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The New Town (so-called) of Edinburgh represents the historical extension of the Scottish capital to the north of the Old Town that occurred during the Georgian Period of the late 18th century. Built on a regular grid pattern, the New Town is Edinburgh's main shopping and commercial district, north of Princes Street Gardens.

Along with the Old Town, the New Town was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995.

Understand

James Craig's plan for the New Town
Princes Street with the Commencement of the Building of the Royal Institution - Alexander Nasmyth's 1825 view
Moray Place

By the 1700s Edinburgh was becoming increasingly crowded within the walls of the Old Town. The Act of Union with England in 1707 meant that there was no longer a need for the protection of city walls. In 1752, following the collapse of a six storey building, a pamphlet was published proposing an extension to the city. In 1766 a design contest was held to select a design for the extension, the New Town. The contest was won by a young architect, James Craig.

After review by a committee, James Craig's modified plans were accepted by the town council in 1767. This covered the area of Princes St, George St and Queen St, and is essentially the layout that you can see today. It took until 1820 for the building of this area to be completed, with the area initially being mainly expensive homes, with a few public buildings. Homes were built by different builders with the designs having different details. Initially the residents returned to the Old Town for work and to shop in the markets. Charlotte Square at the western end of George Street is the finest of the streets from this phase. The building elevations in Charlotte Square were all designed by the famous architect Robert Adam, and the design of the square is largely unchanged from this era (except for the addition of some dormer windows and one recent building in the original style on a vacant plot).

The northern New Town (north of Queen Street Gardens) was built between 1802 and 1823. This area remains largely unchanged apart for the addition of a few modern shop fronts. Great King Street is the best street to walk along to get the original atmosphere.

Later extensions of the New Town were the Moray Estate, which was designed by James Gillespie Graham in 1822. In this area, Moray Place is a particularly fine complete circle of houses, almost unchanged from the 1800s.

The West End (locally considered separate from the New Town) was built slightly later, with much of the building being in the 1860s and 1870s. A key landmark in this area is St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, which was built between 1874 and 1917.

Shared private gardens were a major part of the the plans. Some of these (Princes Street Gardens and St Andrew's Square) are now run as public parks. However many remain in private hands, with nearby residents paying a subscription for the gardens maintenance. Queen Street Gardens, the Dean Gardens, and the centre of many squares and crescents are examples of this. In addition many townhouses have private gardens hidden at the rear.

The original area between Princes Street and Queen Street is now mainly used for shops and offices and many of the original buildings have been replaced. The area to the east of St Andrew's Square was redeveloped for the building of the St James shopping centre, and is the only part of the New Town where the original street pattern has disappeared. The rest of the New Town is still mainly residential, although in many cases the original townhouses have been divided into flats.

Get in

Princes Street, National Gallery of Scotland and Calton Hill as seen from the castle

The New Town is right in the centre of Edinburgh. Walk out of the bus or train stations and you are in the heart of the New Town. If you are coming from outside Edinburgh see the Get in section of Edinburgh.

By car

Generally bringing a car into the New Town is best avoided due to the road complexities and the difficulties in finding parking. If you are lucky to find an on street parking space it will cost £3.20 per hour for a maximum of 3 hours. There are two carparks near the east end of Princes Street - St James Centre and nearby Elder St, each costing £3.10 per hour / £15.20 for 24 hours.

By train

Waverley station is right in the heart of the New Town. Haymarket station is on the west edge of the district.

By tram

There are tram stops at Haymarket, West End, Prince Street (near The Mound), St Andrews Square, and the terminus at York Place.

By bus

Most (but not all) Lothian bus routes pass through the New Town. Many of these go along Princes St, and will say so on the destination board. Others may say George St. or Mound.

Get around

Map
55°57′21″N 3°12′6″W
Map of Edinburgh/New Town

Many people are happy to get around by walking, but it is nearly 2 miles between the furthest points in this district. The northern New Town is downhill from the central area.

There are very frequent buses on Princes St., and a reasonable service on Howe St., Dundas St., Leith Walk, Queensferry St., Regent Rd. and Shandwick Place. Trams can also be used to get around, but as there is around 10 minutes between trams it may be better to take more frequent buses.

See

The Scott Monument
  • 1 The Scott Monument, East Princes Street Gardens, ☏ +44 131 529-4068. Apr-Sep Mo-Su 10AM-7PM, Oct-Mar Mo-Su 10AM-4PM. Built in 1846 to commemorate the life of Sir Walter Scott after his death in 1832, the Gothic spire monument allows you to climb 200 ft above the city centre to enjoy fantastic views and get a closer look at sculpted statuettes of characters from Scott's works (note: there is no lift). £4. (updated Aug 2015)
  • 2 Old Calton Burial Ground (just east of Princes Street and Southwest of Calton Hill). Contains a range of graves, memorials, and funerary ornaments. Notable memorials include those dedicated to the philosopher David Hume and the Scots who died in the American Civil War 
  • 3 National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound (Midway along Princes Street, the only building on the Castle side.), ☏ +44 131 624-6200. Daily 10am-5pm (6pm in Aug). Holds much of Scotland's fine artwork and carries exhibitions that change seasonally. The new Western Link was opened in 2004 with an entrance from Princes Street Gardens. It joins The National Gallery with the neighbouring Scottish Academy gallery and gives Scotland its first world class art space. Free. (updated Aug 2015)
  • 4 The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street (Just to the north of St Andrew Square), ☏ +44 131 624-6200, . Daily 10AM-5PM (longer opening hours in Aug). The World's first purpose-built portrait gallery really stands out on Queen Street due to being built from red sandstone, rather than the yellow sandstone used for almost every other building in the New Town. Holds portraits of Scots from down the ages, with new faces being added all the time. Re-opened in Dec 2011 after a 2 year refurbishment. Free. 
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Building One)
Dean Village
  • 6 The Dean Village (From the west end of Princes Street, follow Queensferry Street to the north-west. At a right hand bend, turn left down the steep Bells Brae. Alternatively follow the Water of Leith Walkway upstream from Stockbridge.). Dating back to the 12th century, the Dean Village was home to the flour mills that fed Edinburgh for centuries, powered by the Water of Leith which flows right through the village. "Dean" or "Dene" means a steep valley, and this situation means that the village is protected from the noise of the City, despite being so close to the city centre. Walk down Miller Row to see the full splendour of Thomas Telford's Dean Bridge, which seems relatively mundane when crossing it on Queensferry Street. There are information boards dotted around the village giving information about the different buildings, and the history of the village and the milling industry that once thrived here. 
  • 7 The Georgian House, 7 Charlotte Square, ☏ +44 131 226-3318, . daily, Mar 1-27 and Nov:11AM-4PM, Mar 28-Jun 30 and Sep-Oct: 10AM-5PM, Jul-Aug: 10AM-6PM. The house was designed by Robert Adam and is furnished as it would have been around 1796. See how life was in the New Town in the 18th century, from the dining rooms to kitchen in the basement. Due to the lighting simulating 18th century conditions, it is better to visit earlier in the day in winter. The house is set in a particularly fine Georgian square with most of the building built to designs by Robert Adam. £7, free to National Trust Members. (updated Mar 2015)
  • 8 St Andrew's & St George's West Church, 13 George Street (east end of George Street), ☏ +44 131 225-3847, . 10:00 - 14:00. Completed in 1784, the parish church of the New Town. Protected as a category A listed building, the Church has an unusual elliptical design - the first in Britain - with an ornate ceiling blending Roman, Pompeian and Scottish elements. The steeple holds Scotland's oldest complete peal of bells, cast in 1788. Early 20th century stained glass. Undercroft café. Extensive programme during Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and major booksale for Christian Aid each May. Free. 
  • 9 Edinburgh Gin Distillery, 1a Rutland Place. Explore the location where one of Edinburgh's gins is produced. Different tours are offered, the basic one lasts 45 min and includes a sample or miniature bottle of Edinburgh Gin. Basic tour £10. 
  • 10 Dundas Street Independent Art Galleries. Mon - Sat 10:00 - 17:00. There are seven commercial art galleries in the top block of Dundas Street (next Queen Street Gardens). Whilst these are in business to sell art, just looking around is fine (and free). The Scottish Gallery and Bourne Fine Art have works by recognised artists (at prices comparable to cars). The Torrance Gallery and some others have works by less well known artists from £100. 
  • 11 St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Palmerston Place. M-Sa 07:30 Morning Prayer, M-F 17:30 Choral Eucharist Su services at 08:00, 10:30, 15:30, visits weekday daytime. Scotland's largest Cathedral in the Anglican tradition. Building started in 1874 to a design by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The song school (open occasionally) has stunning murals by Phoebe Anna Traquair. (updated Aug 2015)

Do

The home of the British Prime Minister? No, just the door of a typical Georgian townhouse in the New Town
  • 1 Calton Hill. Climb this central hill in the morning or early evening hours to experience a great sunrise/sunset over Edinburgh. However, try to avoid hours of complete darkness. The hill is home to various monuments including the National Monument of Scotland (also known as Edinburgh's Folly), an unfinished replica of Athens' Parthenon, built as a memorial to the Napoleonic Wars, and Nelson's Tower, built in the shape of an upturned telescope in honour of the naval hero. The latter features a Time Ball at the top, which drops at 1PM every day to enable ships at Leith docks to set their clocks. The time ball was originally operated by the City Observatory, which was located here until it was replaced by the larger Royal Observatory of Edinburgh in the south of the City, in the late 19th Century when light pollution in the City centre became too much of an obstacle to celestial viewing. The City Observatory is being refurbished by the Collective Gallery as a modern art exhibition space, with a small exhibition space and cafe open at present. 
  • 2 Princes Street Gardens. Walk through this small, beautiful park that lies in the small valley between Castle Hill and Princes Street and forms the boundary between the Old and New Towns. (updated Mar 2015)
  • 3 Edinburgh Playhouse, 18-22 Greenside Place. A former cinema that now hosts musicals and concerts. 
  • 4 Vue, Leith Walk, ☏ +44 870 240 6020. Large multiplex cinema. 

Buy

The New Town is home to most of the shopping in Edinburgh, split across a number of distinct areas:

Princes Street

Princes Street marks the southern edge of the New Town, and is the main shopping street in Edinburgh. It runs through the middle of the city from Waverley train station to Lothian Road. It contains large chain stores such as HMV for music, Topshop and H&M for clothes, tourist oriented shops, and department stores.

  • 1 Jenners (Venerable Department Store), 48 Princes Street (Opposite the Scott Monument), ☏ +44 844 800 3725, fax: +44 131 260-2280, . Until recently it was the world's oldest independent department store, now sadly part of the House of Fraser chain (there's another at the very west end of Princes Street, number 145), and has lost some of its character. Still an endearingly warren-like building, with the Great Hall at its heart an impressive sight, especially at Christmas-time. Has a franchise of London's famous Hamleys toyshop in the basement. 
  • 2 St James Centre. Undercover shopping centre just off the east end of Princes Street in a very unattractive building. The St James has the John Lewis department store and some mid range chains. The centre will close in mid-2016 (except John Lewis) and will be demolished and a new larger shopping centre built. 
  • 3 Princes Mall. Upmarket mainstream shops in an undercover centre next to the Waverley train station. 

George Street

George Street houses generally more upmarket shops and boutiques, as well as a number of bars and restaurants. It runs parallel to Princes Street, about 200m to the north.

Multrees Walk

Multrees Walk is at the north-east corner of St Andrew Square, at the east end of George Street. Melt your credit card here.

  • Home to the Harvey Nichols department store.
  • International clothing brands including Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Daks, Kurt Geiger.
  • Modern silver jewellers Azendi and Links of London.

West End Village

West End Village is centred around William Street and Stafford Street, at the west end of the New Town and only a couple of minute's walk from Princes Street. The area is home to a mix of smaller shops, good for unusual designer (women's) clothes and accessories, and interior design. There's some nice places to eat as well.

  • 7 Sam Thomas (womenswear), 18 Stafford St and 5 William St. Designer clothes, shoes and accessories for ladies. 

Broughton Street

Broughton Street, Boho area, at the north east of the New Town, with a great variety of shops, delis, bars and restaurants. Locals know all about it, visitors often miss it.

  • 8 The Dragonfly Gifts (formerly: Bliss), 111a Broughton Street (Right at the bottom of Broughton Street, on the right-hand side walking downhill), ☏ +44 131 556-3311. Funky little shop with a lovely range of cards and gifts. 
  • 9 Crombies (Renowned Butchers), 97-101 Broughton Street, ☏ +44 131 557-0111. Award-winning family-run butchers shop, now in it's 3rd generation. Great quality local meat, best known for their amazing range of sausages. 
  • 10 Villeneuve Wines (Independent Wine Retailer), 49a Broughton Street, ☏ +44 131 558-8441, . 12:30PM-10PM Mo-Th, 9AM-10PM Fr-Sa, 1PM-8PM Su. An excellent range of wines in stock at this branch of a small local chain. The knowledgable staff are always happy to help out with any advice you need. Good range of quality bottled beers too, and this is also a great place to buy Malt Whiskies with over 150 usually in stock. 
  • 11 Joey D (Designer Fashion), 54 Broughton Street, ☏ +44 131 557-6672. Edinburgh fashion designer creating unique items from vintage fabrics. Mens and womens ranges. 
  • 12 Concrete Wardrobe, 50a Broughton Street, ☏ +44 131 558-7130. M-Sa 10AM-6PM. An independent shop set up by two Scottish textile designers to showcase artisan products from Scotland. Home furnishings, clothes, jewellery and gifts. A lovely place to browse. 

Leith Walk

Leith Walk joins Edinburgh to Leith, so the top half is in the New Town, and the bottom half is in Leith. Leith Walk has an amazing variety of independent shops. There is also an array of Polish grocers (Polski Sklep). Locals claim there is nothing you can't buy somewhere on Leith Walk (even if it's illegal!). Have fun trying to prove this wrong!

  • 13 Valvona & Crolla (World-famous Deli), 19 Elm Row, Leith Walk (Near the top of Leith Walk, on the eastern side), ☏ +44 131 556-6066. Its grey frontage looks unassuming, but step through the door into a wonderland of food, much of it sourced direct from Italy by the family that have owned and run this business since 1934. Appears in the Sunday papers more often than Sudoku. If you like the look (and smell!) of all the goodies but wouldn't know what to do with any of it, just continue to the back of the shop and hope to get a seat in the bright cafe. If you can't make it to the original shop, they also have a small concession in Jenners on Princes St. 
  • 14 Harburn Hobbies, 67 Elm Row, Leith Walk, ☏ +44 131 556-3233. Family run business established in the 1930s. Specialises in model railways, including some items exclusive to this shop. Also die-cast model vehicles, Scalextric slot car racing systems and plastic and wooden model construction kits. 
  • 15 Vinyl Villains (2nd-hand records), 5 Elm Row, Leith Walk, ☏ +44 131 558-1170. Second-hand record shop of the type that used to be found in every town in the country. Vinyl Villains has survived due to maintaining high standards of service and always having plenty of interesting items in stock. Specialise in vinyl (duh!) but also CDs, T-shirts, posters, fanzines (including some football titles) 

Eat

Budget

  • 1 Snax, West Register Street. A small independent fast food joint. The food is cheap and edible, perfect for tourists on a budget. Also has a decent selection of vegetarian options. 
  • 2 Rapido (Fish'n'Chips and a whole lot more), 77–79 Broughton Street, ☏ +44 131 556-2041. All the usual fish and chip shop favourites at the right hand end of the counter, plus plenty of vegetarian options. Head to the left-hand end of the counter for pastries, wraps, pasta dishes and some tantalising desserts. Also a good range of pizzas. There's a couple of tables and also some stools at a window shelf if you want to eat in. 
  • 3 Piccante (The Disco Chippy!), 19 Broughton St, ☏ +44 131 478-7884. If you want an atmosphere with your greasy food fix then this is the place. Very friendly staff and a DJ at weekends. The menu includes everything you'd expect from a Scottish chippy. The home-made burgers are a real stand-out and deep-fried mars bars are available for tourists. 

Mid Range

  • 4 Cafe St Honore, 34 Thistle Street. Lane. Pairing Scottish food with fresh seafood, this chic cafe is warm and inviting. 
  • 5 Henderson's, 94 Hanover Street, ☏ +44 131 225-2131. Edinburgh institution, self-service salad bar in the basement and vegetarian bistro round the corner. 
  • 6 The Mussel Inn, 61-65 Rose Street. Seafood restaurant owned by shellfish producers, ingredients direct from the west coast. 
  • 7 Lune Town Cantonese Restaurant, 38 William Street. This award winning Chinese restaurant is on the corner of Manor Place and William Street near to St Mary's Cathedral in the West End. 
  • 8 A Room in the West End, 26 William Street. A local favourite serving modern Scottish cuisine at reasonable prices. 
  • 9 Thai Pad, 20 Leopold Place (Follow London Rd down from the Omni Centre, it is on the left hand side. It's in the basement of Hotel Twenty), ☏ +44 131 652-3987. Tu-Su. Healthy portions of delectable Thai food cooked by chefs that once catered for the Thai Royal Family themselves. Eating food fit for Kings (and Queens) seems good for the many people that seem to fill it most nights. Nicely presented dishes in a cosy atmosphere and they definitely impress having only just opened their doors. Around £10-13 main course. 
  • 10 Café Marlayne French Restaurant, 76 Thistle Street. Chic and intimate French bistro serving up exquisite French cuisine. The second branch is at the top of Leith Walk in 13 Antigua Street. 

Splurge

  • 11 Palm Court at The Balmoral, 1 Princes Street, ☏ +44 131 556-2414. Afternoon Tea served from 12:00-17:30. Have your Afternoon Tea in the Palm Court with unlimited tea and coffee and a range of sweet and savoury dishes. With live harp music. Reserving a table in advance is strongly advised. Afternoon Tea: Mon-Fri £29; Sat, Sun: £35. (updated Mar 2015)
  • The Printing Press Bar & Kitchen, 21-25 George Street (in The George Hotel, see below), ☏ +44 131 240-7177, . Daily; restaurant: midday–22:30; bar: 11:30-01:00. Vibrant restaurant serving locally sourced Scottish produce in a newly restored Georgian townhouse. mains £12 to £28. (updated Oct 2015)

Drink

George Street

George Street hosts many of Edinburgh's trendier bars. These tend to be popular with the besuited after work crowd on a Friday. Not traditional Edinburgh bars but probably more typical of modern Edinburgh.

  • 1 Opal Lounge, 51 George Street. One of Edinburgh's trendiest nightspots and frequented by British Celebs. DJs play regularly most nights. If it was chocolate it would eat itself. 
  • 2 Tonic, 34a North Castle St. Award winning cocktail bar - their Silver Mercedes is a particularly popular choice. One of the more interesting bars in this vicinity. 
  • 3 Fingers, 61a Frederick Street, ☏ +44 131 225-3026. Piano Bar with a late license so is a popular place to end the night with folk who don't fancy hitting a night club. Can attract an "eclectic" crowd so a good place for late night people watching. If you made a comparison with the famous bar scene in Star Wars you wouldn't be the first to think that way. 
  • 4 All Bar One, 29-31 George Street. If you've ever been out drinking in any UK city centre you will know what to expect of these chain pubs. (updated Oct 2015)
  • 5 The Dome, 14 George Street, ☏ +44 131 624-8624, fax: +44 131 624-8649, . Former bank headquarters. Very impressive to look at inside - just to into the main bar and look up. The Why Not nightclub (downstairs, separate entrance) is frequented by a young crowd who would love to go to Opal Lounge but know the bouncers won't let them in. 
  • 6 The Standing Order, 62-66 George St, ☏ +44 131 225-4460. A cavernous converted bank building. It is part of the J. D. Wetherspoon chain and always has a wide range of drinks at quite cheap prices - a pint of locally brewed Caledonian IPA is about £2, pint of beer and burger £7. They also serve typical pub food and again some of the special offers make the food very reasonable. Like most Wetherspoons it's good value but a bit soulless. They also run The Alexander Graham Bell, 128 George Street, near Charlotte Square. 

Rose Street

Traditionally this narrower pedestrianised street between Princes St and George St was the street to drink in the centre of town, but it has become less popular as new places have opened elsewhere (mainly on George St). It still has several pubs with long histories, and gets visited by stag and hen parties.

  • 7 The Kenilworth, 152-154 Rose Street, EH2 3JD. A pub which opened in 1904, in a building built in 1789. The interior is all tiled, which is magnificent although it may remind you of a bathroom. Good real ales. (updated Oct 2015)

Thistle Street and Young Street

Thistle Street and Young Street, which run parallel to George Street 1 block to the north have an interesting selection of more traditional pubs.

  • 8 The Oxford Bar, 8 Young St, ☏ +44 131 539-7119. Very basic Scottish pub, made famous by "Harry the rudest barman in Scotland" (no longer there) and as a backdrop for some of the action in the Ian Rankin "Inspector Rebus" novels. If you need to see the definition of "not enough room to swing a cat", see the front bar. Call in and ask for a pint of IPA with an Ardberg chaser (Rebus' favourite) 

Broughton Street

Broughton Street on the north east side of the New Town has a wide range of bars. Gay, gay-friendly, traditional, trendy, there's at least one bar on Broughton Street to suit all tastes, and many of them also do good food (it's a popular venue for breakfast at the weekend).

  • 9 The Basement, 10-12a Broughton Street, ☏ +44 131 557-0097. Probably the catalyst for the development of the Broughton Street "scene". The first Style Bar to move in, this is trendy but not pretentiously so. In a basement (you guessed?) near the top of the street. Worries that a recent refurb would spoil the ambience proved unfounded. Super range of beers including German, Czech, Mexican, and known for good quality and good value food too. 
  • 10 Mathers, 25 Broughton street, ☏ +44 131 556-6754. M-Th: 11A,-12PM, F-Sa: 11PM-12:30PM, Sun: 12:30PM - 11PM. Traditional bar. Good range of real ales and whiskys, reasonable pub food. Big screen for football and rugby. 
  • 11 The Cask & Barrel, 115 Broughton Street, ☏ +44 131 556-3132. Readers of Christopher Brookmyre's novels will recognise this place as the regular haunt of investigative journalist Jack Parlabane, the venue for "off-the-record" meetings with his Police contacts. Parlabane clearly has good taste for a journalist, as the "Cask" is a proper traditional boozer with a touch of class. Nine Real Ale taps plus a number of draft lagers and many more in bottle. Good range of whisky too. Great place to watch the football or rugby as they have 6 or 7 screens dotted around. It's not uncommon to find 3 different matches being shown at the same time. Refreshingly, the screens are only switched on for specific events, and not left showing random cable channels the rest of the day, like so many pubs seem to do. 

Cumberland Street

Cumberland Street runs west-east from Dundas Street to Dundonald Street

  • 12 The Cumberland Bar, 1-3 Cumberland Street, ☏ +44 131 558-3134. Another pub with literary connections - this is the regular hangout of the fictional denizens of Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street (the real-life street is just around the corner but finding No.44 is a challenge!). Traditional pub popular with New Town locals, students, the suits from local offices, pretty much everyone in fact. Gets very busy in summer due to its lovely beer garden - one of the few pubs close to the city centre to have one. Plenty of drink options and they also do decent food. Perhaps slightly more expensive than most places on Broughton Street but cheaper than George Street. 

West Register Street

Tiny West Register Street is hidden away behind Burger King at the east end of Princes Street. It's well worth seeking out as it is home to several interesting bars.

  • 13 The Voodoo Rooms, 19a West Register Street, ☏ +44 131 556-7060, . Very interesting venue that should make some of the old pretenders on George Street step up their game a bit. Just go there for a drink or two, or book a table in the restaurant area to try the ecelectic cajun-inspired menu, or check out the events listings - they have already hosted a range of gigs from folk to country to dance to rock, as well as comedy and theatre. Currently 'the' place to be seen, and for a change, lives up to the tag. 
  • 14 Cafe Royal Circle Bar, 17a and 19 West Register Street, ☏ +44 131 556-4124. Beautifully tiled Victorian palace of a pub, designed in 1862 as a showroom for the latest fixtures and fittings. The adjacent Cafe Royal Oyster Bar restaurant continues the theme. Unmissable. 

Sleep

The Balmoral Hotel - the clock is a couple of minutes fast to help travellers catch their trains

Budget

  • 1 Caledonian Backpackers Hostel, 3 Queensferry St (Near Ryan's Bar), ☏ +44 131 226-2939. Check-in: Anytime, check-out: 12:00. Big hostel located in the West End of the New Town. They have a late checkout time of 12PM, and offer free internet, free laptop rent, as well as free breakfast served till 12. Also features a bar and pool tables and a bean bag cinema. The rooms are clean and it is possible to have individual rooms. Lockers can be rent for free. Beds start at £9 during the week. 
  • 2 easyHotel.com Edinburgh, 125a Princes Street, ☏ +44 131 226-5303. The hotel is in the heart of the city on with direct views of Edinburgh Castle and Princes St. Gardens. Double rooms from £19 per/night, but some rooms have no window and TV is £5 extra. 
  • 3 Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel, 9 Haddington Place, ☏ +44 131 524-2090. Large hostel near the top of Leith Walk, about 10 minutes walk from Waverley Station. Unusually for the SYHA, it serves meals and the cafe is open to the public. There is also a self-catering kitchen, and plasma screens abound. In addition to dormitories, some rooms (including singles) are available. From £16 for a dormitory bed. 

Mid-range

Splurge

Connect

Internet

  • Many bars and cafes offer free wifi, look out for signs in the windows (see Drink above).

Go next

Map of central Edinburgh districts
  • Other (smaller) Scottish New Towns from the same period:
    • Inveraray was built between 1772 and 1800
    • Helensburgh was founded in 1776
    • Tobermory was founded in 1788 by the British Fisheries Society
    • Ullapool was also founded in 1788 by the British Fisheries Society


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