Edinburgh/New Town

By the 1600s Edinburgh was crowded and filthy within the walls of the Old Town. The Duke of Albany and York held his nose at it in Holyrood Palace and backed a plan to extend north. But he left town to become the unpopular King James VII / II, was ousted from his throne and launched a series of "Jacobite" counter-coups to regain it, so his support was toxic. The city continued to fester on its crag and to dump its sewage into the Nor Loch. A fresh start was made in the 18th century: the 1707 Union with England made a defensive position unnecessary, and was drawing away the most prosperous and influential people to live in London. Edinburgh needed to re-invent itself as a place to live and work.

In 1767 the council adopted the plans of a young architect James Craig (1739-1795). These covered the area that became Princes St, George St and Queen St, and created the grid pattern you see today. By 1820 this tract was populated by expensive private homes, by different builders with individual designs. Charlotte Square at the west end of George Street is the finest example of this first phase, designed by Robert Adam. Streets were added to the north (Great King Street being the best) and northwest (where Moray Place is a superb circle of mansions). Connections were made across the valley to Old Town by a bridge (replaced by the present North Bridge in 1897) and a midway embankment, The Mound. The West End was built in the 1860s and 1870s.

Shared private gardens were a major part of the plans - Princes Street Gardens began this way, and its owners prevented any construction south of the street that might spoil their view. They likewise tried to prevent the railway from linking the east and west terminuses but were defeated by 1846. These gardens and St Andrew Square are now public parks, but many remain private, such as Queen Street Gardens, Dean Gardens, and the centres of many squares and crescents.

The original tract between Princes Street and Queen Street is now mainly shops and offices and has lost many original buildings. Princes Street itself is a sorry contrast: its view south, central Mound and bookending railway hotels are grand, but the retail strip along its north side is utterly mediocre. East of St Andrew Square was redeveloped for the drab St James shopping centre, and the street pattern was obliterated. The rest of New Town is still mainly residential, though its original townhouses have mostly been divided into flats.

🌍 Waverley Station is at the east end of Princes St, with trains from all parts: see Edinburgh#Get in for routes.

Buses and trams from the airport stop outside Waverley station. The tram continues northwest to Leith and local buses fan out to all parts of the city.

🌍 Edinburgh Bus Station is 200 yards north of Waverley, terminus of all inter-city buses.

🌍 Haymarket Station is more convenient for the west end of New Town. All trains from the west (for instance Glasgow) stop here.

Never bring a car into New Town unless you've planned ahead for where you might park.

Walking is usually the best way to get around New Town, but it extends 2 miles east-west, and then there's the slopes up to the Old Town or down towards Stockbridge to be negotiated.

• 🌍 Calton Hill. This is the stubby crag just east of Princes Street: a short stroll up it commands great views. The "National Monument", a memorial to Scots killed in the Napoleonic Wars, was an attempt to out-do the Parthenon in Athens but the money ran out with only the west facade built. Nelson's Tower was built 1807-16 in the shape of an upturned telescope in honour of the naval hero. A Time Ball on the mast drops at 1PM every day just as the One O'Clock Gun is fired from the castle - this gives a time signal to ships in the Firth before the sound rolls out to them, or it would if not obscured by drizzle and the ships in possession of reliable watches. It was operated by the adjacent City Observatory, superseded in 1896 by the Royal Observatory in the south of the city. City Observatory remained active until 2009 then was refurbished as the Collective Gallery exhibition space for modern art. (updated Jan 2024)
• 🌍 Old Calton Cemetery, Waterloo Place EH1 3BQ. Daily 9AM-5PM. Atmospheric Georgian graves, memorials, and funerary ornaments. Memorials include those to the philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), to the Scots who died in the American Civil War, and to the Martyrs of Reform imprisoned or transported for sedition in the 1790s for calling for the right to vote. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 St Andrew's & St George's West Church, 13 George Street EH2 2PA (next to Intercontinental Hotel), ☏ +44 131 225 3847, info@stagw.org.uk. Daily 10AM-2PM. Completed in 1784, this is the parish church of the New Town. It's Italianate with an unusual elliptical interior, with an ornate ceiling blending Roman, Pompeian and Scottish elements. The steeple holds Scotland's oldest complete peal of bells, cast in 1788. In 1843 this church was the scene of The Great Disruption, when a third of ministers broke with the Presbyterian Church of Scotland to found their own Free Kirk. St George's Church was part of the breakaway, but there was a reconciliation in the the 20th century, and in 2013 that congregation merged here. Free. (updated Dec 2023)

• 🌍 Scott Monument, East Princes Street Gardens EH2 2EJ, ☏ +44 131 529 4068. Daily 10-12:30AM, 2-4PM. Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) re-invented Scotland. In the late Georgian era, he popularised tales of its medieval and Jacobean tumults, and created the clan tartans you buy on Princes St. This grand Gothic memorial, part cathedral part moon rocket, was completed in 1846 to dominate the east end of Princes St. It's 200 ft 6 in / 61.1 m tall, and guided tours take you up 287 steps (no lift) to the top platform, for a closer look at many of the statuettes of characters from Scott's works. The man himself and his dog sit in state at the base. In the 1990s the curators considered cleaning the monument but realised that the Victorian grime was holding it together, so replacement stonework is prominently white. Adult £8, child £6. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 Royal Scottish Academy. is an august neo-classical building on The Mound, fronting onto Princes St, and its main function is to be confused with the National Gallery behind. The RSA is a separate organisation promoting contemporary Scottish art. The building hosts temporary exhibitions but doesn't have a permanent display - the Academy's extensive collection is dispersed across many galleries. That might include your own home, as they run an art rental scheme. (updated Jan 2024)
• 🌍 National Galleries of Scotland: National, The Mound EH2 2EL, ☏ +44 131 624 6200. Daily 10AM-5PM. This holds much of Scotland's fine artwork from Renaissance to 20th century, with changing exhibitions. These rotate seasonally, so an exhibition put on for the Festival typically stays to the end of the year, allowing quieter times to view. Enter from the plaza between gallery and Royal Scottish Academy, and a basement passage connects the two exhibition spaces. Free. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait, 1 Queen Street EH2 1JD, ☏ +44 131 624 6200, enquiries@nationalgalleries.org. Daily 10AM-5PM. Completed in 1890, this is a striking red sandstone neo-Gothic building. It holds portraits of Scots from down the ages, with new faces being added all the time: Billy Connolly and Tilda Swinton mingle with Mary Queen of Scots. The entrance hall has a grand frieze of notable Scots in procession. Free. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 Princes Street Gardens. The west portion fills the valley beyond the Mound, spanning the railway tracks to the foot of castle crag. The east portion is the terrace around the Scott Monument. They were laid out in the 1820s as private gardens for residents of the street: occupants of bath chairs required a medical certificate that their condition was not contagious. Their initial opening to the public was solely at Christmas and New Year, in the belief that this would distract people from the pubs and reduce drunkenness. In 1876 they became a public park and were re-landscaped and dotted with statues. By this time the gardens were already bisected by railway tracks, the price that had to be paid to finally link the east and west railway terminuses. The gardens are open 24 hours. (updated Jan 2024)
• 🌍 The Georgian House, 7 Charlotte Square EH2 4DR, ☏ +44 131 225 2160. March F-Su 10AM-4PM, April-Oct daily 10AM-5PM. This townhouse was designed by Robert Adam, completed in 1796 and has been furnished in the style of its first owner John Lamont. Its last private owner the Marquess of Bute also acquired adjacent townhouses and along with the other owners got the entire north facade of the square restored to Adams' imposing original design. Visit by self-guided tour, and in mid-summer you need to book as it sells out. Adult £12, conc £7, NTS / NT free. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 Charlotte Square. In front of the house is the mirror-image of St Andrew's Square at the east end of George St. Bute House at Number 6, next door to The Georgian House, is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, so you might see a motorcade, TV cameras and armed security outside. The gardens in the square are private. Prince Albert stands in the middle, with his view down the street somewhat impeded by mature trees. (updated Jan 2024)

• 🌍 Gilbert the Phone Box, 63 Queen St EH2 4NA. Key available Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM. An old red phone box has been kitted out with Edwardian memorabilia, and nicknamed for Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) designer of the box. You can look in the windows anytime, or collect the key for £3 (for Save the Children) from Stewart Christie and Co who run a long established gentleman's outfitter in the shop next to it. Donation £3. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 James Clerk Maxwell's Birthplace, 14 India Street EH3 6EZ. By appointment M-F. Isaac Newton realised that what caused the apple to fall was the very same force moving the moon, planets and stars. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was born in this house, before the family moved to Kirkcudbright. He was intensely curious about how nature worked and made a "great unification" of equal importance to Newton's: that magnetism, electricity, light and heat are all manifestations of the same electromagnetic spectrum. And this spectrum must contain other frequencies beyond human sensing: hence X-rays and radio waves, and the entire science of telecommunications. He made possible Einstein's 20th century unification of gravity, mass and energy, and contributed to many other fields of enquiry. The Foundation has preserved this townhouse with his memorabilia. His statue stands at the east end of George St and a laboratory block is named for him on the Edinburgh University science campus. Donation. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 Dean Village. It is an attractive hamlet down in the dene - the steep valley - of the Water of Leith. It was the medieval crossing point on the route from Edinburgh to South Queensferry, and is the main access point for this section of the Water of Leith Walkway (described below). The fast-descending stream drove 11 grain mills here, so it was the powerbase for the Baxters, the bakers' merchant guild. The present bridge across the stream was built in the 18th century, only just wide enough for a horse and cart. The village declined in the 19th century when bigger flour mills were built at Leith, and bypassed in 1833 when Telford's Dean Bridge spanned the valley; the Belford Bridge was added upstream in 1887. Dean village therefore never developed modern roads or industry, so its charming core was preserved. (updated Jan 2024)
• 🌍 Dean Bridge. is best seen from below in Dean Village as you follow the walkway along the stream - from the top it's just a busy thoroughfare. Crossing in four arches 107 ft / 32 m above the stream, it was Telford's last major project. As well as improving the route to Fife, it made the north bank into prime real estate, so elegant terraces were built there. (updated Jan 2024)
• 🌍 National Galleries of Scotland: Modern One, 74 Belford Rd EH4 3DR (Bus 13), ☏ +44 131 624 6200, enquiries@nationalgalleries.org. Daily 10AM-5PM. The original modern art gallery, established in 1960, was in the Botanic Gardens. In 1895 it moved into this neoclassical building, originally a refuge for fatherless children, and in 1999 it expanded across the road into the neoclassical orphanage now known as Modern Two. The gardens of Modern One have been sculpted. Both buildings have extensive contemporary collections and most visitors find that seeing one of them is plenty for an afternoon. Free. (updated Dec 2023)

• 🌍 Modern Two. Opposite side of Belford Rd has a slightly smaller collection, but enough to infuriate about one-in-five reviewers, who rage that their kids' drawings stuck on the fridge door are better. A neon sign in the garden reassures all and sundry that "There will be no miracles". The gallery was closed over winter 22/23 to reduce heating costs, a situation that the shivering orphans would appreciate, but remained open in winter 23/24. (updated Jan 2024)
• 🌍 St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Palmerston Place EH12 5AW, ☏ +44 131 225 6293. M-Sa 8-8:30AM, Su 8AM-4PM. This stonking great neo-Gothic church was completed in 1879, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, with the towers added in 1917. It's the senior Episcopal church in Scotland, within the Anglican tradition of bishops (and much else) that the Presbyterians rejected. It has daily choral services: the song school (open occasionally) has stunning murals by Phoebe Anna Traquair. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, 61 York Place EH1 3JD, ☏ +44 131 556 1798. M-F 8:30AM-6:30PM, Sa Su 8:30AM-7:30PM. The Roman Catholic Cathedral was established as a chapel in 1814 and became a cathedral in 1886 for the archdiocese of Edinburgh and St Andrews. It was designed by James Gillespie Graham in neo-perpendicular style and has undergone several alterations and extensions - in the 1970s the tenements that hemmed it in were demolished. There are services twice daily in English and daily in Polish. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 Sherlock Holmes (stands in the plaza outside the cathedral). His creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born nearby at 11 Picardy Place, to a genteel but impoverished Irish Catholic family. His first Sherlock story was published in 1886. The statue was in storage while the plaza was remodelled around the tramlines but restored in June 2023. (updated Jan 2024)

• 🌍 Assembly Rooms are a large events venue at 54 George St. This grand neoclassical building was completed in 1787, with the inaugural event a Hunt Ball. Its principal spaces are the Music Room (capacity 788) and the Ball Room (capacity 400), with nine other classily decorated rooms. It's in constant use for private and public functions and a major site during the Festival. The building is owned by the council but run by a separate company.
• 🌍 Edinburgh Playhouse, 18-22 Greenside Place EH1 3AA. Built as a cinema in 1929 and refurbished in 1980, this is now Scotland's largest performance space, with a capacity of 3059. That's about 1000 more than can comfortably be seated and 2000 more than they have toilet provision for. It's run by ATG, Ambassador Theatre Group. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 Vue, 61 Greenside Place, Leith Walk EH1 3AU (within Omni Centre next to Playhouse), ☏ +44 345 308 4620. Large multiplex cinema showing mainstream releases. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 Stand Comedy Club (is in a basement at 5 York Place, east end of Queen St where the trams make a sharp turn). (updated Jan 2024)
• Water of Leith Walkway follows the stream from Balerno at the southwest edge of the city down through Colinton, Saughton and Murrayfield, to flow under the Glasgow road and form the boundary of New Town. Follow the east / south bank under Coltbridge Viaduct and Belford Bridge, crossing banks and continuing into Dean Village. The following section is described as part of Stockbridge and the final stretch as part of Leith. The New Town and Stockbridge sections are too narrow for cycling, cut onto adjacent streets. Use the layers button ( below the full screen button) and activate "Hiking" to see the walkway on the map.

George Street is the main drinking strip, along with the St Andrews Square area, the cross streets, and the two parallel pedestrian alleys Rose St south and Thistle / Hill / Young St north. Those alleys in turn have sub-alley loops, where dazed stag and hen parties mill and meander.

• Voodoo Rooms, 19a West Register Street H2 2AA (behind Cafe Royal), ☏ +44 131 556 7060, info@thevoodoorooms.com. W Th 5PM-1AM, F Su 3PM-1AM, Sa 1PM-1AM. Over-the-top decor in this quirky pub, sometimes has live entertainment, mixed reviews for the food. (updated Dec 2023)
• All Bar One, 29-31 George Street EH2 2PA (next to Intercontinental The George), ☏ +44 131 226 9971. Su-Th 9AM-11PM, F Sa 9AM-1AM. Chain pub with slick service and good ale and meals. (updated Dec 2023)
• Eastside (formerly Opal Lounge), 51 George Street EH2 2HT (opposite Assembly Rooms), ☏ +44 131 226 2275. Su-F 9PM-3AM, Sa 5PM-3AM. Busy cocktail bar and night entertainment spot. (updated Dec 2023)
• The Standing Order, 62-66 George St EH2 2LR (next to Assembly Rooms), ☏ +44 131 225 4460. Daily 8AM-1PM. A cavernous converted bank building. It's part of the JD Wetherspoon chain and always has a wide range of inexpensive drinks and pub food. (updated Dec 2023)

• 🌍 Tonic, 34a North Castle St EH2 3BN, ☏ +44 131 225 6431. M-Th 5PM-1AM, F-Su noon-1AM. A great cocktail bar with friendly helpful staff. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 The Oxford Bar, 8 Young St EH2 4JB, ☏ +44 131 539 7119. Daily noon-midnight. Trad drouthy Scottish pub, often a setting in the Ian Rankin "Inspector Rebus" novels. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 The Kenilworth, 152-154 Rose Street EH2 3JD, ☏ +44 131 226 1773. Su-W noon-11PM, Th-Sa noon-1AM. Splendidly tiled and wood-panelled pub. (updated Dec 2023)
• The Alexander Graham Bell is another JD Wetherspoon, at 128 George Street near Charlotte Square.

Broughton Street northeast side of New Town has a wide range of bars.

• 🌍 Mathers, 25 Broughton Street EH1 3JU, ☏ +44 131 557 4377. Daily noon-11PM. Traditional bar with a good range of real ales and whisky, reasonable pub food. Big screen for football and rugby. (updated Dec 2023)
• The Basement, 10-12a Broughton Street EH1 3RH (opposite Mathers), ☏ +44 131 557 0097. M-Th 4PM-1AM, F-Su noon-2AM. Nowadays specialising in Mexico, so this is the place for tequila or tacos. (updated Dec 2023)
• Barony Bar, 81 Broughton Street EH1 3RJ (100 yards down from Mathers), ☏ +44 131 629 9204. Su-Th noon-11PM, F-Sa noon-1AM. Trad pub, dog-friendly, sometimes has live music. It calls itself a gastropub but customers don't much rate the food. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 The Cask & Barrel, 115 Broughton Street EH1 3RZ, ☏ +44 131 556 3132. Su-Th 11AM-11PM, F Sa 11AM-midnight. This often features in the novels of Christopher Brookmyre as the pub where journalist "Jack Parlabane" gets tip-offs from the police. The Cask is a proper boozer with a wide selection of' Real Ale plus draft and bottled lagers and whisky. Great place to watch football or rugby as they have half a dozen TV screens. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 The Cumberland Bar, 1-3 Cumberland Street EH3 6RT, ☏ +44 131 558 3134. M-Th 4:30-11PM, F Sa noon-midnight, Su noon-11PM. Readers of Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street will recognise this literary haunt. It's a traditional pub popular with New Town locals, students, the suits from local offices, pretty much everyone in fact. Gets very busy in summer thanks to its lovely beer garden - one of the few central pubs to have one. Plenty of drink options and decent food. (updated Dec 2023)
• Edinburgh Gin Distillery, 1a Rutland Place EH1 2AD (next to Waldorf Astoria), ☏ +44 131 202 4555. Daily 10AM-4:30PM. Micro-distillery producing gin in various styles. In summer 2024 they plan to move to larger premises on Market St near the station. Basic tour £25. (updated Dec 2023)
• Johnnie Walker is the traditional budget blended whisky of the working man. See Kilmarnock for its history, but that plant has closed down, and it's nowadays made in Glasgow and Leven, and owned by Diageo. The tour centre at 145 Princes St (opposite Waldorf Astoria) reinvents it as a jazzy upmarket experience. Basic tour £30, which would almost buy you two bottles of Red Label to stotious effect.

New Town like the rest of Edinburgh has 5G from all UK carriers, and Wifi is widely available.

All public libraries have internet and printing facilities, see Edinburgh#Connect for how to access these. There are no branches within New Town, those close by are Central Library on George IV Bridge in Old Town, Stockbridge, and Macdonald Road going down Leith Walk.

• Old Town is the unmissable medieval core of Edinburgh, with the Royal Mile stretching from castle to palace.
• Stockbridge has the extensive Botanic Gardens.
• Murrayfield rugby stadiums and Hearts football ground are within walking distance to the west.
• Day trips out of town are easily made from the railway and bus stations, see Edinburgh#Go next for suggestions.