At the western end of George St is Charlotte Sq, the architectural jewel of the New Town, which was designed by Robert Adam shortly before his death in 1791. The northern side of the square is Adam's masterpiece and one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture anywhere. Bute House, in the centre at No 6, is the official residence of Scotland's first minister.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Edinburgh Castle
0.33 MILES
Edinburgh Castle has played a pivotal role in Scottish history, both as a royal residence – King Malcolm Canmore (r 1058–93) and Queen Margaret first made…
Rosslyn Chapel
6.91 MILES
Many years may have passed since Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code and the subsequent film came out, but floods of visitors still descend on Scotland's…
Royal Yacht Britannia
2.37 MILES
Built on Clydeside, the former Royal Yacht Britannia was the British Royal Family's floating holiday home during their foreign travels from the time of…
Traquair House
24.41 MILES
One of Scotland's great country houses, Traquair House has a powerful, ethereal beauty, and exploring it is like time travel. Odd, sloping floors and a…
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
0.78 MILES
Edinburgh's gallery of modern art is split between two impressive neoclassical buildings surrounded by landscaped grounds some 500m west of Dean Village…
Royal Botanic Garden
0.93 MILES
Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden is the second-oldest institution of its kind in Britain (after Oxford), and one of the most respected in the world…
Arthur's Seat
1.86 MILES
The rocky peak of Arthur’s Seat (251m), carved by ice sheets from the deeply eroded stump of a long-extinct volcano, is a distinctive feature of Edinburgh…
Dr Neil's Garden
2.45 MILES
Edinburgh’s quintessential secret garden, in the shadow of a 12th-century kirk, is one of the most peaceful green spaces in Scotland. Cultivated in the…
Nearby New Town attractions
1. Georgian House
0.05 MILES
The National Trust for Scotland's Georgian House has been beautifully restored and furnished to show how Edinburgh's wealthy elite lived at the end of the…
2. Bute House
0.05 MILES
The centrepiece of the grand Georgian facade on the north side of Charlotte Sq, No 6 is the official residence of the first minister of Scotland.
3. St John's Church
0.13 MILES
The western end of Princes St is dominated by the tower of St John's Church; the church is worth visiting for its fine Gothic Revival interior.
4. St Cuthbert's Parish Church
0.18 MILES
St Cuthbert's Parish Church was built in the 1890s on a site of great antiquity – there has been a church here since at least the 12th century, and…
5. Princes Street Gardens
0.22 MILES
These beautiful gardens lie in a valley that was once occupied by the Nor’ Loch (North Loch), a boggy depression that was drained in the early 19th…
6. Dean Bridge
0.27 MILES
Designed by Thomas Telford and built between 1829 and 1832 to allow the New Town to expand to the northwest, the Dean Bridge vaults gracefully over the…
7. St Bernard's Well
0.29 MILES
St Bernard's Well is a circular temple with a statue of Hygeia, the goddess of health, built in 1789. The sulphurous spring within was discovered by…
8. National War Museum of Scotland
0.29 MILES
At the western end of Edinburgh Castle, to the left of the castle tearooms, a road leads down to the National War Museum of Scotland, which brings…