Edinburgh Photo Gallery - Old Town's Side Streets

Edinburgh's Old Town is built along a ridge, with the Royal Mile linking the castle iwith Holyrood down below. From this main thoroughfare, many smaller alleys, lanes, and closes extend perpendicularly. There are a few exceptions to this design with a few steep streets that are quite picturesque with historic buildings on both sides.

Perhaps the most famous is Victoria Street, a sloping cobblestone lane designed by Thomas Hamilton linking the Grassmarket and the George IV Bridge. Today, the shopfronts have adopted many colours, attracting scores of tourists for the Instagram shot.

The Grassmarket's history dates back to medieval times when it was a major marketplace. It was also used for public executions during the 16th to 18th centuries. Today, it has a less gruesome image with many shops and restaurants serving tourists.

Cockburn Street was named after Lord Cockburn and built to access Waverley Station from High Street under the Railway Station Acts in 1853 and 1860. Running in a serpentine shape, it was named after a conservationist who protected Edinburgh from Victorian expansion.

Near the bottom of the street is a long staircase that rises back up to St. Giles and High Street. A climb up Warriston's Close is not for the faint-hearted.

Don't forget to walk Mound Place, which is a short but steep street linking the National Galleries of Scotland with Castlehill, just a stone's throw from the Castle. From here, you have a panoramic view of Princes Street.