Grassmarket

The Grassmarket is a historic open square and street in Edinburgh's old town, lying in a hollow directly beneath the towering crags of the castle. For centuries it served as a market for livestock and grain and, more grimly, as a place of public executions, commemorated by a memorial in the cobbles. Tall tenements and old coaching inns line the space, and steep closes climb from it toward the Royal Mile. Once rough and run-down, it is now filled with pubs, independent shops and cafes beneath the dramatic castle backdrop.