Car, private coach or minibus travel

We strongly recommend that you travel to the University using public transport, as parking near our campuses will be extremely limited.

Road closures on 25 October

A large march is taking place through the centre of Edinburgh and near our Central campus area between 11am - 12.30pm, which may cause some disruption to travel.

Roads will be closed to vehicles between 10am - 11.30am outside the Parliament on Horse Wynd and Queen’s Drive, then 10.30am - 2pm on Canongate, New Street, High Street, Bank Street, North Bank Street, George IV Bridge, Forrest Road, Potterrow (northbound), Teviot Place and Lauriston Place as far as Edinburgh Futures Institute. Those in bold are adjacent to Bristo Square and Edinburgh Futures Institute at our Central campus, and our Edinburgh College of Art campus.

It may take a little longer to walk to or from the bus or train stations. Public transport services may also be busy at times before and after the march and rally, which finishes at 4.30pm.

If you are walking between Bristo Square/George Square venues and Edinburgh Futures Institute, Edinburgh College of Art or New College for Open Day activities between around 11.30am – 12.30pm, please factor in additional time to cross the march with the assistance of event stewards.

View a map of the road closures

Low Emission Zone

A Low Emission Zone (LEZ) is enforced in central Edinburgh. This covers much of the University’s Central campus area, including: 

  • George Square and Bristo Square
  • Chambers Street
  • Edinburgh Futures Institute
  • Old College
  • New College
  • Edinburgh College of Art

Driving a non-compliant vehicle into the LEZ will result in a penalty charge notice.

Information about Edinburgh’s LEZ

Parking

Parking at our University campuses is not available to Open Day visitors except those with accessibility requirements. 

To prioritise the safety of our visitors, during the Open Days roads at our George Square campus will be closed to all vehicles, except those requiring blue badge or accessible parking, arranged in advance. 

Parking spaces on Buccleuch Place are also suspended in order to operate our Open Day shuttle bus service.

You may find the City of Edinburgh Council website useful for finding parking in Edinburgh.

City of Edinburgh Council: parking 

Car parks near Central campus

The car park closest to the Central campus is Quartermile (Q-Park), with the next closest at St Leonard’s (Easi-Park) or Holyrood Road (NCP). 

Quartermile (Q-Park)

Nicolson Square

St Leonard’s (Easi-Park)

Holyrood Road (NCP)

Parking near King's Buildings campus

There are no public car parks near our King’s Buildings campus. There are a few on-street parking bays in the area.

We run a free Open Day shuttle bus service to King’s Buildings from our Central campus.

Park and Ride

As parking in the city centre is limited and can be expensive, you may prefer to make use of one of the many Park and Ride sites on the city bypass (A720). These sites offer free parking, with buses using the bus-only 'greenways' into the city, which reduces the journey time.

Edinburgh Park and Ride

Options with direct bus links to our campuses

  • Sheriffhall Park & Ride (South): bus service 33 stops close to our Central campus.
  • Straiton Park & Ride (South): bus services 37, 47 and 47B stop close to our King's Buildings campus and Central campus.
  • Hermiston Park & Ride (West): bus service 35 stops close to our Central campus.
  • Ingliston Park & Ride (West): it is possible to take a tram to the centre of Edinburgh (Princes Street stop) which is approximately a 15 to 20 minute walk from our Central campus.

Private coaches and minibuses

If you plan to travel to our Open Day with a school coach or minibus, please contact us at ug.recruitment@ed.ac.uk.

For safety reasons, coaches cannot stay parked at George Square or Buccleuch Place throughout the day, but we can provide directions to a suggested coach drop-off point, and a more detailed map of the University campuses.

Planning your route

The City of Edinburgh Council website lists current roadworks and travel disruption in the city.

City of Edinburgh Council: roadworks

Route information for drivers can be found on the RAC or AA websites.

RAC Route Planner

AA Route Planner

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