daschoo
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I'm from Glasgow so possibly biased but I'd consider staying there. Train from queen street station gets you to Edinburgh in under an hour. Once you're in Edinburgh everything is within walking distance.
If you were wanting to see the highlands on a day trip you could do a lot worse than hire a car from Glasgow, drive up the side of Loch Lomond and on through Glencoe then down the coast road to Oban. That's a three hour drive and once you're out the city the scenery is stunning particularly once you hit Bridge of Orchy. Lunch in Oban which being on the coast has good seafood, personally if it's a nice day I always go to the green seafood hut at the ferry terminal, it's sitting outside on wooden picnic benches but everything is freshly caught. Then it's just over a 2 hour drive back to Glasgow.
Alternatively you could get a train down to Troon and the ferry to Arran which the tourist board bill as "Scotland in miniature."
From Edinburgh the spectacular scenery is further but north of Perth, not much more than an hour, and it's pretty decent.
The west coast is definitely more rugged terrain than the east though.
Depending on time a trip to the Hebrides or Skye would always be worthwhile.
If you're into more sports than just the Cowboys the National Football Museum at Hampden is worth a visit and you can include a tour of the stadium, the tour of Celtic Park and the trophy roomis also supposed to be excellent. Not sure if Rangers do one (I can't think of anywhere I'd rather tour less)
The football season lasts from early August to May and Glasgow has 3 top flight teams, though Partick Thistle may well get relegated this season and have a small ground with average attendance of only about 6 or 7 thousand, and Edinburgh 2 so should be someone playing regardless of which city you stayed if you wanted to take in a game. Get a Scotch pie and a cup of Bovril at half time.
Both cities also have pretty good rugby teams.
Find a traditional pub drink a pint of heavy and try a decent whisky or two. Also try haggis, it sounds disgusting but is genuinely tasty. Be careful if you get fish and chips from a chippy in Edinburgh, they'll want to ruin it by putting salt and sauce on it rather than salt and vinegar like normal people. The Tennents brewery in Glasgow apparently do tours these days and a tour of a whisky distillery is interesting and will involve samples. There's a few shops on the royal mile in Edinburgh where you can book a whisky tasting session. They'll have an expert talk you through different styles sampling each one.
Kelvingrove art gallery and museum in Glasgow and the national museum of Scotland in Edinburgh are both free and worth a visit though I'd maybe not prioritise them if you're limited for time.
I'd agree with the bus idea already mentioned but then I think they're a great starting point in any city. If you do the castle let me know if it's any good, I've never been despite living less than 2 hours from it all my life and within walking distance for 2 years.
