The Mound Precinct

The Mound precinct is a public space by the National Galleries on Princes Street that is frequently used by buskers, street performers and for other outdoor events. You often hear the area referred to simply as "The Galleries".

The space lies between East Princes Street Gardens and West Princes Street Gardens at the foot of The Mound.

During the Edinburgh Festival in August, the area outside the galleries is mobbed as street performers move in with free music, comedy, and acrobatic acts and during Edinburgh's Hogmanay the Mound precinct becomes a ticketed street party space for the Keilidh.

In June, the Edinburgh International Film Festival hosts several free outdoor movie screenings in the space.

The installation of iron fences around the gallery buildings themselves, and laying of pebbles on the ground, in the early Noughties took away some of the pleasant plaza atmosphere of the space.

In the past, people would linger and chat on the giant steps of the galleries.

With the current layout discouraging the large crowds of the past, the hub of the Edinburgh Festival has become more entrenched at the High Street/Royal Mile space outside the Fringe Shop.