Scotland Guide
Edinburgh
The New Town and the West End
The NEW TOWN, itself well over two hundred years old, stands in total contrast to the Old Town: the layout is symmetrical, the streets are broad and straight, and most of the buildings are Neoclassical. Originally intended to be residential, today the New Town is the bustling hub of the city's professional, commercial and business life, dominated by shops, banks and offices. The western extension to the New Town, the West End, was the last part to be built, deviating from the area's overriding Neoclassicism with a number of Victorian additions.