With an increasing demand for performance space during Edinburgh’s August festival season, many fascinating old buildings have acquired new life as festival venues. The ’Old Meets New’ interactive walking map from Marriott Hotels lets locals and visitors alike explore examples of older venues with an intriguing story, highlighting Edinburgh’s outstanding flair for blending the historic and modern.

By clicking on the locations featured on the map, festival-goers can learn about each building’s history, current role and importance to the local community, as well as view high-quality photos that give a taste of each venue’s atmosphere.

There’s also a proposed walking route to help those new to the city navigate their way between the various venues, gaining a rich overview of this beautiful city in the process.

Each featured venue has a unique character and story that make it worth a visit in its own right, with the added benefit that, throughout August, they all play host to a range of music, theatre and comedy performances.

The ’Old Meets New’ walking route starts at the Acoustic Music Centre at St. Bride’s in the city’s West End, a former church that is now home to a vibrant community centre and diverse programme of folk and international music. It continues on past The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre on Palmerston Place, a former private residence that is now a spiritualist centre staging a number of talks, spoken word events and musical performances throughout the Edinburgh Fringe, before reaching Henry’s Cellar Bar on Morrison Street, a uniquely intimate underground space that is one of the capital’s favourite live music venues.

The route then heads into Edinburgh’s Old Town to visit the new pop-up café run by Filament Coffee in the India Buildings on Victoria Street, before heading on to Bedlam Theatre, a distinctive neo-gothic church and home to Britain’s oldest student-run theatre. The tour then finishes in the atmospheric Rowantree Bar in The Caves, a popular Fringe venue housed in the ancient vaults under South Bridge.

Visit http://marriottuk.tumblr.com/ to view the ’Old Meets New’ Edinburgh festival map and learn more about the project and the featured venues.

Submitted by Joanna Harrod

Festival-Map_Edinburgh

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