To hear an audio sample from the Manchester: Then & Now city walking tour please click here.

Learn where the bulk of pre-industrial Manchester was based. Discover how the city has been reshaped by a huge bomb planted by the IRA in 1996. Hear about the history of the Old Shambles and of how some colourful characters with links to the nearby Cathedral made their mark on the city and the wider world.

Each Walk Talk Tour iPod travel guide of London and Edinburgh costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and get thirty per cent off.

The Manchester: Then & Now city guide costs £5. Visitors to Manchester who do not have an iPod, MP3 or MP3 compatible device can hire the Manchester: The & Now audio walking tour on a pre-loaded MP3 player from the city's Visitor Information Centre (on Lloyd Street off St Peter's Square) for £6.