Princes Street Edinburgh Hotel Accommodation |
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Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh"s New Town, stretching around 1 mile (1.6 km) from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private cars, with public transport given priority. The street has virtually no buildings on the south side, allowing views of the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle, and the valley between.
Several UK high street brands are located along Princes Street. Marks & Spencer, Bhs, Debenhams and House of Fraser department stores can be found at the west end. Jenners department store was an Edinburgh institution, surviving the disappearance of many other local department stores, such as PTs and RW Forsyths. The 2005 purchase of Jenners by House of Fraser removed its independent status. There are no current public plans to integrate Jenners into the House of Fraser chain. Other shops on Princes Street include USC, GAP, H&M, Clarks, Next, HMV and Boots. At the far end of the south side of Princes Street are two churches - St John"s at the corner of Lothian Road and St Cuthbert"s (the large building in the foreground of the picture above, which was taken from the ramparts of Edinburgh castle in winter time, after a fall of snow). Princes Street Gardens and south side The Gardens contain the Ross Bandstand (an amphitheatre), a war memorial and a floral clock, together with other attractions. Two of the National Galleries, the Royal Scottish Academy and the National Gallery of Scotland, are located at the foot of The Mound. Further along is the Scott Monument, an intricate building dedicated to the Scotsman who wrote the Waverley Novels, after which is named Waverley station. Next to the station is the grand Balmoral Hotel, and the impressive Regent Bridge. The hotel has a counterpart, the Caledonian Hotel, just south of the west end of the street; this was built by the Caledonian Railway for their Princes Street Station, now closed. Princes Street remains popular, although it has now fallen from its status as the most expensive place to rent shop space in Britain outside London. Princes Street may be one of the few streets in the UK to have an order of Parliament placed to prevent any further building on the south side to preserve the views. |
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