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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.

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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.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

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

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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.

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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 mile 1 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 mile 1 min by road
  3. TimberyardTimberyardModern dining in a 19th-century warehouse on Lady Lawson Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. KanpaiKanpaiSushi, sake and tempura on Grindlay Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Flodden WallFlodden WallThe last standing tower of the town wall built after Flodden.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. Vennel StepsVennel StepsA steep stepped lane up from the Grassmarket, with a view of the castle.Under a mile 2 min by road
Directions
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Stay nearby

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