Harry Potter Tour and Edinburgh Castle Visit
Description
Set off on a magical tour of Edinburgh with our fun Potter-head guide, and see the places that inspired JK Rowling to create her wizarding universe. Then, enter the incredible Edinburgh Castle! Starting at Tron Kirk on The Royal Mile, we first head to historic Waverley Station. Then head to Edinburgh University Old College - a famous old campus which provided lots of inspiration for JK Rowling’s creations. We continue through the atmospheric Old Town, stopping at Greyfriars Kirkyard which inspired Tom Riddle's Grave and passing by the Elephant Café where JK Rowling sat for many hours dreaming up the world of Harry Potter! Get amazing views of Edinburgh Castle on our way to Victoria Street - said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley - and we finish near Edinburgh City Chambers where you’ll learn about JK Rowling’s impact on the city. After the tour, you'll be given your tickets to explore the beautiful Edinburgh Castle!
Tour Options
Itinerary
After meeting your guide and fellow Potter-heads near Tron Kirk Market, your tour starts with a stroll along Edinburgh’s world-famous Royal Mile!
We’ll stop at a great viewpoint to see the historical Waverley Train station, much used by JK Rowling and an inspiration for trains being an iconic part of a young wizard's journey.
Looking over Edinburgh New Town, your guide will point out some key features that played a major part in the creation of the magical Harry Potter world.
Next, we’ll pass by this famous old campus which provided lots of inspiration to JK Rowling’s creations…. This place might remind you of Hogwarts!
We continue through the atmospheric streets of the Old Town, where your guide will show you many of the city’s most famous historical landmarks.
In this spooky graveyard you will see many recognisable names from the Potter world - this is the site of Tom Riddell’s grave and a number of other names used for JK Rowling’s characters.
You’ll enjoy wonderful views of this beautiful old castle, which plays a huge part in Scottish history as well as inspiring JK Rowling's Potter Universe.
With its colourful independent shops, overhanging street signs and the cobbled street that twists and turns out of view, it's easy to see why this is said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley!
We end the tour at the City Chambers where we see the impact that JK Rowling has had on Edinburgh itself, and her huge contributions to the local community.
After the tour, you’ll be given your Edinburgh Castle tickets to explore its stunning architecture, the Crown Jewels, Stone of Destiny, and the National War Museum. Enjoy breathtaking city views from the castle's vantage points at your own pace.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(425)
Great guide, lots of fun, a definite must for HarryPotter and/or history fans!
This was a very interesting tour that also gave us more information about what we could see in the city. Millie was our tour guide and she was fantastic!! She was very knowledgeable and conscientious of the tour group. Learned a lot about JK Rowling and her inspiration for Harry Potter. Also just got a lot of recommendations of what else to explore in the city which was helpful.
While we had high hopes for this tour, the inexperienced guide (first ever tour given) was clearly not that well trained by the company or vetted for his knowledge. It is hard to believe this company would given someone a tour about Harry Potter and the locations which possibly inspired the author, if the guide had not read the books, but has 'seen some of the movies'. With the amount of knowledgeable people who would want to take a HP tour, one would think the guide should have some more knowledge.
What an amazing experience 10/10 would recommend to anyone who loves Harry Potter. Lee was our guide and he was fantastic and full of energy.
Worth it every penny very informative
Our guide Jackson was an enthusiastic and passionate storyteller! He made the tour of JK Rowling’s haunts and stories come alive! We visited the graveyard where JK found many character names, saw cafe’s where she wrote her books, heard stories of her life and her journey to create the world of Harry Potter! I highly recommend the tour to Harry Potter fans!!!
Very negative experience. Booked as a gift to my wife for her birthday. Our cruise had docked late into Queensferry and then had some delays with the tenders from the ship to the port. I communicated with the group that we would be a little late as Edinburgh is an additional 30+ minutes via taxi from the port. We were told that after being 15 minutes late that we would not be able to catch up with the tour. This seemed very strange to me given how easy the town is to navigate and how many landmarks are on the itinerary. Understanding that being late isn't ideal for the tour, it was out of our hands and we weren't expecting special treatment. Just something as simple as "go to this landmark and wait for them" would have been great. But sadly, this wasn't offered. And we only ended up being 30 minutes late to begin with. Of course, no refund was offered. The only positive I can say is that we were sent our Edinburgh castle tickets via email/pdf, so we were at least able to do that portion on our own, though the time slot that the tour booked (1pm) wasn't great. If you are cruising, book with great caution and to the tour company, please do better to accommodate circumstances out of your guest's control.
All Harry Potter locations visited. Young tour guide was very efficient but not a lot of content or voice projection.
Made the reservation and gladly would do it again. Jackson had so much knowledge and was fun walking us around Edinburgh. You gotta take this tour.
It was great! Jackson was really funny and interactive with us. I loved it, and to finish it off with the visit of the Edinburgh castle was amazing! 100% recommand if you are an Harry Potter fan 👌🏻
