St. Andrew Square

St Andrew Square was opened to the public quite a few years ago now and it has become a great place to hang out, especially when it is converted during Christmas or for the festival where there is the addition of shops and bars. During Christmas they also convert the area around the Melville Monument to an ice-​rink where it’s quite funny to watch people to fall over!

This site was always shut to the generally public until a few years ago when they re– landscaped it and made it a public space. it’s held a few open air exhibits in it’s ealry career! the space also has a small espresso bar for these light refreshments. The space is quite handy for greenery in the centre of Edinburgh. Right now, it’s home to the «Field of Light» exhibit (Mar14’)!

I stop by the Christmas market around 4pm on a Wednesday.
There’s a play things, food, entertainment and stuff.
I Had a strawberry waffle stick that was Too sweet.
This is a nice place to spend in the summers where you can overlook the station, but it’s a bit chilly in the winters.

Great space in New Town…
Nice escape from the city…
Sunny paradise.

A really lovely green space in the middle of the city!
Sit and have a coffee at the café pavilion while pondering the Melville Monument… and Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville (on the top!) may well be pondering right back!
Laze on the grass and while away the hours reading a good book, planning your visit to Edinburgh or people watching!
Relax by the lovely reflection pool and have a well earned break from the office whilst enjoying your lunch!
Catch your breath after a morning shopping on Multrees walk (and gazing lovingly at everything in Harvey Nichols!)
Enjoy the variety of events the Square has to offer throughout the year… from concerts to photography exhibitions, storytelling to open-​air cinema screenings!
Will maybe see you there the next time I’m wandering through!

You know where St. Andrew’s Square is. You’ve seen the large phallic monument and the wee café that serves overpriced coffee and doesn’t have a loo, but did you know that St. Andrew’s Square is Edinburgh’s Poetry Square? Well, it is. Though I don’t think anyone really knows what that means. Except that on National Poetry Day, you’ll see a few people (once upon a time, me) from the Scottish Poetry Library handing out their favourite poems to people who look completely terrified and probably feel like we’re trying to convert them into the religious sect that is poetry-​reading.

This is the perfect place to come to while away the hours no matter what you have been doing. Centred next to George Street and Prices Street, it is an obvious haven for shoppers taking a break for a coffee or a bite to eat.
When it’s a nice sunny day and after being on Princes Street, I regularly come here after getting some food, whether it be from the nearby McDonald’s, the small café within the square itself, or the Sainsbury’s that faces the square and just enjoy it here and take in the scenery and people watch.
There is regularly events going on and exhibitions being held within the square, so it is always a good idea to come here to see if there is anything of cultural relevance going on.

Sick of shopping?
Bags weighing you down?
Need to soak up some sun and feel the grass in between your fingers?
Then come to St. Andrews Square!
Suprisingly located amongst the hustle and bustle of Princes Street/​Geroge Street, this wonderful little park is a real gem in the centre of the city. Sunny days bring out all sorts of people looking to chill out, grab a bite to eat from the little café thing and take in the culture of the photographic exhibitions tha seem to constantly grace this park. Next time you are down this way, come and have a look.

Oh my goodness, I love this park! It’s really, really beautiful on a warm sunny day where you will be hard pushed to find a picnic spot with all the other people here trying to soak up the sun. This is exactly what I did on Wednesday, I went to Pret A Manger round the corner and grabbed my favoured cheese baguette and a can of ginger beer, I then strolled along to St. Andrews Square.
I picked the perfect spot, sat down and enjoyed my sarnie in the glorious sun. The park had such a great atmosphere as everyone was having such a great time, it’s amazing what a difference a sunny day can do! There was even a van giving away that free vitamin water, to be honest that van always seems to be giving stuff away.
I sat for ages, writing in my diary and trying to find four leafed clovers in the grass around me. In fact, I probably stayed for a little bit too long as I fell asleep for half an hour. Oops.
I could have stayed for a lot longer but my relaxing day in the park was cut short when a group of lairy youngsters plonked themselves down beside me with bottles of beers. There was about 12 of them and every time they opened up a beer bottled they cheered — a little bit annoying.
Anyways, I’m a huge fan of this park, it’s a gorgeous place to sit in the sun and even when it’s not sunny, it’s still in a great location and nice to walk through.

After wondering around what I thought was central Edinburgh in my freshman year in the City I eventually came across this beautiful square. It’s actually a bit unexpected, as you walk up here you hardly think you will find such a large square/​park in the middle of department stores and busy business centres. There aren’t many trees (it’s mostly grass) making it great to lounge around in on the occasions it’s actually half sunny.
It’s where the main bus station (for those looking for it in vain) and it’s usually if not always a quite clean park. It’s located right at the end of George Square, furthest away from the Castle and hosts often City Council events and projects. Last week there was a large photo exhibition around the square for Earth Day, with amazing photos of the wild to stare at. It’s also overlooked by the Harvey Nichols store which one has to admit has quite creative if not flamboyant window displays to stare at.
A great break from shopping or work if you are in this part of town.

what a lovely part of town!
This park, albeit a small one (tiny even), is just such a lovely place to be on a nice sunny day! All the locals in Edinburgh hit the meadows as soon as the sun is out, so as a result tourists and people who don’t know about the meadows come to St Andrews Square. It has recently had an upgrade, and now there is always something exciting going on. The other week they were home to a series of photographs and wine-​tasting tents. There is always something going on here.
There is a cute little coffee hut too for all your food and drink needs (for a price) so it’s really easy to just sit here all day long. It’s really clean and always busy. All the ‘edgy’ kids from the Newtown come here too, so it’s a trend-​spotting area. Dress to be seen, because you’ll be watched!

St. Andrew’s Square offers my favourite park in Edinburgh. The park may be small, but it is the most well kept in all of Edinburgh and has a lovely little garden. On the few days the sun makes an appearance, this is my spot for eating lunch as do most of the local workforce.
Recently they had a photography exhibit as part of the science festival. The exhibit showcased the most amazing wildlife photography and explained the struggles faced by each animal in their natural habitat due to global warming etc. Throughout the year this park is buzzing and always has things going on. It looks beautiful in the winter with the fairy lights in the try and Melville Monument in the background.
Great for an afternoon of sunbathing or people watching. Perhaps a little too small for playing football or frisbee though.

When you first come to Edinburgh, you’ll probably just know this lovely big green square as the home of the huge big Melville monument marking the east end of George Street, or the location of the main bus station.
After you’ve spent your first few summers here though, St Andrew Square is so much more than that. It’s grassy, it’s clean and there’s an outdoor café serving reasonably priced soups/​ice creams/​hot & cold drinks for sustenance whilst you’re sunbathing. At lunchtime it’s full of young professionals eating their picnics in the sun, on their lunch breaks from all the offices/​shops/​boutiques nearby, so there’s always a nice buzz to it.
At the moment, circling the bottom of Melville Monument is a display of the finalists in the local photography competition that was held recently. It’s worth having a peek at as you’re passing through.
If you’re looking for somewhere in the city centre to relax in the sun whilst waiting for a bus, or just want somewhere to relax with friends and Princes Street Gardens are full, then this place should be top of your list. Whilst lazing with a book you can see the Firth of Forth to the north and the big Scott Monument on Princes Street just on the other side of you. If you run out of supplies, there’s a little Sainsburys on the opposite side of the square from Harvey Nichols.