West, Edinburgh: neighborhood guide

Edinburgh West is the low-rise, modern side of the city: suburbs, retail parks, offices and light industry spread along the corridor between the airport and the centre. It is the ground you cross arriving by plane or from Glasgow, and it looks more like the edge of any British city than like the postcard Edinburgh of the Old Town.

The area is not one place. Haymarket and the West End sit closest to the centre, with Victorian terraces, hotels and the tram line. Further out, Corstorphine and Gyle are residential and commercial, while Edinburgh Park and South Gyle are business and rail stops. At the far west edge, near the airport, new districts are still being built around Newbridge and Kirkliston; South Queensferry, included in the city since 1995, still feels like a separate town on the Forth.

What it lacks in old-town drama it makes up for in convenience. Trains from the north, west and southwest stop at Haymarket before Waverley, the tram links the airport through the west into the centre, and buses fan out from Haymarket to Murrayfield, Corstorphine, Sighthill, Wester Hailes and Heriot-Watt University.

Stay in the west if transport matters more than atmosphere. Haymarket puts you on the direct tram and bus line to the airport and on the rail route into Waverley, which suits early flights, late arrivals and anyone continuing to Glasgow or the Highlands. Hotel rates are often lower than in the Old Town or New Town for the same standard of room.

Skip it if your trip is about the Castle, the Royal Mile and festival venues on foot. You would be commuting in every day, and the walk from Haymarket to the Royal Mile takes around 25–35 minutes. For a first visit of two or three nights, staying in the Old Town, New Town or Stockbridge and Canonmills puts the sights outside your door.

It works well for specific trips: a rugby weekend at Murrayfield, a family visit with the zoo as the main event, a one-night airport stop, or a base with a car for day trips west to Stirling, Falkirk and the Forth bridges.

Edinburgh Zoo on Corstorphine Road is the area's biggest draw, on the slopes of Corstorphine Hill. It is open daily, with longer hours from April to September and shorter ones from November to February; check the website for online ticket offers and closures in harsh weather. Buses 12, 26, 31 and Airlink 100 stop nearby.

Murrayfield Stadium brings rugby internationals and concerts, and the tram stops at the ground. The Union Canal towpath starts at Lochrin Basin near Fountain Park and runs west over the Water of Leith on an aqueduct towards Slateford, Kingsknowe and eventually Falkirk; it is flat, firm and good for a walk or cycle. Edinburgh Printmakers at Castle Mills has two free galleries and a shop.

Smaller sights fill a spare hour: the mock-Jacobean former Donaldson's School building on the main road west of Haymarket, now flats, and Corstorphine Old Parish Church, a collegiate church of 1429 remodelled in 1828. Beyond the city edge, South Queensferry and the Forth bridges are a short train or bus ride away (check times).

The west is not a food destination, but it feeds you well enough. Haymarket and the West End have hotel restaurants, cafés and a cluster of pubs around Dalry Road and Morrison Street, useful for breakfast before a train or a pint after a match. Around Fountain Park you get the cinema-and-chain-restaurant mix, and Edinburgh Printmakers at Castle Mills has a café alongside its free galleries.

Further out, Corstorphine and Gyle are where locals eat: takeaways, curry houses, cafés and supermarket food halls. If you want a proper Edinburgh dinner, take the tram or a bus into the centre or over to Leith, where the choice is far wider (check journey times).

Practical notes: pubs generally do not expect a tip, restaurants usually add 10–12.5% if no service charge appears on the bill. Book ahead on rugby international weekends, when Murrayfield fills every table and room in the area.

Haymarket is the west's transport hub and one of the busiest stations in Scotland. All trains from the north, west and southwest call here before Waverley, and the station has ticket offices, machines, shops, toilets and lift access to every platform, including Platform 0. Trams, the Airlink 100 and many city buses stop outside.

The tram runs from Edinburgh Airport through Ingliston Park & Ride, Gogarburn, Edinburgh Gateway, Gyle Park, Edinburgh Park, Bankhead, Saughton, Balgreen, Murrayfield, Haymarket and West End, then on to Princes Street, St Andrew Square, Leith and Newhaven. It is the simplest way between the airport, the west and the centre; check the operator's site for frequency and fares.

Other rail stops are local rather than useful for visitors: South Gyle for Fife trains, Edinburgh Park for services from Dunblane, Stirling and Falkirk, and the slow Glasgow Central line calling at Slateford, Kingsknowe, Wester Hailes and Curriehill. For Glasgow, go to Haymarket and take a fast train instead. Buses from Haymarket cover Murrayfield and Corstorphine (12, 26, 31, Airlink 100), Sighthill, Wester Hailes, Gyle and Heriot-Watt (3, 22, 25, 33, 34, 35) and Slateford and Balerno (44).