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The stone arch at the foot of Fleshmarket Close, its name above and steps climbing away, people walking up.
Edinburgh

Fleshmarket Close

A steep stepped close from Market Street up to the High Street, named for the meat market that stood on it, and the title of an Ian Rankin novel.

Welcome

Stand on Market Street, across from Waverley, and look up through the stone arch with the name cut above it.

Fleshmarket Close climbs away from you in flight after flight of steps, squeezed between tall tenement walls, all the way up to the High Street.

It is one of the steepest of the Old Town's closes, and one of the most photographed. Its name is plain Scots for a butcher's market: a meat market once stood here, and the lane ran down towards the loch that filled the valley before the railway and the gardens took its place. Halfway up, the close crosses Cockburn Street, and there are pubs and cafes tucked into its walls on the way.

Ian Rankin gave its name to one of his Inspector Rebus novels. Climb it for the views down onto the station roofs, or simply for the quickest way from Waverley to the Royal Mile.

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The Daily for 30 October, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a teal-coloured lochan cupped in a forested hollow, a scree slope rising on one side and autumn-tinged pines ringing the shore.
Round the cornerBrewhemiaA beer hall under the old Scotsman building on Market Street, opened in 2017, with twelve copper tanks of Czech and Scottish beer.1 min by roadSee itBrewhemia
Before you go

The close is a public way, open at all hours.

It climbs steeply by flights of steps from Market Street, across Cockburn Street, to the High Street.

From
Market Street, opposite Waverley station.
To
The High Street, the Royal Mile, crossing Cockburn Street halfway.

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Where it is

Between Market Street and the High Street, crossing Cockburn Street, by Waverley station.

Close byThe streets and galleries at its foot.
  1. The Scotsman StepsThe Scotsman StepsA stair of 1899 from North Bridge down to Market Street, every step a different marble.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. City Art CentreCity Art CentreThe city's own gallery of Scottish art, six floors on Market Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. The Fruitmarket GalleryThe Fruitmarket GalleryA free gallery of contemporary art on Market Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Gloved hands hang black and white photographic prints on a darkroom lineStillsA centre for photography on Cockburn Street since 1977.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Cockburn StreetCockburn StreetA curving Victorian street of turreted tenements, built in the 1850s.Under a mile 2 min by road
Directions
CafeBrewhemiaA step away
Mimi's shopfront with award chalkboards for Scottish Bakery and Café of the YearCafeMimi's BakehouseA step away
The blue front of Stills on Cockburn Street.AttractionsStillsautomatA step away
Marble café table with iced coffee, latte art and a cameraCafeGordon Street CoffeeA step away
A flight of whiskies and their bottles on a table in a stone vault at the Lost Close, a chandelier behind.AttractionsThe Lost CloseA step away
The old sweetshop front of The Milkman on Cockburn Street, CONFECTIONS cut in the stone above.CafeThe MilkmanA step away
A window seat with cushions beside a brick wall hung with plants and a warm lamp, looking out on a street, inside a coffee shop in Edinburgh's Old Town.CafeThe MilkmanA step away
A lamb shank in gravy on mash beside a haggis stack topped with neeps, on a wooden table at Makars Mash Bar.RestaurantsMakars Mash Bar0.2 miles
Guide leads a whisky tasting group seated at a long purple-clothed tableToursEdinburgh Gin Distillery0.2 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the close, and when each is next free.

A hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Fleshmarket Close
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Fleshmarket Close
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Fleshmarket Close
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from Fleshmarket Close
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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