Greyfriars Kirkyard

On this fantastic Harry Potter-inspired walking tour of Edinburgh, you will visit some of the haunts where J. K. Rowling would sip coffee and put pen to paper writing the first Harry Potter books as her baby daughter slept in her pram. Learn about this extraordinary author, see the places she drew inspiration from, and purchase novelties from Potter-themed shops.

On your private tour, you will:

• Meet your tour guide outside the exclusive Balmoral Hotel, where J.K. Rowling finished writing the last book in the series, the Deathly Hallows;
• Stop by Museum Context, aka Diagon House, a shop selling all things related to Harry Potter from wands to broomsticks to stuffed Hedwigs and Harry Potter T-shirts as well as a variety of other magical goodies;
• Walk up to Edinburgh City Chambers to see J.K. Rowling’s handprints and signature;
• Pause at the Heart of Midlothian mosaic where Edinburgh Old Town begins to hear how Edinburgh influenced the author - and the impact J. K. Rowling has had on the city; 
• Pass by the Writers' Museum, where the first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone / Philosopher’s Stone that J.K. Rowling illustrated went on public display;
• Explore the narrow curved and cobbled Victoria Street, Candlemaker Row, and West Bow in the central Grassmarket Area - believed by some to be an inspiration for Diagon Alley (a cobblestone shopping street with stores selling wizardly supplies) in the Harry Potter books;
• Visit the Greyfriars Kirkyard, where several of the most prominent names in the series seem to have originated, including Riddle, Moodie and McGonagall;
• Admire the medieval gothic architecture and house names of Edinburgh’s George Heriot's School, does it remind you of… Hogwarts?;
• Stop outside the McEwan Hall - the graduation venue for the University of Edinburgh, and where J.K. Rowling received her honorary degree;
• End your magical tour outside the location where it all began, where Nicholson’s once stood - the cafe where J.K. Rowling famously wrote the first Harry Potter books!
  
  

In December 1993, J.K. Rowling left Portugal and moved to Edinburgh with her baby daughter, and a suitcase containing the first three chapters of Harry Potter. Living on benefits as a single mother, she plotted out the whole 7 book series, creating the magical world of witches and wizards hidden from the Muggles. Finally, on 1st September 1998, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published.

The rest you might say is history…

Fast-forward a decade or two, and over 500 million copies have been sold, 8 films made, with an enormous and adoring fanbase that hasn’t diminished with time.

Your private tour of J.K Rowling’s Edinburgh began when she finished the Harry Potter series with the last book the Deathly Hallows, at the Balmoral Hotel. Your tour takes you through the parts of Edinburgh that may have inspired J.K. Rowling’s magical world - the cobblestone streets around the Grassmarket, evocative of a certain Diagon Alley. Stop outside Edinburgh City Chambers, where you’ll see J.K. Rowling’s handprints and the McEwan Hall, where she was awarded an honorary degree from the prestigious Edinburgh University. You’ll also wander through the eerie Greyfriars Kirkyard where Rowling may have picked up some of the more famous names in the books - you will see the real Tom Riddle’s grave! 

Your magical tour ends at the location where Nicolson's Cafe once stood (now under a new name and management). It was owned by her brother-in-law and is where she would pop in to write chapters of the first Harry Potter book while her baby daughter slept. It is where the magic all began!

DISCLAIMER: This tour is an unlicensed and unauthorised tour of sites featured in the film series 'Harry Potter' based on the eponymous novels by author J. K. Rowling, produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Travel Curious Ltd. and this tour does not have any association with, or connection to, the film series 'Harry Potter', the author J. K. Rowling, and Warner Bros. Pictures. 

Explore the haunted history of Edinburgh on this fascinating tour of Scotland's capital city's dark side, famous for its imposing and rather spooky Gothic architecture, local legends, and ghostly sightings.

On your private tour, you will:

• Enjoy the atmospheric and dramatic storytelling of your expert guide;
• Explore the haunted nooks and crannies, monuments, streets and cemeteries of Edinburgh;
• Start your ghost tour at the Witchery on Castle Hill; 
• Explore Edinburgh's historic Old Town - rife with stories of battles and bloodshed;
• Learn of the hundreds of men and women who were burned at stake on Castle Hill for witchcraft over 200 years;
• Stroll down the Royal Mile, deceptively innocent, it is rife with tales of tortured prisoners in the vaults beneath the streets, and ghostly sitings;
• Walk through dark courtyards and mysterious alleyways, hearing chilling tales of executions, murder, torture, ghosts, and witchcraft in Edinburgh through the 16th and 17th centuries; 
• Arrive at North Bridge, with a view to the majestic-looking hotel and former HQ of the Scotsman with many ghost stories;
• Discover the picturesque Calton Hill, whose beautiful templed, romantic views and gothic cemetery disguise some chilling tales, from witch burnings to the mausoleum of David Hume; 
• Explore the eerie Kirkyard Cemetery at Canongate, dating back to the 17th century;
• Return to the Royal Mile and end outside Edinburgh's imposing castle, a fortress steeped in ghostly tales. 

Meet your passionate guide in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town, outside the Witchery - an atmospheric restaurant named for the hundreds of people who were burned at the stake over a period of 200 years during the 1500s and 1600s.

Begin your tour walking down Castle Hill, above the haunted vaults of the city. Back in the 11th century when King Malcolm III first built the castle, conditions in these prisoners' vaults were dark and hellish... today the streets are rife with tales of ghostly hauntings, sitings, and the wailing of torture victims, long since dead...

Living conditions in the rest of the city could also be dirty and filthy; crime was rife and punishments were swift, harsh, and violent, with many a thief ending his life at the gallows on the Grassmarket. Sometimes you can hear the creaking rope in the wind... 

Your fascinating Edinburgh ghost tour is an immersive, eerie experience that delves into the city’s most haunted nooks and crannies. Hear tales of terror, explore local legends, and discover the historic scenes of butchery and bloodshed. Your private guide will lead you on a slow-paced stroll through Edinburgh’s ancient streets and hidden passages in the Old Town.

You'll visit the picturesque Calton Hill, and discover the gory tales hidden beneath its peaceful facade, like the witch burnings and the restless ghosts that seek revenge. Visit the eerie cemetery that houses the mausoleum of philosopher David Hume - rumoured to have made a pact with the devil.

And walk through the 17th-century Canongate kirkyard, where over 30 phantoms are said to reside.
Hear how the city of Edinburgh inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write his Gothic novel Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

End back on the Royal Mile and the fortress-like Castle, whose own history is steeped in the history of bloody battles and betrayals!