Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Armchair Books' green-and-maroon shopfront lines a cobbled street corner.
Edinburgh

Armchair Books

A secondhand and antiquarian bookshop across two old buildings on the West Port, above the Grassmarket, its narrow aisles crammed to the ceiling.

Visit websiteCall
Welcome

On a cobbled corner of the West Port, a weathered green-and-maroon shopfront advertises Victorian illustrated and secondhand books, a sign hanging from a cast-iron bracket and the windows stacked with spines old and new.

Inside, it is a warren. Narrow aisles laid with overlapping patterned rugs run between shelves that climb to the ceiling, lit by bare bulbs and lampshades, and hand-written labels mark the sections: Literature, History, Antiquarian. Worn cloth and leather bindings crowd the older shelves, and illustrated volumes lie open on a wooden stool. By the door a cluttered notice board is pinned with photographs, notes and photo-booth strips. Give yourself an hour, start at one end, and see what finds you on the way to the other.

Before you go

Secondhand fiction, poetry, philosophy and history, and antiquarian and Victorian illustrated books.

The shop floor is step-free, though the corners are tight. Customers whose health keeps them from busy times can ask to browse early or late, free of charge.

Where
72-74 West Port, above the Grassmarket.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–6.30pm
Tuesday
10am–6.30pm
Wednesday
10am–6.30pm
Thursday
10am–6.30pm
Friday
10am–6.30pm
Saturday
10am–6.30pm
Sunday
10am–6.30pm

Did you know

Armchair Books' sign advertises Victorian illustrated and secondhand books above its shopfront windows.
Did you know

Nearly alphabetised.

The shop fills two buildings. Number 72 holds the fiction in what it calls very nearly alphabetised chaos; number 74 the antiquarian books and non-fiction.

Leather-bound volumes including 'Crathie and Braemar' line an antiquarian bookshelf.
Did you know

The old west gate.

The West Port takes its name from the old western gate in the Flodden Wall, the town's way in from the west, and has long been a street of booksellers.

Antiquarian religious volumes in worn leather bindings line a bookshop shelf.
Did you know

In its own words.

The shop warns that its overburdened shelves groan like masts in a squall, and that the managers must be kept locked in at all times.

Crowded bookshelves line a narrow aisle laid with patterned rugs.
Did you know

Wider aisles.

In March 2024 its corridors were widened, and most wheelchairs and pushchairs can now get round the shop.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Edinburgh

Groaning shelves of second-hand books await at this creaky, quirky treasure trove of a bookshop.

Read more
Modern paperback novels line a bookshop's glass display shelves.
What is on

What is new across Edinburgh, day by day.

New places, news and stories, as we find them.

What is on in Edinburgh
01 / 06
Where it is

On the West Port, above the Grassmarket.

Close byThe places nearest Armchair Books, round the Grassmarket.
  1. The deep blue shopfront of Edinburgh Books on the West Port, books in both windows.Edinburgh BooksAnother secondhand bookshop, on the corner of the West Port.Under a mile1 min by road
  2. Gelato counter with flavours including peanut chilli coconut, bitter chinotto basil sorbet and liquorice passion fruitMary's Milk BarAn ice cream shop on the Grassmarket, under the castle.Under a mile1 min by road
  3. TimberyardTimberyardModern dining in a 19th-century warehouse on Lady Lawson Street.Under a mile1 min by road
  4. KanpaiKanpaiSushi, sake and tempura on Grindlay Street.Under a mile1 min by road
  5. Flodden WallFlodden WallThe last standing tower of the town wall built after Flodden.Under a mile2 min by road
  6. Vennel StepsVennel StepsA steep stepped lane up from the Grassmarket, with a view of the castle.Under a mile2 min by road
Directions
Dragonfly sign above wooden doors on a stone Edinburgh buildingBarsDragonflyA step away
Bedrock Coffee, EdinburghCafeBedrock CoffeeA step away
The green front of Maggie Dickson's on the Grassmarket, gold lettering over the door.AttractionsMaggie Dickson’s0.2 miles
Green booths and mustard chairs fill a café with exposed stone walls and black pendant lightsCafeHula Juice Bar0.2 miles
Bicycle parked outside The Red Door Gallery, edinburghart.com, on cobbled streetShoppingThe Red Door Gallery0.3 miles
Red-fronted shop "The Enchanted Galaxy" on Victoria Street, EdinburghShoppingThe Enchanted Galaxy0.3 miles
Blue, pink and grey terraced buildings above the Oink hog roast shopRestaurantsOink0.3 miles
Green corner shopfront reading "I.J. Mellis Cheesemonger" with cream awning and wooden bench outsideShoppingI.J. Mellis0.3 miles
Sandstone facade with arched windows and yellow door, plaque reading Magdalen ChapelAttractionsMagdalen Chapel0.3 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near Armchair Books, and when each is next free.

A round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Armchair Books
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Armchair Books
Check datesA man walks past Bucken Booths entrance flanked by black lamp postsOld Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Armchair Books
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from Armchair Books
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.