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Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Photo: kim traynor, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The south of Edinburgh includes the Meadows and genteel residential areas such as Bruntsfield, Morningside, Marchmont and Newington. These were built up with villas and baronial tenements in the late 19th century and are the main accommodation belt for the city, for students and for visitors. To the west the area is bordered by the Union Canal and Lanark Road. To the south, the city boundary roughly follows the A720 city bypass and crest of the Pentlands.
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Small gallery of local artists' work.
This opened in 1896 to replace the observatory on Calton Hill in New Town (which remained active to 2009 but is now an art exhibition space). The ROE is owned by the Science and Technology Facilities Council and houses the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Astronomy. Public evenings in winter are on Tuesday (booking essential) with talks and tours of the site.
Extensive ruin of a medieval castle, built from the 14th century and abandoned in the 18th. Here was hatched the plot to murder Lord Darnley, the inconvenient husband of Mary Queen of Scots. He was blown up at Kirk O'Field (now the site of the university Old College) and when that didn't do the job he was smothered.
Contemporary art exhibitions and event venue in a confident Edwardian building, home of Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies from 1916. In 2011 the vets moved out to Easter Bush campus, birthplace of Dolly the Sheep. See below for the distillery, brewery and pub within Summerhall.
Performance space for musical events across all genres. The neo-classical building was a chapel from 1824 and converted to a concert hall in 1979, with a capacity of 900.
The pool was built for the Commonwealth Games in 1970, and was used again for the 1986 and 2014 games.
Art deco cinema opened in 1938 with plush leather sofas for an upscale experience.
This has a main slope of 400 m, a loop alongside, 3 nursery slopes, a chairlift and 2 tows. Equipment hire is available or bring your own. Wear long trousers, long sleeves and gloves as the dendrex matting will skin you when you fall. Some disruption as a restaurant and other facilities are being built, and limited parking.
Vegetarian wraps, burritos and burgers.
Delicious French bakery for breads, croissants, baguettes and so on. Mostly takeaway but they have a few tables to sit in.
Modern Indian restaurant, consistently high quality.
Renowned vegetarian restaurant, run by the family of the original Hendersons in Hanover St which was open from 1962-2020. Michelin gives it an entry in their guide.
This cosy seafood bistro gets great reviews.
Fine dining with a classic British menu, but almost entirely GF and much is vegan.
Takeaway offering trad Indian cuisine, fully halal.
Small bakery chain with three other city outlets.
This pub has very good food at reasonable prices and a pleasant modern interior.
Reliable North Indian / Bangladeshi restaurant.
Trad pub with a central horseshoe bar, good selection of ale and whisky. No food. They have another pub on Broughton St in New Town.
A trad pub with charming 1890s interior, dog-friendly, changing guest ales and a decent selection of whiskies.
Good food and an outside seating area facing Bruntsfield Links. You can hire golf clubs and balls here to play on the Links.
Volunteer Arms
Famously idiosyncratic pub with quirky decor, excellent range of ales, impressive choice of wine and whisky, and decent food.
Small distillery making whisky, vodka, gin and rum. Established in 2019, their first whisky went on sale in 2023.
Mixed reviews, good facilities, definitely not a party hostel.
University student accommodation is available to others from last week in June to first week in September. Their main site is Pollock Halls, where you might be in Baird House, Chancellor's Court, Scholar's Hotel or Scott Hotel. They also run KM Hotel half a mile north at the edge of Old Town.
Clean spacious site open all year, with good facilities and buses to town.
Traditional hotel a 15 min walk to Old Town. Pets welcome.
This changed owners in 2022 and quality has dipped, but it's still a decent mid-price option.
This 6-bedroom villa is now only available to book on an exclusive basis by the week, and no longer a standard B&B.
Smart friendly guest house in a quiet spot.
Pleasant B&B in an 1870s villa. Parking for cars, but no motorbikes accepted.
Outstanding B&B with 7 rooms in a smartly decorated Victorian house. No children under 7.
Usual Travelodge chain experience, good value for what you pay.
On the site of a former monastery hence "Priestfield", this was built in 1687 as a country mansion, and is now an upscale hotel with 23 rooms near the foot of Arthur's Seat. Rave reviews for comfort, service and cuisine, and it often hosts events. Wedding parties should mind where they pose, as Highland cattle graze in its grounds.
Convenience supermarket in Tolcross.
They offer a very good selection of whiskies, wines, beers and other spirits.
A branch of the national supermarket chain. Free rooftop parking.
Independent store with a good selection of local and international beers, wines and spirits.
Large shopping centre with Aldi and Sainsburys supermarkets, other chain stores and filling station.
South Edinburgh borders Old Town so places along its north edge near The Meadows are within walking distance, but it stretches beyond for some miles. Buses follow the main thoroughfares:
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Ingliston, Edinburgh · International · EDI
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