12 Places to Visit in Edinburgh’s Old Town - Part 2
This is a 2-part series on Edinburgh’s Old Town. Read also about 15 Places to Visit in Edinburgh’s Old Town - Part 1!
Last updated: 15 October 2021
Edinburgh’s Old Town features amazing history, tons of sights, and lots of viewpoints for all to explore! If you missed the first part of this video and blog series, check out 15 places to visit on the Royal Mile.
This blog post accompanies our YouTube video below, in which we take you to explore Edinburgh’s Old Town! Due to the strange times we are currently living in, let our video and blog post serve as inspiration for future travel planning.
Here are 12 places to visit in Old Town:
1. Edinburgh Farmers' Market
The Edinburgh Farmers’ Market takes place every Saturday from 09.00 - 14.00 at Castle Terrace, which is right below Edinburgh Castle. It is a great opportunity to come and check out local producers. Each week, they put a list of the stallholders on their Facebook page.
Address: NCP Castle Terrace Car Park, Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2EN
Hours: 09.00 - 14.00 (Saturday)
2. Armchair Books
Armchair Books is a second-hand bookshop that is an Instagrammer’s dream! The shop is filled to the brim from floor to ceiling with books, and they may be able to purchase your unwanted books as well.
Address: 72-74 West Port, Edinburgh EH1 2LE
Hours: 12.30 - 17.30 (Sunday - Thursday), 10.00 - 18.30 (Friday & Saturday)
3. Maison de Moggy
Maison de Moggy is Scotland’s first cat cafe and the cats there are so adorable! They have 10 resident cats, many of whom are super fluffy, and you can enjoy coffee or tea and cake while visiting with the furry animals.
We visited a few years ago and can testify that it was a paw-some time!
Address: 17-19 West Port, Edinburgh EH1 2JA
Hours: Daily from 10.30 - 11.30, 11.45 - 12.45, 13.00 - 14.00, 15.00 - 16.00, 16.15 - 17.15, 17.30 - 18.30 and (Thursday only) 19.00 - 20.00
Price: From £10.00 per person, plus any refreshments
4. The Vennel Viewpoint
The Vennel Viewpoint is a series of steps that offers an amazing view of Edinburgh Castle, another Instagrammer’s dream!
Address: 1 Vennel, Edinburgh EH1 2HU
5. Flodden Wall
The Flodden Wall is one of the walls that was built in the 16th century to protect Edinburgh from the possibility of invasions. Other walls included King’s Wall, Telfer Wall, and Netherbow Port.
Most of the city walls have since been destroyed, but parts of this wall remain in four areas: (1) at Granny’s Green Steps in the Grassmarket, (2) behind The Vennel Viewpoint, (3) in Greyfriars Kirkyard, and (4) along Drummond Street and the Pleasance.
Address: (1) Granny’s Green Steps, Edinburgh EH1 2NH; (2) 1 Vennel, Edinburgh EH1 2HU; (3) 26A Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh EH1 2QE; (4) 26 Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9RW
6. Grassmarket
Sitting directly below Edinburgh Castle, Grassmarket was historically a marketplace as well as a place of public executions. In front of The White Hart Inn, there is a stone that says that during World War I, in April 1916, a Zeppelin, a type of airship, dropped a bomb on the Grassmarket. These days, the Grassmarket is a vibrant area with pubs, clubs, hotels, and local shops.
Address: Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2HY
7. Victoria Street
Victoria Street was built in the early 1800s as part of improvements to the Old Town and to improve access around the city. Previously, if someone wanted to go from the Grassmarket up to the Royal Mile, they’d have to go up the West Bow, which then was a very steep and narrow lane.
Now, Victoria Street is one of the most photographed streets in Edinburgh, and it’s not hard to see why, for its colourful buildings are sure to attract attention. It’s also claimed that Victoria Street was the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series.
Address: Victoria Street, Edinburgh EH1 2HG
8. The Elephant House
Continuing on the theme of Harry Potter, The Elephant House became a popular cafe as JK Rowling wrote some of the early Harry Potter books here. The cafe claims to be the birthplace of Harry Potter, but JK Rowling has previously said that she didn’t actually start writing the books there, although she did frequent the cafe while writing in the early days.
IMPORTANT: As of August 2021, there was a fire in the building, and unfortunately, the cafe will be closed until further notice.
Address: 21 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EN
Hours: Daily from 10.00 - 18.00
Note: Currently closed until further notice
9. Greyfriars Bobby Statue
The story is that back in the 19th century, a Skye terrier named Bobby spent 14 years guarding his owner’s grave until he himself passed away. His owner was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, so he became known as Greyfriars Bobby, and this is the statue to commemorate him.
Address: Edinburgh EH1 2QQ
10. Greyfriars Kirkyard
Nearby Greyfriars Bobby Statue is Greyfriars Kirkyard. It is a graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk. (Kirk is the Scottish name for ‘church’.) JK Rowling is said to have gotten inspiration of some of her Harry Potter characters from the headstones in this graveyard, including Thomas Riddell and William McGonagall.
Address: 26A Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh EH1 2QE
Hours: Greyfriars Kirkyard: 24/7; Greyfriars Kirk: check their website for updated hours
Price: Free
11. National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland is free to visit, although donations are encouraged, and features collections relating to Scottish history, science and technology, natural history, and more. It was formed when the Museum of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Museum merged in 2006.
Our favourite parts of the museum include the Grand Gallery, the Natural Worlds galleries, and the Science and Technology galleries, but there is of course so much more.
Address: Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF
Hours: Daily from 10.00 - 17.00
Price: Free but donations encouraged
12. Cowgate, including George IV and South Bridges
The end of the Grassmarket turns into Cowgate, another street that sits on the lower part of Edinburgh’s Old Town. When walking along, you pass by two arches, which are actually George IV Bridge and South Bridge. When on the bridges, they don’t look like bridges at all because buildings were built onto the sides of the bridges, leaving only small parts of the bridges exposed. Some great examples of this are the National Library of Scotland and Edinburgh Central Library, whose bottom floors are on the Cowgate but whose entrances are up above on George IV Bridge.
South Bridge actually has a series of chambers that are called the Edinburgh Vaults or South Bridge Vaults. If you are interested in exploring more about the vaults, we can highly recommend the Historic Underground tour by Mercat Tours.
Address: Cowgate, Edinburgh EH1 1JN
There is of course a lot more to see in Edinburgh’s Old Town but we hope this gave you a few ideas of what to explore! What is your favourite place in Old Town? Let us know in the comments!
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