New Town
The New Town is the planned Georgian district of Edinburgh built north of the Old Town from the late 18th century, which with the Old Town forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "New" is relative: it is more than 250 years old.
In practice
By the mid-1700s the Old Town was overcrowded, and the city drained the loch below the Castle and built across the valley. The first plan, by the young architect James Craig, laid out a grid of three parallel streets - Princes Street, George Street and Queen Street - between two squares. Later extensions added crescents, circuses and gardens to the north and west. The Old and New Towns were inscribed together as a World Heritage Site in 1995, the medieval and the planned city side by side.
Why it matters to newcomers
"New Town" is an address, a property-market label and a conservation area at once. Flats here are usually in large Georgian terraces with high ceilings and strict rules on alterations, and many of the city's law firms, investment houses and private clubs have offices in its streets. Edinburgh has had several later "new towns", so check whether someone means the Georgian district or a newer development.
Related
- Tenement - how most of the city, Old and New, lives
- Auld Reekie - the smoky old town it was built to escape
- Royal Mile - the spine of the Old Town across the valley
Sources: Edinburgh World Heritage; UNESCO: Old and New Towns of Edinburgh.