Old Town

A look around

What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.

1/6

Where it sits

The circle is Old Town and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.

How far is everything?

From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.

• Victoria Street & the Grassmarket3 min walk250 m
• A whisky tasting4 min walk319 m
• The Scott Monument & Princes Street5 min walk437 m
• Calton Hill10 min walk836 m
• Stockbridge & its market18 min walk1.5 km
• Dean Village & the Water of Leith19 min walk1.6 km
• Haggis, neeps & tatties9 min taxi3.1 km
• Leith & The Shore10 min taxi3.2 km

On your doorstep

What you’re living next to if you stay here.

• 1.Edinburgh Castle — The fortress on the plug of an extinct volcano that has crowned the city for 900 years — the Scottish crown jewels, the Stone of Destiny, and the One O'Clock Gun fired over the rooftops. Book online, go at opening, and take in the view before the crowds.
• 2.The Royal Mile — The medieval high street running straight downhill from castle to palace — St Giles' crown spire, hidden closes to duck into, buskers and bagpipes, and every ghost story the city owns. Wander off it into the wynds; that's where the real old town hides.
• 3.Arthur's Seat — A proper little mountain rising straight out of the city — the eroded core of an ancient volcano, climbed in under an hour for a 360° view over Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth and the hills beyond. The best free thing to do in town; go for sunset.
• 4.Palace of Holyroodhouse — The King's official Scottish residence at the foot of the Royal Mile — Mary, Queen of Scots' chambers, the scene of her secretary's murder, and a ruined abbey in the grounds. The royal counterweight to the castle at the other end.
• 8.National Museum of Scotland — A vast, brilliant and free museum — Dolly the cloned sheep, Scottish history, natural history and a soaring Victorian glasshouse hall, plus a rooftop terrace with a sly castle view. The best rainy-afternoon plan in the city, and it's free.
• 13.Greyfriars Kirkyard — The atmospheric old graveyard behind the kirk — the loyal dog Greyfriars Bobby at the gate, headstone names said to have inspired Harry Potter, and covenanter history under the trees. Free, eerie, and right in the middle of the old town.