Harry Potter walking tour Edinburgh Scotland J.K. Rowling filming locations

Create Your Very Own Harry Potter Walking Tour in Edinburgh

There is no doubt that the city of Edinburgh, Scotland is magical. Each street is filled with history and imagery that is straight out of a history book. It is easy to see that the city is a place of inspiration, and that inspiration extends to one of the most successful literary series of all time – Harry Potter. This is our quest to capture some of that magic with our very own Harry Potter walking tour Edinburgh.

Author J. K. Rowling penned early passages of the books while living in Edinburgh. During that time, Rowling was inspired by her surroundings, and whether intentionally or not, she refers to various places around town in her writing. We decided to trace some of Rowling’s foot steps and track down some of the Harry Potter locations that Edinburgh has to offer.

Our Harry Potter Walking Tour Edinburgh

Our Harry Potter experience actually started before we even arrived in Scotland. In our case, we took the train from London to Edinburgh, originating at King’s Cross Station. That particular train station is the home of Platform 9 3/4. 

During a previous London Harry Potter tour, we  were able to get photos at the actual filming location for Platform 9 3/4. That location is beyond security, and not something you’ll normally get to easily. With that in mind, they have set up a staged area where fans of Potter can get a staged photo along with a stop at the gift shop at King’s Cross.

If you’re planning time in London, consider a Harry Potter Black Cab Tour. You can read our review of our London Harry Potter filming sites here.

Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station in London
During our London Harry Potter tour, we were able to get to the actual spot that they filmed Platform 9 3/4 (left). You might not get that lucky, but can still get a photo opportunity at the staged area for photos at King’s Cross Station in London (right).

Diagon Alley in Edinburgh

Once we hit Edinburgh, we had a list of must-see Harry Potter sites to visit. Our self-guided tour started at one of the most iconic spots in town, and the inspiration for Diagon Alley, Victoria Street.

Victoria Street in Edinburgh was the inspiration for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. Along with the brightly colored stores, you’ll find a couple of well stocked Harry Potter inspired stores along with a wide range of other retail outlets.

Iconic Victoria Street in Edinburgh is a great place to visit, whether you’re a fan of Harry Potter or not. One of the most photographed locations in Edinburgh, it has been reported that this street, full of unique and fun shops, was the inspiration for Diagon Alley.

The upper and lower levels of this street are filled with small cafes and retail shops. The retail shops at street level are a must visit for Harry Potter fans in Edinburgh. This portion of the street includes a couple shops that have a great selection of memorabilia and collectables inspired by the Harry Potter books, movies and characters. Our recommendation would be to be go the stores later in the day. Throughout busy times of day, there was a queue to get into one of the stores due to the popularity of these locations. Later in the day, we saw no lines and had no wait getting into these shops.

J.K. Rowling’s Edinburgh Hideouts

It is documented that Rowling wrote the series in several locations throughout Europe. In addition to writing in London and Porto, Portugal, there are two locations where she wrote portions of the books in Edinburgh. The seventh and final book was written in part at the Balmoral Hotel, located in what is called new town at 1 Princes Street.

The early part of the series was written in the backroom of The Elephant House. The original location of this cafe overlooked Edinburgh Castle, and claims to be the birthplace of Harry Potter. The Elephant House was gutted by a fire in 2021, and as of our visit had not opened back up yet. In the meantime, they have added a location on Victoria Street for Harry Potter fans to visit, and get that photo opportunity and connection with this magical cafe. They are known for their Butterscotch beer to quench the thirst of Harry Potter fans, though we did not indulge. 

The birthplace of Harry Potter is The Elephant House, a cafe located in Edinburgh. Rowling would set up in the back room and write at the original location. That original location was gutted by a fire, so they've opened up this special location on Victoria Street for fans to visit.
The birthplace of Harry Potter is The Elephant House, a cafe located in Edinburgh. Rowling would set up in the back room and write at the original location. That original location was gutted by a fire, so they’ve opened up this special location on Victoria Street for fans to visit.

Greyfriars Kirkyard

We’re big fans of visiting old and unique cemeteries, and evidently so was J. K. Rowling. Our Harry Potter walking tour had us checking out a wonderful old cemetery, Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars is filled with plenty of history, worthy of a tour all by itself. From tales of grave robbery to the story of a loyal dog named Bobby, Greyfriars has it all. And on top of that, many believe that the grave markers in this famous cemetery served as inspiration for some of the names of characters in the Harry Potter books.  

Laid to rest in 1806, former lawyer Thomas Riddell was 72 years old. He was quite the adventurer, sailing all around the world. While he had a remarkable life, there was nothing that would indicate that this grave marker would become such a hot destination until his name was used by Rowling as the name for the character Thomas Riddell, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, a.k.a. he who must not be named.

Thomas Riddell was an attorney in Edinburgh, who died in 1806. But his name was used as the character of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort, he who must not be named.
Thomas Riddell was an attorney in Edinburgh, who died in 1806. But his name was used as the character of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort, he who must not be named.

William McGonagall was a Scottish weaver and poet initially buried in an unmarked grave inside Greyfriars. Rowling appropriated his last name to help create Minerva McGonagall, a professor and head of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts. As inspiring as Minerva McGonagall is to Harry Potter fans, the original William McGonagall was thejust the opposite. Often referred to as one of the worst poets in Scotland, he’s known for poor choice of words, ill-rhyming and inappropriate verses.

Poet William McGonagall grave marker, the inspiration for Minerva McGonagall
Scottish poet William McGonagall is laid to rest in Greyfriar’s Kirkyard is the inspiration for the name of beloved Harry Potter character Minerva McGonagall. Minerva was the head of the Gryffindor House at Hogwarts, while William is mainly known for being a bad poet.

There are a few other locations you can get to in Edinburgh for hardcore Harry Potter fans to visit. There are also plenty of Harry Potter tours, should you decide you want to be guided around town. 

Fans of Harry Potter will want to carve out a little time to take these sites in, and it really isn’t a problem. Nearly all of them are centrally located in the heart of old town Edinburgh. They are also in places that you’re going to want to visit anyway, like Victoria Street and Greyfriar’s Kirkyard. You can pay for a Harry Potter tour in Edinburgh, but our recommendation is to save the money. The graves in Greyfriar’s might be a little difficult to find, but you’ll see the crowds heading to those graves. There are also plenty of online prompts to help guide you to those graves.  

Should you find yourself heading to London, you can soak in a number of Harry Potter locations there too. Check out our UK destinations for inspiration.

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