Overview of Princes Street

Edinburgh's principal shopping street. Originally to be called after St Giles, but following objection from King George III, who knew St Giles only as a slum-area in London, it was named in honour of the three Royal Princes born by the time of James Craig's plan for the New Town (1766), of which it forms the southern boundary. It was planned to have no building on its southern side, so the residents could enjoy the view to the castle and Old Town. However, over the years this proved difficult to enforce, with Acts of Parliament require to maintain the integrity of Princes Street Gardens.

Amongst a tedious string of chain-stores and melange of architectural styles, only a few of the original frontages survive at street level. The street has undergone almost continuous redevelopment, from Victorian times to the present day. Jenners, the Department Store, which was rebuilt in grand style following a devastating fire in 1892, and the Waverley Market are the only more interesting retailing experiences. The Waverley Market was originally a vegetable market, built 1874-6, and demolished in 1974 to be replaced by a prize-winning shopping centre in 1984. Triangular granite prisms rise above street level, while floors of small shops around a large atrium descend below. Alongside is the Balmoral Hotel, once the railway hotel for the adjoining Waverley Station. Also on the south side of Princes Street are the Royal Scottish Academy and, behind, the National Gallery of Scotland, at the bottom of the Mound. At the west-end are St John's and St Cuthbert's Churches.

The other notable feature of the south-side of Princes Street are its monuments and statues, all actually located in Princes Street Gardens. Most obvious amongst them is the Scott Monument.