South West Edinburgh

Join the Friday night exodus onto Lothian Road, Fountainbridge, Tollcross and witness the coming together of revellers, theatregoers and office workers from the Exchange financial district.

Residents and visitors descend on the area to sample Caledonian ale from the nearby brewery or a play by Chekhov at the The Royal Lyceum Theatre. The diverse architecture of the area reflects the social mix: Scottish Baronial tenements; Modernist offices and flats; neo-classical theatres.

Wonder at the grand acoustics of the Usher Hall, one of the UK’s premier live music venues. The Traverse Theatre showcases the best in contemporary theatre. For film fans, the Cameo Cinema and Filmhouse show art house releases.

The area around Haymarket and Dalry becomes the social centre of the city during rugby international weekends. The main transport routes to the wider city region converge here. The train station and the A8 (M8) shuttle commuters to Livingston, Linlithgow, Falkirk and Glasgow.

Craiglockhart Tennis Centre plays host to large international tennis competitions, with a series of well-kept indoor and outdoor courts. One famous product of the centre is the tennis ace Andy Murray, who often trained there. Craiglockhart is also home to a Edinburgh Napier University campus which incorporates the Craiglockhart Hydropathic Hospital buildings. Formerly known as Craiglockhart War Hospital, this is where First World War poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon were treated.