Edinburgh
New Town
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Georgian Edinburgh at its grandest — Princes Street, Charlotte Square, and the most coherent planned townscape in Britain.
Edinburgh's New Town is an eighteenth-century planned city built on a grid to relieve the overcrowded Old Town — and it is widely considered the finest surviving example of Georgian urban planning in the world. The grand terraces of George Street and Queen Street, the garden squares of Charlotte Square and St Andrew Square, and the Princes Street frontage overlooking the castle are all part of the original plan. Today New Town houses the city's upscale hotels, its main shopping streets, its financial district, and the Scottish National Gallery. It is simultaneously a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the neighbourhood where Edinburgh's wealthier residents and its principal luxury hotel corridor coexist.
Scores
Walkability
Transit
Price
Local feel
Nightlife
Family-friendly
Centrality
What you gain
- ↑The Scottish National Gallery on the Mound between the Old and New Towns — free, world-class collection including the most important assembly of Scottish painting in existence, and the finest Old Masters collection in Scotland; easily two to three hours and entirely free
- ↑Princes Street Gardens at the foot of the castle rock — the most dramatic urban park in Britain, running below the castle with the Scott Monument as counterpoint; extraordinary in daffodil season (April) and at its most theatrical in summer evening light
- ↑The best hotel corridor in Edinburgh: all the major luxury and mid-range chains have their flagship Edinburgh properties in the New Town, with excellent direct access to the Old Town sights across the North Bridge
What you sacrifice
- ↓New Town accommodation is expensive — Princes Street and George Street hotels carry a premium for their Georgian addresses and castle views
- ↓Princes Street itself is a disappointment as a shopping destination: the south side is taken by the gardens and the north side by a largely undistinguished mix of chain stores; the more interesting shopping is in the Old Town and Stockbridge
- ↓New Town's nightlife is limited relative to its central position; the serious bar and restaurant scene is found more easily in Leith, the Old Town's Grassmarket, and Stockbridge
Best for
Avoid if
Other Edinburgh neighbourhoods
Edinburgh's village within a city — the Sunday market, the Water of Leith walkway, and the neighbourhood Edinburghers actually choose to live in.
Quiet residential Edinburgh south of the Meadows — excellent independent coffee, the Bruntsfield Links, and zero tourists.
The medieval heart of Edinburgh — Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, and closes that have barely changed since the sixteenth century.
Know where to stay — now find when to go.
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