My Self Guided Harry Potter Walking Tour in Edinburgh

June of 2019 my friend and I decided to go on a 2 week whirlwind trip to Paris, Edinburgh, Carmarthen, Cardiff, and London. We only had 2 days in Edinburgh and, as we are both huge Harry Potter fans, we decided to spend one of our days hitting all the Harry Potter spots before our flight that night. If you didn't know, JK Rowling wrote the books in Edinburgh, which makes it a total hot spot for Harry Potter goodness!

In lieu of trying to find a Harry Potter tour to take, I decided to make our own Harry Potter walking tour so we could spend as much or as little time at each place as we wanted. I planned it all out in Google Maps so that I knew how to get from place to place (this was both of our first time in Edinburgh so trying to figure out where we should go wasn't the easiest). So that morning we started out at our hotel (we were staying in Abbeyhill) and walked up Canongate and found a cafe to have some breakfast. Now - this isn't Harry Potter related, but we ate at Wanderlust Cafe & Bistro, and it was a really nice quiet spot for some breakfast before we embarked on our walk.

Stop 1: The Balmoral Hotel

Now, apart from The Balmoral Hotel being an absolutely beautiful hotel, this is a stop on our Harry Potter tour since this is where JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There isn't much to do here (apart from take it in) unless you happen to have some serious cash to drop. There is a room at The Balmoral named the "J.K. Rowling Suite" that is over £1,000 per night, and if you have the money to spare you can absolutely stay there! It looks like a beautiful room, but as a girl on a budget, that just wasn't going to happen for me. Maybe one day!

Address: 1 Princes St, Edinburgh EH2 2EQ

Stop 2: Edinburgh City Chambers

Once we had finished ogling the building, we made our way over to Edinburgh City Chambers to find JK Rowlings handprints. This one is hidden away a little bit, you do have to go under some arches that kind of look like you might be heading somewhere you shouldn't be. But don't be alarmed! The handprints are there. They are on the ground (so be sure to look down as you're walking) and the handprints are gold. My friend and I both enjoyed seeing if our hands were the same size as hers (why? We aren't really sure!).

Address: 253 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1YJ

Stop 3: Victoria Street and the Grassmarket Area

Next on our tour we headed towards the real life Diagon Alley (aka Victoria Street). This street is super colourful and it really does feel pretty magical. There are some great shops down here as well! There is a huge Harry Potter shop called "Museum Context" that is filled to the brim with 3 floors of Harry Potter merchandise. It's definitely worth taking a look around (and maybe buying an item or 10). Another store we really enjoyed was John Kay's. It's not Harry Potter related, but it had really neat items, and was a different place if you are looking for souvenirs. The stuff has a really cool vintage feel, and we spent a decent chunk of time wandering around this small store!

Address: Victoria St., Edinburgh EH1 2HE (If you're specifically looking for Museum Context, it's located at 40 Victoria Street)

Stop 4: Greyfriars Kirkyard

So, I actually really enjoy wandering around cemeteries, so this wouldn't be completely out of left field for me to do on a normal trip. However, this particular cemetery is on this list because it is believed that the grave that inspired JK Rowling to use the name Tom Riddle is in this grave. Thomas Riddell has now had a lot of visitors to his grave for having a similar name to a book character! Now, my friend and I wandered through quite a lot of the cemetery and didn't find it at first look. We didn't have data or wifi, so it started to feel like we would never find it - who has the time to look at every single grave in this cemetery?! This cemetery is big!! Finally, on our second go round after almost giving up, we found it.

Address: Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh EH1 2QE

How to find the grave: There is a large church in the middle of the graveyard, head towards it. Once you're close to the front of it, you should see an arch towards the back of the cemetery. Go through the arch and turn right, towards the end of the path on the right hand side is the grave.

Stop 5: The Elephant House

This was definitely one of the top things on my list of things I needed to see while I was in Edinburgh. If you don't know, The Elephant House is known as "The Birthplace of Harry Potter". This is where JK Rowling would come to write in her early days. It's a must see if you're looking for really notable Harry Potter spots. We decided we wanted to have a coffee and a snack while we were there, and we were really excited to find out that they had both gluten free and vegan cakes! We happened to get there when there was no line up to get a table, but do note that within 10 minutes of us being there there was a line out the door waiting for a table. It was a really cute cafe, and they even has some really neat Elephant House merchandise if you want a memento of your visit!

Address: 21 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EN

Stop 6: Spoon (previously known as Nicolson's Cafe)

Now, I don't have any insight into how this cafe is inside or any of their food options, we were only here to find the plaque on the outside. JK Rowling wrote some of her early chapters in this building, back when it was known as Nicolson's Cafe. The plaque on the outside of the building doesn't say much more than that, but it had to be a part of our little tour!

Address: 6a Nicolson St, Edinburgh EH8 9BX

Stop 7: Potterrow Street

This has never been confirmed as an official Harry Potter site, but we went purely for the picture! I mean, it's got Potter right in the name! It really is just a street sign that you can take a picture with, but we didn't want to risk missing it!

Address: Potterrow Street, Edinburgh EH8 9BL

Stop 8: George Heriot School

This is a school (duh!) that is really grand in its design. It's thought that it may have inspired Hogwarts - its quite big, has a castle like look to it, and has large grounds. Now, it is gated, so we weren't able to get any closer than the gates allowed, but it is a nice school to look at!

Address: Lauriston Pl, Edinburgh EH3 9EQ

Stop 9: Edinburgh Castle

Now, is any trip to Edinburgh complete without going to see the castle?! Of course it's not really a Harry Potter stop, aside from the fact that it looks absolutely magical and definitely reminds me of Hogwarts! Now, we didn't go inside (We had a budget! And on top of that, we were running out of time), but if you have the time and money I've heard its definitely worth going in!

Address: Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NG

Stop 10: Tartan Weaving Mill & Exhibition

On the main level is your traditional tartans and souvenirs, but if you turn right once you enter and head down the stairs, there's a whole floor with, yep, you guessed it, more Harry Potter merchandise! Now, this isn't the only Harry Potter shop in Edinburgh by any means, but it is right next to the castle entrance, and if you're already there, why not stop in! It is in the "Royal Mile Armouries" building, so if you're looking for a one stop shop, this may be it!

Address: 555 Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2ND

And there you have it! A very Harry Potter filled tour. Below is a map that I created for how to get from each place, with walking instructions! I hope this helps you if you are looking to Potter up your day!

Happy Adventuring!

https://goo.gl/maps/DpZK7FW8fY3eoUXj9