By train. Stirling railway station is on the main Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen line, with frequent ScotRail services from Edinburgh (50 minutes), Glasgow (30 minutes), and Perth (35 minutes). The station is a short walk from the old town and the castle.
By car. Stirling sits at the intersection of the M9 motorway from Edinburgh (45 minutes) and Glasgow (45 minutes), and the A9 trunk road north to Perth (40 minutes) and Inverness. There are several large pay-and-display car parks within walking distance of the city centre — Castleview, at the foot of the castle rock, is the most convenient for sightseeing.
By bus. Stirling bus station is opposite the railway station and is served by Citylink coaches from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen, plus regional services across central Scotland. The journey from Edinburgh takes about 70 minutes.
There is no airport at Stirling. The nearest international airports are Edinburgh (50 km south-east) and Glasgow (45 km south-west), both about an hour by bus or train.