Edinburgh which area to stay in

[Peaseblossom22]

Going up to Edinburgh for four days st the end of April, mainly so that ds can look at the University , we also have a day in St Andrews . As there will be four of us have been looking at AirBNB . Want ds to get a feel for city but also something practical .

Any recommendations welcome

Stay in bruntsfield near the meadows and get a feel for the student life. It’s a studenty and boho middle class mixed area. Lots of nice cafes and independent shops. Close to lovely green space of meadows and walking distance to uni and town. Sciennes and south clerk street are also more studenty but Bruntsfield will be more pleasant for you as a weekend away.

Bruntsfield, Marchmont and South Bridge/Newington are the studentiest places, agree with PP that Bruntsfield/Marchmont will be nicer as a weekend away. More of a coffee shop/pub vibe than all the newsagents and takeaways in Newington. All areas have easy bus routes to the train station to get you to St. Andrews, if you're not driving.

Thank you for all the suggestions . Presumably all of these areas are easy to access the central sights etc ?

Yes (and bear in mind Edinburgh is v small)

There are a few Travelodges around Princess Street area, handy for the town/restaurants etc but also easy enough walking distance to Bruntsfield etc.

If he's looking at the uni (and by that I'm assuming The University of Edinburgh, as opposed to Heriot Watt, Napier, QMU, etc), then I'd stay in the old town, as close to the university as possible so he can get a feel for it. A lot of students live around The Meadows area (Marchmont, Sciennes, Bruntsfield, Newington), so I'd stay around there, or at least between there and Princes Street.