The back story
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The back story
The West End and Haymarket: theatres and terraces
The Usher Hall, the Lyceum and the Traverse, the Caledonian, Victorian terraces and the galleries of modern art.
Area guide · Edinburgh
The West End: curtain-up and dinner after
The Usher Hall, the Lyceum and the Traverse, Filmhouse, the Caledonian and the galleries of modern art.
What's onThis week in Edinburgh
What to see and do
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Corstorphine Hill
Edinburgh Zoo
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s zoo on Corstorphine Hill.
Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 6TSExplore View on map
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Modern One and Two
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Modern One and Modern Two, facing each other across Belford Road in the west of the city, with Charles Jencks’s Landform.
75 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DRExplore View on map
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Lothian Road
Usher Hall
Edinburgh’s great concert hall on Lothian Road, for classical music, rock, pop and spoken word.
Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2EAExplore View on map
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Grindlay Street
Royal Lyceum Theatre
The Victorian theatre on Grindlay Street, home of the Lyceum company.
Grindlay Street, Edinburgh EH3 9AXExplore View on map
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New writing
Traverse Theatre
Scotland’s new-writing theatre, beside the Usher Hall.
Cambridge Street, Edinburgh EH1 2EDExplore View on map
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Reopened 2025
Filmhouse
The independent cinema on Lothian Road, reopened in June 2025 after a long campaign.
Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9BZExplore View on map
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Every August
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Writers and thinkers from around the world, every August.
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Every August
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Independent cinema each August; the 79th edition ran from 13 to 19 August 2026.
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Self-guided
The Union Canal towpath
The flat towpath west from Fountainbridge along the Union Canal.
Where to eat
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In the MICHELIN Guide
1925 at The Pompadour
Scottish cooking with views of the castle in the Caledonian.
The Caledonian Hotel, 4 Lothian Road, EH1 2AB, EdinburghExplore View on map
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In the MICHELIN Guide
Dulse
Fish and seafood on Queensferry Street.
17 Queensferry Street, EH2 4QW, EdinburghExplore View on map
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In the MICHELIN Guide
The Palmerston
A bakery-restaurant on Palmerston Place in the West End.
1 Palmerston Place, EH12 5AF, EdinburghExplore View on map
Bars
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Malt whisky and rugby
Teuchters
Freehouses for food, malt whisky and Scottish beer: Teuchters Bar & Bunker in the West End and Teuchters Landing in Leith.
Where to stay
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“The Caley”
The Caledonian, Curio Collection by Hilton
The grand hotel at the west end of Princes Street, now in Hilton’s Curio Collection, with 1925 at The Pompadour.
Princes Street, Edinburgh EH1 2ABExplore View on map
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Drumsheugh Gardens
The Bonham
A townhouse hotel in the quiet Victorian streets of the West End.
Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 7RNExplore View on map
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Formerly The Dunstane
The Roseate Edinburgh
The former Dunstane Houses near Haymarket, now The Roseate, with KIN by Gary Maclean.
Health and wellness
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Been to West End & Haymarket? Tell other readers what you found there.
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