The Potter Trail

Calling all witches, wizards, muggles, squibs and nerds! Grab a wand and join your robed guide on the Potter Trail - the original tour of Edinburgh designed especially for Potter fans! You’ll discover the magical locations that inspired characters and scenes in the series, visit the places where JK Rowling wrote the books, and even learn a spell or two along the way.

Even if you’re not a Harry fan, there’s still plenty to entertain you on this lively and atmospheric tour, full of colourful characters from Edinburgh’s mysterious past. Suitable for families. Muggles welcome!

The Potter Trail is Edinburgh's original and most acclaimed walking tour for Potter fans. Consistently in the top 5 highest rated tours in Edinburgh on TripAdvisor, these walking tours bring the magical side of the city to life for thousands of visitors every year.

Originally founded in 2012 by Stuart Young, the first tours were often just for a handful of people. Since then, the Potter Trail has gone from 1 guide to 10, and from 3 tours a week to 3 tours a day! Stuart and the earliest guides were members of Edinburgh University's Comedy Society, and they've never forgotten their roots – the guides are all trained comic performers. This gives their tours a unique level of enthusiasm and theatricality, and the customers tend to think so too!

The Potter Trail has grown a lot since 2012, but it is still (and always will be) completely independent and locally run, and the guides pride themselves on providing tours to anyone regardless of their financial situation. JK Rowling started writing in Edinburgh in very financially challenging circumstances and this is true of many aspiring writers. The Potter Trail's public tours are free with an optional donation at the end and that’s never going to change. The guides want you to find Edinburgh as inspirational as they do!

Consistently appearing as one of the top activities in Edinburgh on TripAdvisor for their entire history, The Potter Trail has gained a Certificate of Excellence for every year they've been operating, and was awarded a Traveller's Choice Award in both 2020 & 2021. You can also read some of their customer reviews on social media too - follow the Potter Trail on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with all things Harry Potter Edinburgh!

The free public tours are available at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00 from April until October, and paid private tours are also available at 10:00, 14:00 and 18:00 every day. If you're interested in booking a private tour, just get in touch with the Potter Trail's Head Wizards: Sam (Gryffindor) and Charles (Hufflepuff).