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The Potter Trail

A guided Harry Potter walking tour of Edinburgh's Old Town, free to join with a donation at the end, starting at Greyfriars Place at 11am and noon.

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Welcome

The Potter Trail is a guided Harry Potter walking tour of Edinburgh's Old Town, run since 2012.

Your guide wears a wizarding costume and takes you to the places that inspired characters and scenes in the books, and to places where J.K. Rowling wrote them. It starts outside Bobby's Sandwich Bar at 4 Greyfriars Place, beside the entrance to Greyfriars Kirkyard, and ends on nearby Victoria Street 75 to 90 minutes later.

The public tour is free: at the end you give what you think the tour deserves, in cash or by card. Book a place ahead online. Tours run at 11am and 12 noon on almost every day of the year, with extra slots in the busier months. Bring something wand-shaped, such as a pen or an umbrella, and waterproofs, because the walk goes ahead in rain or shine. It covers about a mile and a quarter on foot.

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Round the cornerSignet Library1 min by roadSee itSignet Library
Before you go

Free to join with a donation at the end, and booked in advance for 11am and 12 noon.

Where
Starts outside Bobby's Sandwich Bar, 4 Greyfriars Place, Edinburgh EH1 2QQ; the tour ends on nearby Victoria Street.
Open
Tours at 11am and 12 noon on almost every day of the year, with extra tours normally at 3pm and 4pm in the busier months; the tour lasts 75 to 90 minutes.
Price
Free, with donations welcome by cash or card at the end; the guides carry card readers.
Booking
Book a place in advance online; public tours are for groups of up to 7 and larger groups book a private tour.
Children
Suited to children over 7; babes in arms are welcome and need no place of their own.
Dogs
Welcome, with owners responsible for their behaviour.
Access
About a mile and a quarter of walking with frequent stops; wheelchair users are welcome and a few places have uneven ground.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
11am–1.30pm
Tuesday
11am–1.30pm
Wednesday
11am–1.30pm
Thursday
11am–1.30pm
Friday
11am–1.30pm
Saturday
11am–1.30pm
Sunday
11am–1.30pm

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Where it is

Outside Bobby's Sandwich Bar at 4 Greyfriars Place, near the junction of George IV Bridge and Candlemaker Row, beside Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh.

Close byGreyfriars.
  1. Dolly the SheepDolly the SheepThe first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell, born at the Roslin Institute in 1996 and now on show in the National Museum of Scotland.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Five of the Lewis chess pieces against a dark background, including two bishops and a crowned figure, carved in pale ivory.The Lewis Chess PiecesUnder a mile 1 min by road
  3. Green banquette seating and wooden tables inside a bar with large sash windowsCheckpointA restaurant and bar in a former church of 1899 on Bristo Place, with big windows, comfort food and cocktails, and a festival stage upstairs.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Greyfriars BobbyGreyfriars BobbyA bronze of the Skye terrier said to have kept watch over his master's grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard for fourteen years, modelled from life and set on a drinking fountain in 1873.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Greyfriars KirkGreyfriars KirkThe first church built in Edinburgh after the Reformation, opened on Christmas Day 1620, where the National Covenant was signed in 1638.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. Red-fronted shop reading "The Elephant House, Birthplace of Harry Potter" with hanging flower basketsThe Elephant HouseThe cafe on George IV Bridge where J.K. Rowling wrote in the early days of Harry Potter, reopened in December 2025 after a fire in 2021.Under a mile 2 min by road
Directions
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Candlelit tables and wooden chairs beneath an oval plasterwork ceiling in a restaurantRestaurantsThe OutsiderA step away
A round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.EdinburghMoment George IV BridgeSleeps 2 · A step away
The long pale stone front of the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge.AttractionsNational Library of ScotlandA step away
Edinburgh Castle seen from a rooftop terrace with a stone drainage holeAttractionsAndy Goldsworthy's 'Hutton Roof'A step away
Round hanging sign reading "soup cafe" outside a shopfront in black and whiteCafeUnion of Genius0.2 miles
The marble shopfront of Thomas J Walls on Forrest Road, its old opticians' lettering above wide windows and a bronze door.CafeThomas J Walls0.2 miles
Illustration of Paradise Palms pub on Lothian Street, corner of Bristo SquareRestaurantsParadise Palms0.2 miles
Timber slabs laid along the wooden floor of a grand columned galleryAttractionsTalbot Rice Gallery0.2 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the tour, 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 The Potter Trail
Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from The Potter Trail
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from The Potter Trail
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 The Potter Trail
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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