The former royal burgh of Annan is a well-built town fashioned primarily out of red sandstone. Among its public buildings is Annan Academy, of which the writer Thomas Carlyle was a pupil. This Georgian building is now known as Bridge House. Built in Victorian style in 1878, the Town Hall uses local sandstone while Annan also features a Historic Resource Centre.
Annan stands on the A75 road that runs between Dumfries and Gretna, making it ideal as a commuter town for people working in Dumfries or Carlisle.