Melrose is on the A68 between Edinburgh and Newcastle. By car, it is around an hour and a quarter from Edinburgh and two and a half hours from Glasgow.
The Borders Railway, reopened in 2015, runs from Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank — three miles from Melrose. Trains run hourly and take an hour. From Tweedbank station, frequent buses connect to Melrose town centre; alternatively, it is a pleasant 45-minute walk along the river.
National bus services from Edinburgh and Galashiels stop in Melrose itself, on the High Street, and connect with the other Borders towns including Jedburgh and Kelso.