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Day Trips / Destinations UK

Neighborhood: Hidden Gems in Edinburgh

Updated March 23, 2023

In spite of it’s popularity for festivals and the Fringe, the cobbled streets of Edinburgh are best explored off season. You’ll have more room to explore it’s hidden neighborhoods and I’m excited to share two with you!

Arriving into Waverley station by train from London’s King Cross, we checked into our hotel just a few blocks away on East Market Street. We stayed at the Hotel du Vin on our last trip. It was lovely and just oozing with history and period features. Just north of Old Town we passed the Greyfriars Bobby statue and pub on the way up the hill to our hotel.

The story of the Bobby of Greyfriars, the little Skye Terrier who guarded his masters grave for 14 years will tug at your heart especially if you’re a doggie lover! Visit Greyfriars Kirkyard, to see where “Bobby” was buried.

The Greyfriars pub has excellent food as well. You can’t get more local than the haggis, neeps and tatties appetizer. Contrary to opinion haggis isn’t all that gross especially when it’s smothered in gravy along with mashed neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes)!

Be prepared with comfortable shoes to schlep up and down the hills from the station into Old Town. Your calves and thighs will get a workout!

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On Grassmarket Square.

Edinburgh Neighborhoods You Won’t Want to Miss

Neighborhood: Grassmarket, Old Town

Edinburgh castle commands medieval Old Town and dominates the skyline over Princes Street Gardens and the Royal Mile. Just below the castle is a tucked away neighborhood of Grassmarket, filled with interesting shops, cafes and pubs. To walk there from the Royal Mile, head up towards the castle and then duck down Upper Bow to West Bow to Grassmarket. It’s downhill until Grassmarket bears right and straddles Grassmarket Square. Turning on Cowgate to the left connects you back up with the main street; George IV Bridge.

Facing the square is the posh 4 star Apex City of Edinburgh hotel if you fancy staying away from the crowds but close to everything. Next time we may check it out!

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Looking up W Bow

Grassmarket is an easy neighborhood to explore and is centered on the square and up W Bow.  Shop for cashmere at Hawicks ($$$) and vintagey consignment at the bursting to the seams W. Armstrong & Son.

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W. Armstrong & Sons Clothing

We popped into The Last Drop, (74-78 Grassmarket) a cozy pub with real ales and Scottish food. If you’re hankering for some haggis, neeps and tatties this is the place!

edinburgh grassmarket

La Barantine Victoria, 89 W Bow

Grassmarket neighborhood is a welcome break from the Royal Mile madness.  But once you’ve wandered to your heart’s content, head back up to the Royal Mile and then start your descent back down to Prince Street Gardens via Ramsey Lane or Bank Street.

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Special St. Giles Waffle, St. Giles Cafe & Bar

Hidden gem: Just between Waverly Station and the Royal Mile you’ll find another hidden gem perfect for a casual breakfast or lunch. From the station, you walk up The Mound to N Bank Street and it turns into St. Giles Street after the curve. On your left you’ll see the Saint Giles Cafe & Bar. (If you’re walking from Grassmarket walk down the Royal Mile and turn left on St. Giles Street). We’re completely smitten by their special Saint Giles Waffle. A decadent pairing of Belgian waffle, brie, grilled bacon drizzled with maple syrup! Worth the calories. Breakfast is served all day and they’re open 9AM – 7 PM

Neighborhood: Rose Street, New Town

On the other side of Princes Street Gardens is elegant New Town with it’s lovely Georgian architecture. Tucked one block behind the main thoroughfare of Prince Street, running parallel to it, is Rose Street.

A super affordable stay option right on Rose Street is the Hub by Premier Inn. You can’t really beat this location to be able to walk to restaurants, bars and shops right on your doorstep.

Want to splurge a little on a luxury option? That would be The Balmoral, which just oozes history and classic Scottish charm. At 1 Prince Street it commands the entire street and is steps away from shops in New Town, Waverley Station, Calton Hill and Old Town.

At the far west end near S Charlotte St. is the famous Dirty Dicks pub (and a TGIFridays if you’re homesick for American). The east end of Rose Street ends at S St David St. and in between are dozens of cafes, pubs and shops.

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Rose St.

Lured by the sideboard promising local fresh fish and chips as well as a case of potential hangry, we stopped into The Black Rose Tavern. Probably rocks out at night but we weren’t overly impressed with what seemed like pre-frozen fish portions.

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The real lure for me though were the shops. From Primark (very tidy!) to The House of Fraser, most high street retailers are here. You can shop without the crush of tourists (like you and I). I don’t know about you but my shopping mood gets deflated with masses of people milling about! As it happened, Primark came in very handy. It was a little chillier than I expected and I wasn’t prepared. Found a pretty little olive green quilted jacket that worked perfectly with what I’d brought with me. Score!

If you’re about ready to drop, you can always stop into the below ground floor Marks & Spencer’s cafe and have a cup of tea and some cake. Our last day was fortified by an excellent M&S full English breakfast before getting on our train.

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View of Edinburgh castle from Grassmarket

I love traveling to Edinburgh by train, it’s so relaxing. The journey from London takes a little under five hours, which is perfect time to relax, chat or watch the scenery go by. Waverley station is centrally located between New Town and Old Town with ample hotels within a 5-10 minute walk.

I hope you get a chance to discover this compact capital’s hidden neighborhoods during the off season. Late September is a perfect time to experience Edinburgh’s cultural charms!

Edinburgh Resources:

DAY TRIPS to Loch Ness, The Highlands, Castles and Lochs, Outlander tours and more are available. I highly recommend you try one if you’re staying in Edinburgh for more than a day. We did 4 different tours and each one showed us a side of Scotland we’d never see on our own. Small bus tours are the perfect way to see all the beautiful highlands, castles and more that you’ve seen in movies and TV!

GRASSMARKET

ROSE STREET

EDINBURGH SHORT TERM RENTALS

WAVERLEY STATION

BOOK A TRAIN to EDINBURGH

Check out my favorite travel resources and styles.

 

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About Author

With over 30 years in a creative role in advertising and publishing, and a lifetime of journeys between the US and UK, I've created Hipoverfifty for you. I hope my journey and perspective will guide you on yours.