# A Harry Potter day in Edinburgh: Rowling's cafés, Greyfriars, buried streets and dinner by the castle Breakfast where Rowling wrote, the free walk through Greyfriars and Victoria Street, two underground visits in the afternoon and a candlelit dinner at the castle gate. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/scotland/edinburgh/itineraries/harry-potter-and-buried-streets · Revisado: 2026-11-14 ## El día - 09:30 · The Elephant House (The Potter Trail · free with a donation · booking required · leaves from 4 Greyfriars Place · have breakfast first at The Elephant House, opens at 9:00) · The Elephant House, € - 2 min on foot - 11:00 · Harry Potter walk through Edinburgh's old town: what is real and what is legend (the walk ends on Victoria Street · takeaway · until the pig runs out) · The Potter Trail - 3 min on foot - 12:45 · Oink Victoria Street (from £25 · timed ticket · no under-5s · no photos) · Oink Victoria Street, € - 8 min on foot - 14:00 · The Real Mary King's Close, the buried streets beneath the Royal Mile (Mercat Tours leaves from the Mercat Cross, next to St Giles' · 1 h 15) - 6 min on foot - 15:30 · Vaults under South Bridge, a guided visit to the 18th-century chambers (book · from age 10 · groups of up to 6) · Mercat Tours - 12 min on foot - 19:00 · The Witchery by the Castle (booking · from age 10 · groups of up to 6) · The Witchery by the Castle, €€€€ If you arrive in Edinburgh looking for Harry Potter film sets, you will not find them: the films were shot in England, at Leavesden Studios. What is here is the city where J.K. Rowling lived from 1993 and wrote a good part of the books, and an Old Town of alleys, cemeteries and underground streets that looks a lot like what you imagined while reading. This day brings the two together on foot, without leaving a square kilometre, and ends with a dinner among candles and tapestries at the castle gate. ## In the morning, what she wrote here First of all, breakfast at The Elephant House, on George IV Bridge. Rowling wrote in its back room, with the castle and Greyfriars cemetery in the window. The café burned in 2021 and reopened in December 2025; it opens at 9:00 and takes no bookings, so first thing there will be a table. At 11:00, two minutes away, The Potter Trail's Harry Potter walk sets off: a guide dressed as a wizard, wand included if you bring a pencil, for an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. It is free, with a tip at the end, but you must book. It passes Greyfriars, where the grave of a Thomas Riddell who, so the story goes, may have given Voldemort his name, and ends on Victoria Street, the curving street of colourful façades that many see as Diagon Alley. The guide separates what has a source from what is legend, and that is the charm. ## Lunch on your feet on Victoria Street The walk drops you at the door of Oink, at 34 Victoria Street: a counter with a whole roast pig and rolls in three sizes, with haggis stuffing if you dare. It is takeaway. Eat it on the way down to the Grassmarket, the old market square at the foot of the castle rock. ## In the afternoon, under the Royal Mile Climb up West Bow to the Royal Mile. Halfway along, opposite St Giles' Cathedral, is the entrance to The Real Mary King's Close: a guide in period dress takes you down to 17th-century streets that were buried when the buildings above were raised. It lasts an hour, with 58 steps down, and under-5s are not admitted. Tickets are timed and start from £25; buy the 14:00 one or close to it. When you come out, the Mercat Cross is next door: from there Mercat Tours sets off for the South Bridge vaults, the chambers under the arches of an 18th-century bridge where the city's poorest lived and worked. Another hour and a quarter underground, damper and darker than the first. If you want a fright, its ghost tours run in the afternoon and at night. ## Dinner at the castle gate You have time to go back to the hotel before dinner. The Witchery by the Castle is on Castlehill, the last stretch of the Royal Mile before the Esplanade: a dining room of dark wood, candles and tapestries that looks lifted from the Great Hall without trying. It admits ages 10 and over and groups of up to six, and you should book days ahead. If you want something simpler, The Abbotsford, in the New Town, is a pub dating from 1902 with Scottish cooking until 21:30. ## Cómo llegar ### Without a car The whole day is on foot through the Old Town. To get there from the New Town, cross by The Mound or North Bridge, or take the bus with contactless. ### By car You do not need one, and there is hardly anywhere to park in the Old Town. If you arrive by car, the NCP on Castle Terrace is at the foot of the castle. ## Consejos ### Book three things days ahead The Potter Trail's free walk, the Mary King's Close time slot and the table at The Witchery. In summer and in August, leave more margin. ### Look at the grave at your leisure afterwards Greyfriars is still open when the walk ends; come back if you want to look for the graves without a group. ### Take something warm underground The vaults are cold and damp at any time of year. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Was Harry Potter filmed in Edinburgh? No. The films were made at Leavesden Studios, in England. Edinburgh is where Rowling lived and wrote. ### How much does The Potter Trail walk cost? The public tour is free, with a voluntary tip at the end, but you must book. ### Can small children come? On the walk, yes. Under-5s are not admitted to Mary King's Close, and The Witchery admits ages 10 and over: swap them for the Camera Obscura and a pub dinner. ### How much does the day cost? Between €140 and €190 per person with the two underground visits and dinner at The Witchery; with a pub dinner, quite a bit less.