United Kingdom · Scotland · Edinburgh
Old Town, Edinburgh — Area Guide & Where to Stay
The Old Town is the medieval core of Edinburgh. It runs along a single ridge, from Edinburgh Castle on its rock down the length of the Royal Mile, and its closes and tall stone tenements survive much as the early burgh laid them out. St Giles' Cathedral marks the midpoint of the High Street. Together with the New Town it forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
About Old Town
Where to stay in Old Town
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Staying in the Old Town puts you inside Edinburgh's sightseeing core, a short walk from Edinburgh Castle, St Giles' Cathedral and the National Museum of Scotland. Beds here run from converted tenement guesthouses to hotels along the Royal Mile. Sightseers save on taxis.
The quarter is at its busiest during the summer festivals, when every close fills and rooms grow scarce. Light sleepers should know that the pubs of the Cowgate and Grassmarket keep going well past midnight. For a calmer base, cross the valley into the New Town and walk back to the Old Town in minutes.
About Old Town
What are the main landmarks in Old Town?
Edinburgh Castle crowns the western summit of the ridge. Just below it on Castlehill stand three of the Old Town's busiest attractions: the Camera Obscura, the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre and the spire of The Hub. The Writers' Museum hides in Lady Stair's Close.
Along the High Street rise St Giles' Cathedral, the Tron Kirk and the Museum of Childhood, while Chambers Street, one block to the south, is dominated by the vast National Museum of Scotland. Greyfriars Kirk and its kirkyard lie beyond.
What is the history of Old Town?
The Old Town is the original burgh of Edinburgh, grown up on the Castle Rock and along the ridge that falls toward Holyrood. Space on the ridge was tight. Boxed in by the Nor Loch to the north and by the town wall raised after 1513, the burgh could not spread outward, so it climbed, stacking tenements that ranked among the tallest dwellings in early modern Europe.
The Royal Mile tied the fortress at one end to the abbey down at Holyrood. When the New Town opened across the drained loch in the later 18th century, the well-to-do moved out and the old quarter grew crowded and poor. In 1995 the Old and New Towns were together inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Where is Old Town?
The Old Town occupies a long volcanic ridge at the centre of Edinburgh. Edinburgh Castle guards its high western end. Its spine is the Royal Mile, which descends through Castlehill, the Lawnmarket and the High Street toward Holyrood.
To the north the ground drops into the valley of Princes Street Gardens, beyond which lies the New Town; below the ridge to the south run the Grassmarket and the Cowgate. George IV Bridge and the Mound cross these gorges into the quarter.
Good for
More areas in Edinburgh
Updated July 2026