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The Scotsman Steps

A stair of 1899 in an octagonal stone tower from North Bridge down to Market Street, each step since clad in a different marble by the artist Martin Creed.

Welcome

Beside the turreted bulk of the old Scotsman building on North Bridge, an arched stone gateway with wrought-iron gates opens on a stair that most people hurry past on their way to the station.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Slow down and go in.

The stair winds down inside its tower in short flights and landings, and underfoot the colour and grain of the stone change at every step, veined and speckled, each one polished smooth. Tall arched windows with iron grilles light the turns. Near the top, a stone balcony with urns looks out over the rooftops to the clock tower of the Balmoral, with a sign pointing the way down to Market Street. Take them slowly, once down and once up, and look at your feet the whole way.

Before you go

The steps are a public way, looked after by the City of Edinburgh Council, and free to climb, with iron gates at either end.

Where
From North Bridge, beside The Scotsman hotel, down to Market Street by Waverley Station.

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Did you know

Turreted stone towers with arched windows rise above a grand Edinburgh building.
Did you know

Built with a newspaper.

The steps went up between 1899 and 1902 with the buildings of The Scotsman newspaper, inside an octagonal stone tower that links North Bridge with Market Street.

An arched stone gateway with wrought-iron gates opens onto a mossy staircase at a grand Edinburgh building.
Did you know

From grim to listed.

They were listed Category A in 1974, but a century after they were built they had become so run down that people saw them as a threatening place to walk.

Marble steps lead up to an arched, iron-latticed window in a stone archway.
Did you know

Every step a different marble.

When the tower was restored, the artist Martin Creed resurfaced the stair in contrasting marbles from all over the world, a different stone for every step and landing.

A stone balcony overlooks Edinburgh's rooftops toward the Balmoral Hotel's clock tower, a 'Stairway to Market St' sign on the railing.
Did you know

Walking through the world.

Creed called it a small picture of the whole world: climbing the steps is like walking through it.

An ornate iron gate frames a distant clock tower against the sky.
Did you know

After Down Over Up.

The Fruitmarket, at the foot of the steps, commissioned the work after Creed's show there in 2010, Down Over Up, one of the most popular in its history.

A stone balcony with urn planters overlooks Edinburgh's rooftops toward the Balmoral Hotel.
Did you know

A score, not a sculpture.

Creed is a musician as much as an artist, and thinks of himself as a composer writing a score that others bring to life, here with every footstep.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Edinburgh

Leading between Waverley Station’s Market Street entrance and North Bridge, these 104 steps were reworked in 2010 by Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed, who formed each one of the stairs from a different type of marble.

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A stone balcony overlooks Edinburgh's rooftops toward the Balmoral Hotel's clock tower, a 'Stairway to Market St' sign on the railing.
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Where it is

Between North Bridge and Market Street, beside The Scotsman hotel.

Close byThe places nearest the steps, by Waverley.
  1. The Fruitmarket GalleryThe Fruitmarket GalleryA free gallery of contemporary art in an old fruit and vegetable market of 1938.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. City Art CentreCity Art CentreA gallery of Scottish art in a former warehouse beside Waverley.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. BrewhemiaBrewhemiaA big, lively beer hall under the old Scotsman building.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Marble café table with iced coffee, latte art and a cameraGordon Street CoffeeA small-batch coffee roaster and café on Market Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Cockburn StreetCockburn StreetA curving Victorian street built to look old, climbing to the Royal Mile.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. Calton HillCalton HillA volcanic hill at the east end of Princes Street, crowned with monuments.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
Mimi's shopfront with award chalkboards for Scottish Bakery and Café of the YearCafeMimi's BakehouseA step away
Gloved hands hang black and white photographic prints on a darkroom lineAttractionsStillsA step away
The blue front of Stills on Cockburn Street.AttractionsStillsautomatA 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
Two bowls of ramen at Ikigai on South Bridge: a creamy tonkotsu with pork belly and a soft egg, and a dark mushroom broth, by glasses of water with lemon.RestaurantsIkigai0.2 miles
A table at Roti King: roti canai with a bowl of curry, nasi lemak with fried chicken and sambal, chicken satay, morning glory and glasses of iced tea.RestaurantsRoti King0.2 miles
Guide leads a whisky tasting group seated at a long purple-clothed tableToursEdinburgh Gin Distillery0.2 miles
Sugared doughnuts topped with cream and blueberries sit in a bakery trayCafeRoom & Rumours0.2 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the steps, 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 the Scotsman Steps
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 the Scotsman Steps
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the Scotsman Steps
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 the Scotsman Steps
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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