Before you book your hostel for Edinburgh (and certainly before you arrive in town!), it's best to understand how the city is organized and how the hostels are situated. Here's a quick look...

City layout

Edinburgh is divided into two sections by the West Prince Street Gardens, over which the city's primary landmark, Edinburgh Castle, is perched atop a towering precipice. On the opposite side of the gardens, Waverly Train Station provides convenient entry to the city proper. Two eastern highlands, Calton Hill in the north and Arthur's Seat in the south, provide sweeping vistas and contribute to the city's strangely rustic layout that includes hills, cliffs, and crags.

The Royal Mile serves as the main thoroughfare in Old Town to the south. The atmosphere, like the winding streets, is still medieval: historic sites preserve Edinburgh's heritage and the preponderance of pubs echoes Old Town's tenement history. The Canongate neighborhood to the east is more upscale, dominated by the new Parliament building, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and craggy, sprawling Holyrood Park (home to Arthur's Seat).

Northern New Town stands in stark contrast to its chaotic southern counterpart: the mathematical rationality of Georgian planning is modern and cosmopolitan. Prince Street and Charlotte Square provide upscale shopping. Fine art is on display at the National Gallery of Scotland, the Gallery of Modern Art, and Dean Gallery. In general, the restaurants and cafés are ritzier. Edinburgh's gay quarter is located along Leith Street astride Calton Hill.

Hostel overview

Feel like a medieval king or queen in one of Edinburgh's many hostels, ideally situated on the Royal Mile and in the shadow of the great castle itself. Book ahead during the spectacular summer festival season and, for only 10-15 pounds a night, enjoy the buzz of a city burning with cultural fever. Appropriately, B&Bs are also cheap in this bucolic metropolis. (Editor's Note: steer clear of the haggis.)