United Kingdom · Scotland · Edinburgh
Canongate, Edinburgh — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Canongate is the lower Royal Mile, running down to Holyrood as the main eastern stretch of the Old Town. Canongate Kirk stands on it.
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Where to stay in Canongate
Where visitors usually base themselves, and why.
Staying on the Canongate puts you on the quieter, lower half of the Royal Mile, a short walk from the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. Beds here are mostly small guesthouses, serviced flats, and a handful of hotels in converted tenements and old closes; the choice is thinner than in the Old Town proper up the hill. The setting suits sightseeing on foot, since Holyrood and the whole Royal Mile begin at your door.
Nights are calm. For a wider range of rooms, look to the neighbouring New Town or the streets around Waverley.
Things to do in and around Edinburgh
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
3- Scottish National Portrait Gallery Heritage
- Modern Two Heritage
- National Museum of Scotland
Churches & Religious Sites
5- St Giles' Cathedral Heritage
- The Hub Heritage
- St Margaret's Heritage
- Greyfriars Kirk Heritage
- Tron Kirk Heritage
Castles & Historic Sites
5- Edinburgh Castle Heritage
- Scott Monument Heritage
- National Monument of Scotland Heritage
- Nelson Monument Heritage
- Dugald Stewart Monument Heritage
Nature & Outdoors
1- Bruntsfield Links
Landmarks & Notable Places
2- Bute House Heritage
- Dundas House Heritage
worth knowingacross 5 categories in and around Edinburgh
About Canongate
What are the main landmarks in Canongate?
The street's own landmark is the Canongate Kirk of 1691, the Holyrood parish church whose curved Dutch gable and kirkyard sit right on the Royal Mile. Museums line the slope. The Museum of Edinburgh fills the old Huntly House with the city's local history.
Nearby, the Canongate Tolbooth and its clock hold the People's Story. At the very foot the street ends at the gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament, which stand in the adjoining Holyrood quarter.
What is the history of Canongate?
The burgh of Canongate was founded around 1143, when King David I let the Augustinian canons of Holyrood Abbey build a town along the road, the canons' gait, that ran to their abbey. For centuries it lay outside Edinburgh's town wall as a separate burgh. Nobles built mansions near the royal court at Holyrood, among them Moray House and Queensberry House.
The burgh joined Edinburgh in 1856. Its old tenements later fell into decay, then came back through careful restoration.
Where is Canongate?
The Canongate begins at the Netherbow, where the High Street of the Royal Mile ends, and falls east to the gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. To its north the ground drops toward Calton and the New Town; to the south lie the Pleasance and the Old Town's southern closes. At the foot the street opens onto Holyrood, with Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat rising beyond.
Narrow closes run off both sides.
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Updated October 2026