Shopping & Nightlife in Edinburgh

• By: Editor
• On: 27/Jul/2007
• In: Edinburgh Travel Tips

Shopping in Edinburgh

Princes Street is the main shopping street in Edinburgh. It's located right in the heart of the city and not far from the famous 'Royal Mile'. On Princes Street you'll find all the main high street department stores like Debenhams, Frasers, BHS and Marks & Spencers. All shopping trips to Edinburgh should take in a visit to Jenner's the city's most famous department store which has been in operation since 1838. It's located on Princes Street and is said to be the world's oldest independent shop!

Another place to splash your cash is at Harvey Nichols, which can be found at St. Andrew's Square at the east end of Princes Street. This famous department store has a superb bar and restaurant on the 4th floor, which, as you can imagine, boasts stunning views of the castle and river. Harvey Nichols is home to top designer labels like Chloé, Donna Karan, Prada, YSL, Jil Sander and lots more.

George Street can be found just north of Princes Street and is another popular shopping street where you can find names like Laura Ashley, Cruise, Phase Eight and Karen Millen. George Street is also home to St. Stephen's Shopping Centre, which boasts about 50 high street shops.

If you prefer to get all your shopping done under one roof, then look out for St. James's Shopping Centre on Leith Street, Princes Mall on Princes Street and Gyle Shopping Centre and Cameron Toll Shopping Centre (which are both outside the city centre). But if you have to pick one shopping centre, make it Ocean Terminal on Ocean Drive in the Leith district of the city. It might be located a bit out of the way (about a 10 minute drive from Princes Street) but it really is worth the trip. It has absolutely everything you need under one roof with 75 stores, bars, restaurants, a 12 screen cinema and lots of parking. And it located right next to one of the city's biggest attractions The Royal Yacht Britannia!

For all your little knick knacks, souvenirs and gadgets you can go to the Royal Mile which is lined with little shops selling everything from whiskey's, kilts, shortbread, tartans, tweeds and basically anything Scottish, even bagpipes!

No shopping trip to Edinburgh is complete without purchasing some tartan to take back home with you! You can buy almost any item of clothing in tartan and you've over 2,000 tartan designs to choose from the most popular being 'Black Swatch'. Edinburgh has lots of shops that specialise in tartan and the staff will even help trace what clan your family belongs to and then match it to the relevant tartan that the clan used to wear!

Generally shops in Edinburgh are open between the hours of 9am and 6pm and have late opening on a Thursday and Friday evening.

Nightlife…

If you've any energy left from the shopping, you really should put on your gladrags and hit the streets of Edinburgh which are just crammed with restaurants, pubs, disco bars and clubs.

Edinburgh has about 400 pubs so you won't be short of a place to stop off and enjoy some Scottish ale! Pubs and bars are open weekdays and Saturdays from 11am to 12 midnight and on Sundays from 12.30 to midnight. Nighclubs stay open into the early hours and there's plenty of those too – mostly in the West End.

The best part of the city for nightlife is the Old Town, especially areas like Cowgate Street, the Grassmarket area and of course the Royal Mile which is always buzzing! The Grassmarket area comes highly recommended as it's an area heaving with bars – from rock bars to traditional bars.

The New Town also has its fair share of pubs and bars with most of them lining Rose Street and Georges Street.

If you want to do some serious partying though, we recommend you visit Edinburgh in August which has not one - but four huge festivals! And of course Edinburgh is famous the world over for its New Years Eve's celebrations and it’s a city that claims to have the biggest street party in Europe for it!

Why not go and experience this magical city for yourself! Book your accommodation now! We've got hotels and apartments all over the city, so you're sure to find something that suits you.

We would love to hear any stories, tips or advice on Edinburgh if you've been there and we also welcome any questions or queries that you may have. Just drop your comment into the box below and we'll get back to you right away!