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Grassmarket, Edinburgh — Area Guide & Where to Stay
The Grassmarket is a broad market square in the Old Town of Edinburgh, set in a valley at the south-west foot of the Castle Rock. For centuries it was the city's livestock and corn market, and its east end was the burgh's place of public execution. The long open space is lined with pubs, hotels and restaurants, and the curving line of Victoria Street climbs from its north-east corner toward the Royal Mile. Edinburgh Castle looms directly above.
About Grassmarket
Where to stay in Grassmarket
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Staying in the Grassmarket puts you at the foot of the Castle Rock, a few minutes' walk from Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile. The square is one of Edinburgh's liveliest evening quarters, ringed by pubs and restaurants, so light sleepers should ask for a room set back from the front. Beds here fill fast in August.
Several hotels and guesthouses line the square and the climb of Victoria Street, suiting sightseers and night-goers more than travellers after calm. For quiet, the Georgian terraces of the New Town lie a short walk north.
About Grassmarket
What are the main landmarks in Grassmarket?
The square's defining sight is Edinburgh Castle, which rises on the sheer Castle Rock straight above the north side. It dominates every view. A memorial to the Covenanters marks the east end, where the public gallows once stood and dozens were hanged in the seventeenth century.
From that corner Candlemaker Row climbs to Greyfriars Kirk and its old kirkyard. The curving terrace of Victoria Street, lined with independent shops, is a landmark in its own right.
What is the history of Grassmarket?
The Grassmarket has been a market place since at least the fourteenth century, and a royal charter of 1477 confirmed its role as the burgh's cattle and horse market. Traders drove livestock down from the West Port, and the surrounding streets took names such as Candlemaker Row and the Cowgate from the trades and droves that used them. For some two hundred years the east end served as Edinburgh's public gallows, and many Covenanters were executed here in the 1600s.
A memorial now marks the spot. The Flodden Wall, raised after the Scottish defeat of 1513, still runs along the Vennel above the square's south side.
Where is Grassmarket?
The Grassmarket lies in a steep-sided valley. It sits directly below the Castle Rock, north of the Cowgate and west of Candlemaker Row. Its north-east corner feeds into Victoria Street and the West Bow, which wind up to George IV Bridge and the Royal Mile.
At the west end the old West Port marks a former gate into the city, while on the south side a stepped close called the Vennel climbs past a surviving stretch of the Flodden Wall.
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Updated July 2026