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Canongate, Edinburgh — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Canongate is the lower, eastern length of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, running down toward Holyrood. It forms the main eastern section of the city's Old Town and was for centuries a burgh in its own right, separate from Edinburgh proper. The street is lined with old tenements, closes, and the Canongate Kirk. Grand houses and small museums sit along its slope.
About Canongate
Where to stay in Canongate
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
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.
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 July 2026