Riding high along the ridge of the New Town, today George Street features high-end shops and retailers, wine bars, pubs, and a nightlife with a higher price tag than other entertainment districts in Edinburgh.

Bordered on either end by Charlotte Square (in the West) and St. Andrews Square (in the East), George Street also features herring-bone style streets that connect it to Queen Street and Princes Street on either side.

[Image credit: kankanwang]

George Street, Edinburgh’s High Life Street

On its East end, George Street boasts a number of more functional shops and restaurants, several banks, and a few major brand retail chains such as Laura Ashley and Molton Brown. To begin a day of high-end shopping in Edinburgh, there’s no better place to start than with brunch at one of George Street’s spacious, airy restaurants; the Dome comes to mind for high-rollers, although further along the street there are branches of All Bar One and Wetherspoons as well.

The Dome, lights up Edinburgh's George Street at night.

What seperates the restaurants of George Street from their counterparts elsewhere in the city is the light, spacious, airy atmosphere promoted by the space.

Midway along George Street one finds the Assembly Rooms – home to music and psychic fairs during the year, Ceilidhs once or twice a month, and one of the Fringe Festival’s biggest venues come August.

George Street's Assembly Rooms is a huge venue for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Heading further toward the West End, there are high-end hair salon brands like Tony & Guy, as well as home goods stores with all the essentials for your kitchen or other areas of your home. Traffic moves quickly down the street, so look out when crossing! George Street also offers easy access to shopping on Princes and Rose streets, completing the Edinburgh shopping experience.

[Image credits: FotoFling Scotland, Al Howat]