Shopping Malls in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is a small capital with an unusually good shopping scene. Within about six miles you get a brand-new city-centre mall, a luxury quarter, two big out-of-town centres, a clutch of retail parks and a handful of independent streets that no shopping centre can replicate. This guide covers every major shopping mall and centre in Edinburgh – what each one is actually good for, how to get there on public transport, and where to go instead if a mall is not what you want.
One thing worth knowing before you start: Scotland has no Sunday trading restrictions of the kind that apply in England and Wales, so large stores in Edinburgh can open full hours on a Sunday. In practice most centres open around 11am on Sundays and close early evening, which makes Sunday a genuinely useful shopping day here.
St James Quarter – the city-centre flagship
St James Quarter opened in 2021 on the site of the old St James Centre at the east end of Princes Street, and it changed the centre of gravity of Edinburgh shopping. It is a huge, bright, multi-level development with around 80 shops, a wide food and drink offer, an Everyman cinema, and the spiral-clad W Edinburgh hotel that locals argue about endlessly.
The retail mix is mainstream-to-premium rather than luxury: John Lewis anchors it, alongside the big international fashion names, beauty halls, sportswear and lifestyle brands. The food hall and the restaurant terraces are a large part of the appeal, and the rooftop bars give you views over the New Town that you do not get from any other shopping centre in Britain.
Get there: five minutes on foot from Edinburgh Waverley station, and the St Andrew Square tram and bus interchange is at the door. If you are arriving from the airport, this is the natural first stop – see our guide to travelling from Edinburgh Airport to the city centre.
Best for: a rainy afternoon, one-stop high-street shopping, eating.
Multrees Walk – where the luxury brands are
Immediately beside St James Quarter, Multrees Walk is the pedestrian street where Edinburgh keeps its designer names. Harvey Nichols anchors it, with a run of luxury boutiques along the walk – the likes of Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Mulberry and Anya Hindmarch have all traded here. It is not a mall in the enclosed sense, but if you came to Edinburgh looking for high-end fashion, this is the two hundred metres you want, and it is a minute from St James Quarter.
Best for: designer fashion, the Harvey Nichols Forth Floor restaurant and its view over the city.
Princes Mall – small, central, convenient
Princes Mall sits below street level at the east end of Princes Street, directly above Waverley station and opposite the Balmoral clock. It is compact – roughly twenty units – and mixes familiar high-street names with cafes, souvenir shops and a food court. Nobody comes to Edinburgh specifically for Princes Mall, but it is genuinely useful: it is the closest indoor shopping to the station, it has toilets and somewhere to sit, and it is a dry route between Princes Street and the top of Leith Street.
Get there: it is attached to Waverley station. You cannot miss it.
Best for: killing an hour before a train, last-minute gifts.
Ocean Terminal – Leith, Britannia and the waterfront
Ocean Terminal is in the Port of Leith, about two miles from the city centre on the waterfront. Its unique selling point is not really retail at all: the Royal Yacht Britannia is berthed alongside the building, and the visitor entrance is inside the centre. There is also a multiplex cinema and a good run of restaurants and cafes with views across the Firth of Forth.
Be realistic about the shops. Ocean Terminal has lost anchor tenants over the years – Debenhams among them – and much of the site is caught up in a long-running redevelopment that will convert part of it to housing and leisure. Treat it as a Britannia-and-lunch trip with some shopping attached, rather than a shopping trip with a ship attached.
Get there: Lothian Buses run frequently from Princes Street, including the 22, taking roughly fifteen to twenty minutes. Leith is also an easy walk or cycle along the Water of Leith path or Leith Walk, and the tram now runs down Leith Walk to Newhaven, a short walk away.
Best for: the Royal Yacht Britannia, waterfront eating, cinema.
The Gyle Shopping Centre – the big west-side mall
The Gyle is Edinburgh’s main enclosed suburban shopping centre, in the west of the city near South Gyle and Edinburgh Park. It has around 60 to 70 stores, anchored by Marks & Spencer and a large supermarket, with the usual high-street fashion, phone shops, opticians, banks and coffee chains, plus a food court.
It is not glamorous and it will not fill a day, but it is the practical choice if you are staying on the west side of the city, if you have a hire car and do not want to deal with city-centre parking, or if you are near the airport with time to spare. Parking is free and plentiful, which is the single biggest difference from anywhere in the centre.
Get there: the Edinburgh Trams stop at Gyle Centre on the airport line, so it is a straight run from both the airport and the city centre. Several bus routes also serve it.
Best for: free parking, practical shopping, a wet day near the airport.
Fort Kinnaird – the east-side retail park
Fort Kinnaird, on the eastern edge of the city near Newcraighall, is one of the largest retail parks in Scotland with well over 70 units. It is open-air rather than enclosed, which matters in Scottish weather, but the range is strong: big-format fashion including Primark, Next and Marks & Spencer, homeware, sportswear, an Odeon cinema and a long row of chain restaurants.
Parking is free and there is a lot of it, which makes Fort Kinnaird the default for anyone shopping with a car and a boot to fill.
Get there: frequent buses from the city centre take around 30 minutes; Newcraighall station is close by on the Borders Railway line.
Best for: volume shopping, families, cinema, free parking.
The other centres worth knowing
- Cameron Toll – a small enclosed centre on the south side with a large Sainsbury’s, useful if you are staying in Newington or Marchmont.
- Craigleith Retail Park – north-west of the centre, with a big Sainsbury’s and homeware stores. Handy for Stockbridge and the Botanics.
- Hermiston Gait – retail park by the city bypass in the west, close to the Gyle and easy from the M8.
- Straiton – just outside the bypass to the south at Loanhead, with an IKEA nearby and a big cluster of warehouse retailers.
- Meadowbank – a redeveloped retail park to the east, convenient for Leith and Abbeyhill.
Where to shop instead of a mall
Edinburgh’s best shopping is arguably not in a shopping centre at all. If you have a limited amount of time in the city, spend some of it on these:
- Victoria Street and the Grassmarket – the curved, colourful Old Town street that everyone photographs, full of independents: whisky, jewellery, joke shops, cheese, books, and more than one shop trading heavily on the Harry Potter connection.
- George Street – the New Town’s premium high street, with the better fashion chains and a strong run of bars and restaurants.
- Stockbridge – delis, vintage, charity shops with unusually good stock, and a Sunday market.
- The Royal Mile – heavy on tartan and souvenirs, but there are serious kiltmakers and whisky shops among them. Our Royal Mile guide sorts the good from the tourist tat.
- West End and William Street – small independents, boutiques and cafes in a quiet Georgian pocket.
Practical tips for shopping in Edinburgh
Opening hours. City-centre shops typically open 9am or 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, with a late night on Thursday, and 11am to 5 or 6pm on Sunday. Shopping centres tend to run slightly longer. Hours extend during the Festival Fringe in August and in the run-up to Christmas.
Parking. City-centre parking is expensive and heavily controlled. If you are driving, use the out-of-town centres, or park and ride at Ingliston, Hermiston or Straiton and take the tram or bus in. See driving in Scotland for the wider picture.
Tax-free shopping. The UK ended VAT refunds for overseas visitors in 2021, so the tax-free shopping schemes that used to apply at airports and department stores are no longer available in Great Britain. Budget accordingly.
Payment. Card and contactless are accepted almost everywhere, including on buses and trams. Scottish banknotes and Bank of England notes both circulate freely here – our guide to Scotland’s currency explains the quirks.
Christmas. From late November the centre fills with the Edinburgh Christmas market on East Princes Street Gardens, which is as much a shopping destination as any mall, and considerably more atmospheric.
Which Edinburgh shopping centre should you choose?
If you have one afternoon and no car, go to St James Quarter and walk five minutes to Multrees Walk and George Street. That combination covers high street, luxury and independents without a single bus journey.
If you have a car and a shopping list, go to Fort Kinnaird in the east or the Gyle in the west. Both have free parking and neither needs you to think about the city bypass twice.
If you want a day out rather than a shop, go to Ocean Terminal for the Royal Yacht Britannia, eat on the waterfront, and treat the retail as a bonus.
Markets and independent shopping
Edinburgh’s markets are worth building a morning around. Stockbridge Market runs on Sundays with food stalls, bakers and crafts along the Water of Leith. The Grassmarket has a Saturday market beneath the castle rock. Leith’s food markets and the various weekend markets around the city rotate through the year, and in December the Christmas market on East Princes Street Gardens takes over the centre entirely.
For independent retail rather than chains, the streets to walk are Victoria Street and West Bow in the Old Town, Thistle Street and William Street in the New Town and West End, Raeburn Place in Stockbridge, and the run of shops along Broughton Street. Between them they cover vintage clothing, records, whisky, books, ceramics, cheese and about a dozen coffee roasters.
Scottish things worth buying
If you want to take something home that is genuinely Scottish rather than generically souvenir, the reliable categories are cashmere and lambswool knitwear, Harris Tweed, single malt whisky from a specialist rather than an airport shelf, silver jewellery drawing on Celtic and Pictish designs, and hand-thrown ceramics. A made-to-measure kilt is a serious purchase from a serious kiltmaker – expect a fitting, a wait of several weeks and a price to match. Our Scottish gift ideas page has more suggestions, and the whisky guide will help you choose a bottle you actually want.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest shopping centre in Edinburgh? St James Quarter is the largest city-centre development, with around 80 shops over multiple levels. Fort Kinnaird is larger in floor area but is an open-air retail park on the edge of the city.
Where do you find designer shops in Edinburgh? Multrees Walk, next to St James Quarter, together with Harvey Nichols. George Street carries the premium high-street brands.
Is shopping in Edinburgh open on Sundays? Yes. Scotland has no Sunday trading law restricting large stores, so centres and most shops open on Sundays, generally from around 11am.
Which shopping centre is closest to Edinburgh Airport? The Gyle, a few minutes away by tram or car on the west side of the city.
Is there a shopping centre at Edinburgh Waverley? Yes – Princes Mall sits directly above the station, and St James Quarter is a five-minute walk.
Planning the rest of your visit? Start with our Edinburgh travel guide, the best things to do in Edinburgh, and where to stay in our guide to Edinburgh hotels.
