Edinburgh & Harry Potter: 10 places not to miss!

If you’re planning to visit Edinburgh with teenagers or children who are Harry Potter fans, I hope this little guide will help you plan your walk yourselves. By the way, perhaps you’re Harry Potter fans too? But just so you know, that’s not my case! This detail is important because it means I can assure you that setting off on the trail of Harry Potter in Edinburgh didn’t bother me in the slightest, because it lets you see the city’s must-sees! Even though I’m a kind mum, I wouldn’t have played along so much if that hadn’t been the case. For these 3 days in Edinburgh with my young teenager, I happily researched places, anecdotes and information linked to Harry Potter to enrich a walk we would have done anyway to visit the city. My girl loved discovering these places – she who has read the Harry Potter saga four times! And I was happy to make her happy!

Some of the places below are reminiscent of the Harry Potter books, others of the films, and others again are more linked to J.K. Rowling herself. So here are these 10 Harry Potter places we saw in Edinburgh!

Victoria Street or Diagon Alley?

Victoria Street is a very beautiful historic street that links George IV Bridge diagonally with Grassmarket. A diagonal, then, like… Diagon Alley.

Even if our imagination can’t help seeing a connection with Harry Potter, that doesn’t mean J.K. Rowling had Victoria Street in mind when writing her books. However, she lived in Edinburgh, and both the atmosphere and the architecture of the city may have inspired her indirectly. Between the small colourful façades and the cobblestones, Victoria Street really does call to mind the visual world of the film.

Bonus info: you can wander through the “fake Victoria Street”, the film set, if you visit the Harry Potter Studios.

The Elephant House I: when the café where J.K. Rowling used to write rises from its ashes

On George IV, at number 21, was the original The Elephant House café, where J.K. Rowling often came to write chapters of her Harry Potter saga. But the café burned down completely in August 2021. Nothing was left. Since December 2025, the café has reopened and is run by the same owner; the interior, however, has been completely redone. Harry Potter fans can even find a goodies corner at the café entrance. It’s no longer very authentic. The café didn’t tempt us given the reviews, so we just took a photo of the outside as a memento of the real place where the first books were born.

Bonus info: J.K. Rowling isn’t the only star to have written at the Elephant House; there’s also the famous Scottish writer Ian Rankin, whose crime novels featuring Inspector Rebus are also set in Edinburgh.

The Elephant House II: the real-but-fake café where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter

On Victoria Street, we also came across a The Elephant House café that stands out for its bright red colour. On the shopfront, a sign explains that this is where Harry Potter was born. But the story is a little more complicated than that: as I’ve just told you, the real café burned down, but the owner re-established it on Victoria Street, apparently saving the table at which J.K. Rowling wrote and recreating the interior as it was in the original café. So let’s say it’s the real café but not in the real place! We took the photo for the nod to it; the café itself, though, isn’t tempting. It seems like a good tourist trap, obviously cashing in on the Harry Potter wave. Never mind, it’s cute from the outside and it lets you discover the double history of this café!

The Balmoral hotel: J.K. Rowling, billionaire version!

Let’s stay with the places where J.K. Rowling wrote and head to the 5-star hotel The Balmoral! After the little café in the Old Town, the author ended up in a suite at the most famous luxury hotel in Edinburgh! What a contrast! At the Balmoral, J.K. Rowling wrote the final chapters of the last instalment of the Harry Potter saga (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) in 2007. If you have the budget, note that you’ll need to book suite 552, which has been renamed the “J.K. Rowling Suite”, of course! But you’ll probably need to win the lottery before sleeping there or writing a bestselling novel! I looked out of curiosity: their cheapest double room is already around £600 and the J.K. Rowling Suite around £2,500! Maybe there are Black Friday deals? 😉

“Museum Context”: the Harry Potter shop-museum

On Victoria Street, at number 40, is the lovely Museum Context shop, which sells official Harry Potter items over three floors. There’s a long queue to get in. Luckily, my girl has outgrown the Harry Potter goodies stage, but rest assured: we’d already bought magic wands at the Harry Potter Studios in the past! If people queue (only adults, by the way!), it’s also for the particularly immersive decor inside the shop with its Victorian charm. This shop used to house a brush merchant. There’s another Museum Context shop in Edinburgh a few steps away, on George IV next to the Elephant House. For this second branch, we didn’t see any queues, so if your only goal is to buy a Harry Potter souvenir, it’s a better option, even if the shop doesn’t have the same charm as the one on Victoria Street.

New College, to imagine yourself at Hogwarts!

This majestic neo-Gothic building houses the school of divinity of the University of Edinburgh and reminds us of the dramatic architecture of Hogwarts. It’s the whole package: the atmosphere, the slender, tall medieval towers and the cobbled courtyard. The ensemble may have been one of the inspirations for Hogwarts, as the university buildings of Oxford probably were. Titpuce thought the Hogwarts atmosphere was really there! She felt very small in the middle of this courtyard! There are often tourists taking photos, but we happened to pass by during a shower, so we were alone. The rain doesn’t show much in our photo, but it was definitely there!

Minalima: the temple of Harry Potter illustrations

If you’ve already been to London, you probably know the The House of Minalima shop, which has copies of the illustrations used in the Harry Potter films. Some are genuine works of art sold in limited editions. We gave some to the children a few years ago. Since late 2024, Minalima has opened a branch in Edinburgh, located on the very beautiful Cockburn Street (at 42-44), another picturesque street in the Old Town not to be missed.

Bonus info: The House of Minalima in London is part of my itinerary for discovering central London as a family.

The Greyfriars cemetery with “Harry-Potteresque” names

The very beautiful Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery is located not far from the Elephant House, so it’s quite possible that J.K. Rowling, walking there, was inspired by the names on a few graves:

Looking on Google Maps, we came across:

“Thomas Riddell”, whose name looks a lot like Tom Riddle.
William McGonagall, a 19th-century poet who inspired the name of Professor McGonagall.
There’s also a grave with the name of a Potter family and the grave of a certain Elizabeth Moodie (Mad-Eye Moody?)

At the back of the cemetery, you can glimpse George Heriot’s School, which some people associate with Hogwarts because it has four towers with four houses, but honestly, it’s very common in Britain to have Houses in schools. The number of houses depends on the size of the school. Currently, there are 6 Houses at Titpuce and Ticoeur’s secondary school. At their primary school there were three. This house system is really common! As for the towers of George Heriot’s School, they look nothing like those in the films. (Photos forbidden.) The only possible connection: in the past, the school was known for taking in orphans.

Bonus info: the cemetery holds other stories. Don’t miss the statue of the little dog Bobby at the cemetery entrance, and be aware that the place is haunted by the MacKenzie ghost!

The Lewis chessmen

This chess set, absolutely incredible in its detail and finesse, dates from the 12th century and is housed at the National Museum of Scotland (free). It’s on the list of the museum’s highlights (not because of Harry Potter, mind you!), so you’ll see it marked on the map provided at the entrance. This very rare chess set was discovered on the Isle of Lewis (The Lewis Chessmen). It’s thought to be of Norwegian origin, as the island was under Norwegian influence in the Middle Ages. The figures are made of walrus ivory and the facial expressions are remarkable.

So it’s no surprise that, for the depiction of the chess game in the Harry Potter film, the film team reproduced these beautiful medieval figures. You’ll be able to recognise the Lewis chess set in the first film, when Harry, Hermione and Ron play wizard’s chess: the pieces move on their own! Handy! The Norwegians hadn’t thought of that!

Bonus info: this chess set is mentioned in another series of books that I have actually read and that I recommend to fans of Scotland. It’s The Lewis Trilogy by Peter May. You see, it’s not all just for Harry Potter fans!

J.K. Rowling’s handprints in the City Chambers courtyard

In the heart of Edinburgh’s old town, on the Royal Mile, opposite the magnificent St Giles’ Cathedral, are the City Chambers. In its elegant courtyard, set into the ground, you can see the handprints of the people the city has wished to honour. That’s how J.K. Rowling was invited to leave her handprints in 2008 after receiving the Edinburgh Award for her contribution to the city’s profile. Originally, the prints were gilded, which must have looked rather good. Now there’s no gilding left at all and, honestly, the result isn’t great :-).

Bonus info: we met people who were struggling to find the handprints. So note that they’re just on the left after the entrance porch into the courtyard, a stone’s throw from the Mary King’s Close, which we visited and which we recommend!

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Our accommodation in Edinburgh

No, no, our accommodation isn’t Harry Potter-themed and we couldn’t afford to sleep at the Balmoral, but we found a place we absolutely loved! We stayed at the Castle Park Guesthouse, an adorable Bed & Breakfast south of the old town, a 20-minute walk away. Great welcome, delicious breakfast and attentive service! From this accommodation, the most convenient place to begin discovering the Harry Potter spots is Greyfriars cemetery.

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To finish, here’s the complete map with all the Harry Potter places mentioned in this article:
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In conclusion, visiting Edinburgh’s old town on the trail of Harry Potter delighted my princess and, for a non-fan like me, it was also an interesting angle because all these places are worth it beyond Harry Potter! We killed two birds with one stone: Edinburgh and Harry Potter! And in the end, I had a thrilled child! So you can visit the magnificent city of Edinburgh with more or less Harry Potter wizardry depending on your wishes! I’d prepared everything in advance and done my research beforehand. I hope this will be useful for finding these Harry Potter places entirely on your own. If you’d rather join a guided tour and if you speak fluent English, note that Potter Trail organises free tours (from age 7) where you’re simply encouraged to make a donation at the end.

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Exclusive summer 2026 info: Harry Potter in concert at Edinburgh Castle!

On 19 July 2026, a Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban concert will take place at Edinburgh Castle! The Royal Scottish National Orchestra will play the film’s music. Book on the castle’s official website.