Where JK Rowling Wrote Harry Potter in Edinburgh

J.K. Rowling wrote most of the Harry Potter books in Edinburgh Scotland, and you can still visit some of these places today. Rowling moved to Edinburgh in 1993 and once said in an interview: “…Edinburgh is very much home for me and is the place where Harry evolved over seven books and many, many hours of writing in its cafés.”

Although she wrote Harry Potter in Edinburgh in a variety of cafes and private places, there are a few places that she worked that you can visit on your trip to Edinburgh!

Quick Reference: Where JK Rowling Wrote Harry Potter

Here is a quick summary of the four places where we know J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter that you can still visit in Edinburgh today:

• Wu Zhen of China (formerly Nicolson’s Cafe) – 6a Nicolson Street. Where Rowling wrote much of the first book. Now a Chinese restaurant with a Harry Potter tribute wall.
• The Elephant House – 21 George IV Bridge. Where Rowling wrote parts of books 2 and 3. Reopened in December 2025 after a major fire. Now includes a Writers’ Room with Rowling’s salvaged table.
• Traverse Theatre Cafe – 10 Cambridge Street. The least-known writing location, where Rowling would write with her pram at her side. Note: the cafe bar is currently only open to ticket holders before and after performances.
• The Balmoral Hotel, Room 552 – 1 Princes Street. Where Rowling finished the final Harry Potter book in secret in January 2007. You can book the JK Rowling Suite.

We cover each of these places in detail below, along with information about Harry Potter walking tours in Edinburgh.

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter, and Edinburgh

Before listing the places you can visit where Rowling wrote Harry Potter in Edinburgh, we’ll share a bit of background about J.K. Rowling and her time in Edinburgh.

Joanne Rowling, aka J.K. Rowling, had the inspiration for what would become the Harry Potter series during a train ride from Manchester to London in 1990. She soon sketched out a rough plan for a 7-book series featuring a boy wizard. She saw it as a book series from the start and was obviously a woman with both imagination and ambition!

In 1991, she moved to Porto, Portugal to teach English following the death of her mother and the loss of her office job in Manchester. In Porto, she worked, wrote, got married, and had a daughter Jessica.

She left her Portuguese husband in 1993 (divorcing in 1995) and headed to Edinburgh Scotland with her baby daughter and the first three drafted chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. She chose Edinburgh as that was where her sister and brother-in-law were living.

It was a rough time in Rowling’s life with the failed marriage, loss of her mother, a young daughter to take care of, and little money. She went on welfare, worked on the book, sought treatment for depression, and completed a training program as a teacher. Her intention was to become a school teacher as she had no idea whether she’d be able to sell her book or not. She had no idea that she would become one of the best-selling British authors of all time!

It was during this time that J.K. Rowling wrote in many of Edinburgh’s cafés and coffee houses with her sleeping daughter at her side. When asked the best place to write in this interview Rowling said:

“It’s no secret that the best place to write, in my opinion, is in a café. You don’t have to make your own coffee, you don’t have to feel like you’re in solitary confinement and if you have writers block, you can get up and walk to the next café while giving your batteries time to recharge and brain time to think. The best writing café is crowded enough to allow you blend in, but not too crowded that you have to share a table with someone else.”

Writing in Edinburgh’s cafés would of course become more difficult after the publication of her third book as the Harry Potter books became more and more well-known. Pottermania had begun! By the publication of her fourth book and the release of the first Harry Potter film, Rowling and the Harry Potter character were well-known around the world.

Her fame made it difficult for her to write undisturbed in local cafes. She noted in an email interview with the Broughton High (an Edinburgh school) school magazine in 2003  that although her ideal writing spot was a corner table in a larger cafe, she can no longer write in cafés because of her fame. This eventually led her to writing at home, her office, and in other private spaces.

She would write the ending of the final Harry Potter book in secret in a suite of the city’s best-known luxury hotel. In 15 years, Rowling had gone from a single mom on welfare to a successful millionaire author. She still lives in Edinburgh with her husband (she remarried in 2001) and has three children.

She now does most of her writing at home. She noted on her personal website (May 30, 2018) that her favorite place to write is in her writing room located in her garden. When describing her typical writing day, she mentioned how she used to be able to enjoy writing in cafes:

“The radio is usually tuned to classical music, because I find human voices the most distracting when I’m working, although a background buzz, as in a café, is always comforting. I used to love writing in cafés and gave it up reluctantly, but part of the point of being alone in a crowd was being happily anonymous and free to people-watch, and when you’re the one being watched, you become too self-conscious to work.”

She also noted in this post that she drinks about 8 to 9 cups of a tea in a day! You can read more about her typical writing day and other stuff over on her personal website.

Places to Visit Where J.K. Rowling Wrote Harry Potter in Edinburgh

Although J.K. Rowling wrote in a number of cafes during her early years in Edinburgh, there are three that we know she spent a lot of time writing at, and we know exactly where she wrote the ending of her final Harry Potter book. Today, you can visit all three cafes and stay at the hotel where she wrote the final book. Perhaps you’ll find a bit of inspiration to write your own best-selling novel!

Of course there are loads of other Harry Potter sites in Edinburgh, including a graveyard, a cobbled street, and a castle that may have served as inspiration for the novels. Harry Potter fans will want to be sure to visit those sites as well!

You can explore the Harry Potter sites on your own self-guided tour of Edinburgh or join a guided tour such as this one or this one. Most of the walking tours are about 2 hours long and go to the same places.

Note that there are other cafés that have claimed to be places where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter in order to draw in tourists and Harry Potter fans. Some of these claims are validated, others are not. In response to this, you’ll find a number of coffee shops in Edinburgh displaying signs proclaiming things like “Harry Potter wasn’t written here” or “J.K. Rowling never wrote here”.

We’ll focus on the three cafés where she definitely spent time writing and the hotel where we know she finished the final Harry Potter book.

Wu Zhen of China (formerly Nicolson’s Cafe)

Address: 6a Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9DH

Website: https://www.wuzhenofchina.co.uk/

Nicolson’s Cafe was the place where J.K. Rowling wrote a lot of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, after arriving in Edinburgh. This is likely the first coffee shop she worked at after moving to Edinburgh as it was then owned by Rowling’s brother-in-law. She could nurse a cup of coffee here for hours and write in relative peace with her daughter sleeping in the pram next to her.

The space has gone through several incarnations over the years. It was turned into a Chinese restaurant, then became a cafe/restaurant called Spoon that was popular with university students for about 10 years before closing in October 2020 due to the pandemic. After a brief run as a Chinese restaurant called Dun Dun Delicious, it is now a Chinese restaurant called Wu Zhen of China.

In a December 2001 BBC TV interview special, Rowling noted that she wrote huge parts of the first Harry Potter book at Nicolson’s. She noted during part of the interview that took place in the cafe:

“This was a really great place to write, because there were so many tables around here that I didn’t feel too guilty about taking a table up too long and that [pointing to the table] was my favorite table. I always wanted to try and get that one because it was out of the way in the corner. It was just great to look up when you were writing and stop and think about things and be able to look out on the street which was quite busy. They were pretty tolerant of me in here partly because one of the owners is my brother-in-law.”

We’ve eaten here since it became a Chinese restaurant again and really enjoyed it. Wu Zhen of China is open daily for lunch and dinner (12pm to 10pm) and specializes in dishes like iron pot stews and traditional Chinese cuisine. Despite the changes in name and menu over the years, the restaurant pays tribute to its Harry Potter connection with a display on the back wall dedicated to J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter. Downstairs is the Black Medicine Coffee Co., a popular coffee shop with local university students.

There is no Harry Potter themed decor beyond the tribute wall, so it is a much calmer place to visit than The Elephant House. Outside the building, you can still see the black plaque stating that “J.K. Rowling wrote some of the early chapters of Harry Potter in the rooms on the first floor of this building”. Note that the plaque is attached to the green building on the corner of Drummond Street, not directly on the restaurant entrance.

The Elephant House

Address: 21 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EN

Website: https://elephanthouse.biz/

The most famous of the Harry Potter related attractions in Edinburgh is a coffee shop called The Elephant House. A sign on the outside proclaims it to be the “Birthplace of Harry Potter” and it attracts loads of visitors. The cafe also says that other famous writers once wrote here, including Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall-Smith.

Although its claim to being the “birthplace” of Harry Potter isn’t true, Rowling definitely spent time writing here. It is fairly likely she spent time here writing the second and third Harry Potter books. In fact, you can see this video of J.K. Rowling giving an interview at The Elephant House around the time when she had started working on her third Harry Potter novel.

The Elephant House closed in August 2021 after a fire in a neighboring business caused extensive damage to the building. The inside had to be completely gutted and refurbished, and after years of uncertainty (the building’s owner went into liquidation), the cafe finally reopened on December 29, 2025.

The refurbished cafe is different from how it would have looked during J.K. Rowling’s visits, but the owners were able to salvage the table she used to write at, which has been restored and given pride of place in the cafe. The back room has been renamed “the Writers’ Room” and features painted portraits of Rowling alongside fellow Edinburgh writers Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith, and Irvine Welsh. There is also a gift shop selling Harry Potter merchandise and a themed wall inspired by Hogwarts Castle.

The Elephant House is currently open daily from 10am to 6pm. Expect it to be busy, especially during peak tourist season. If you are a writer, perhaps you can find inspiration from those now famous best-selling authors like Rowling who once sat quietly writing in longhand at the table in the corner.

The owners also operate a smaller cafe called The Elephant House Magical Cafe at 30 Victoria Street. This location opened in December 2023 as an alternative while the main Elephant House was being refurbished and appears to still be open. The Magical Cafe serves coffee, tea, butterscotch beer, and other drinks, and Victoria Street itself is the cobbled street that many believe inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books.

Traverse Theatre Cafe

Address: 10 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh EH1 2ED
Website: https://www.traverse.co.uk/about-us/your-visit

The least known of the cafés where we have been able to confirm that J.K. Rowling worked on Harry Potter is Traverse Cafe. In fact, we have not ever seen it mentioned in another travel guide related to Harry Potter in Edinburgh.

Traverse Theatre is a contemporary theater that has been around since 1963 but only at its present location and building since 1992. It was at this time they opened a new cafe. It was here that J.K. Rowling would write parts of her early Harry Potter novels.

J.K. Rowling noted on her personal website on May 30, 2018 that she did a lot of writing at Traverse Cafe when she met John Tiffany, the director of stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. She wrote: “Incredibly, John and I knew each to say hello to years ago, when I used to write in the café at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.”

There is also a June 2016 interview in The Guardian where J.K. Rowling also  notes that when she met Tiffany in person she realized she had met him back in the mid-1990’s in Traverse café. Tiffany was often there meeting actors and she was there writing with a pram at her side, and they would say hello to each other. It would be a year of so later before Tiffany would realize who she had been.

There is not too much to see here and the cafe is small with tables scattered around. The cafe, during our last visit, was serving coffee as well as soups, salads, and sandwiches. The customers are mainly people working or meeting with people at Traverse Theatre.

Note that the Traverse Theatre Cafe Bar has not fully reopened since the pandemic. As of early 2026, it is only open to ticket holders for an hour before a show and then after the performance. So if you want to visit, you will need to have tickets to a show at the theatre. Check the Traverse Theatre website for the latest information, as this may change.

There is also full restaurant called Dine located upstairs with a full bar and cocktail lounge. If you are looking for a modern brasserie type restaurant, this is one to consider. Reservations recommended.

Room 552 at the Balmoral Hotel

Address: 1 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 2EQ
Website: https://www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/the-balmoral-hotel/

JK Rowling finished the seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, at the Balmoral Hotel. The Balmoral Hotel is a 5-star 19th century luxury hotel located next to the Waverley train station in Edinburgh. Rowling said she was feeling distracted at home and wanted to get away for a little while to finish the ending of her book. She managed to work in a hotel suite here and finish the book in secret with very few people knowing she was staying here.

After finishing the book, she famously graffitied a marble bust of the god Hermes. She scribbled the following on the bust: “JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11th Jan 2007”. Not surprisingly, Rowling did not get into any trouble for her vandalism and in fact, the bust is now proudly displayed in the suite behind glass. The suite was later renamed the JK Rowling Suite.

The Balmoral Hotel is a hotel and anyone can stay here for a price (check current prices here). You can even stay in the same room (552) as the famous author. This beautiful suite typically costs between £2,000 and £3,000 a night depending on the season (checked March 2026) and the outside of the door is decorated with an owl and a small golden sign bearing the name The J.K. Rowling Suite. Of course, you can book a regular room for much less!

If the Balmoral Hotel is not within your budget, you can also still visit the hotel restaurant for a meal or afternoon tea (reservations recommended).

If you are looking for somewhere to stay in Edinburgh, there are lots of options for places to stay in the city, from hotels to apartments to hostels. We recommend that those interested in Harry Potter sites in Edinburgh stay around the Grassmarket area, and you can check out our detailed guide to where to stay in Edinburgh for Harry Potter fans here.

Tours of Harry Potter Locations in Edinburgh

A guided walking tour of Edinburgh can be a great way to get introduced to both the city and some Harry Potter related locations. There are quite a few Harry Potter themed tours available in Edinburgh now, and most are about 2 hours long.

Most tours focus more on places that served as inspiration (or supposed inspiration) for the Harry Potter series rather than locations where J.K. Rowling actually wrote the books. But they usually include a walk by The Elephant House and along Victoria Street, and many also stop at Greyfriars Kirkyard where you can see the graves of Thomas Riddell and William McGonagall. They can be a good jumping off point before you explore more on your own.

Here are a few Edinburgh Harry Potter tours we recommend:

• This popular 2-hour Harry Potter walking tour covers the main HP sites in central Edinburgh with an interactive quiz. We’ve done it and it’s a fun tour for Potter fans of any age. It has over 300 reviews and is one of the top-rated HP tours in the city.
• This 2-hour guided walking tour is another well-reviewed option that visits the cafes and hotel where J.K. Rowling wrote her books and the sites that inspired the stories.
• If you want a tour that focuses more seriously on J.K. Rowling herself, her writing, and her inspirations, consider this longer 4.5-hour JK Rowling and Harry Potter walking tour. It goes into much more depth about Rowling’s life in Edinburgh. Highly rated but be prepared for a lot of walking!
• If you prefer a private tour, check out this private Harry Potter tour. A private tour is going to be more expensive but it does allow you to tailor the tour to your own interests and go at your own pace, and they are a good choice for families traveling with children.

There are also combo tours that pair the Harry Potter walk with Edinburgh Castle entry, Edinburgh Dungeons, or even a pub stop for adult-only groups. You can see the full range of Harry Potter tours in Edinburgh here.

If you have any questions about Harry Potter tours in Edinburgh just ask us. We’ve done a few and we’ve even seen guides using our blog material as part of their tours before.

Tips for Visiting JK Rowling’s Writing Locations in Edinburgh

All four of these J.K. Rowling writing locations are within walking distance of each other in central Edinburgh. If you want to visit them all in one go, a good order would be to start at the Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street, then walk south through Old Town to Wu Zhen of China on Nicolson Street, then west to The Elephant House on George IV Bridge.

The Traverse Theatre on Cambridge Street is a short walk further west, but note that the cafe bar there is currently only open to ticket holders before and after performances, so you may want to skip it unless you are planning to see a show. The walk between the first three locations takes about 20 to 30 minutes without stops.

The Elephant House is the busiest of the four locations, especially during summer and around holidays. If you want to actually sit down and have a coffee rather than just peek in, try visiting first thing when they open at 10am. Victoria Street (just down the hill from The Elephant House) is also worth a wander, as many people believe it inspired Diagon Alley.

Another quick stop for Harry Potter fans is at the City Chambers on the Royal Mile, where you can see J.K. Rowling’s golden handprints set into the pavement. Rowling received the Edinburgh Award in 2008 and her handprints were cast as part of the award. The City Chambers is on the Royal Mile between Wu Zhen of China and The Elephant House, so it fits naturally into the walking route.

If you are interested in the graveyard where Rowling found inspiration for character names like Tom Riddle and McGonagall, Greyfriars Kirkyard is just a short walk from The Elephant House. We cover this and other inspiration sites in our detailed guide to Harry Potter sites in Edinburgh.

So those are four places where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books in Edinburgh that you can still visit today. With The Elephant House now reopened after the fire, all four locations are available to visitors again for the first time since 2021.

If you are looking for more information about visiting these cafés or other Harry Potter related sites in Edinburgh, you can check out our comprehensive Harry Potter Edinburgh guide. If you are going to be traveling outside of Edinburgh, check out our guide to Harry Potter filming locations in Scotland.

For more sight-seeing in Edinburgh, take a look at our guide to things to do in Edinburgh. Also be sure to check out our guide to day trips from Edinburgh if you are wanting to visit any of the Harry Potter filming locations.

If you are planning to visit Harry Potter locations beyond Edinburgh, you might also enjoy Laurence’s guide to Harry Potter filming locations across the UK, which covers sites in England and Scotland. And if you are planning a longer trip to Edinburgh, take a look at Laurence’s 2-day Edinburgh itinerary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did JK Rowling write Harry Potter?

J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books primarily in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she moved in 1993. She wrote in several cafes around the city, most notably Nicolson’s Cafe (now Wu Zhen of China) where she wrote much of the first book, and The Elephant House where she wrote parts of the second and third books.

She also wrote at the Traverse Theatre Cafe. As the books became more successful and she became famous, she could no longer write in public and switched to writing at home and in private spaces. She finished the final book in a suite at the Balmoral Hotel in January 2007.

What cafe did JK Rowling write Harry Potter in?

Rowling wrote in several Edinburgh cafes, but the three confirmed locations are Nicolson’s Cafe (now Wu Zhen of China at 6a Nicolson Street), The Elephant House (21 George IV Bridge), and the Traverse Theatre Cafe (10 Cambridge Street). Nicolson’s is where she wrote much of the first book, while The Elephant House is where she likely wrote parts of the second and third books.

Has The Elephant House in Edinburgh reopened?

Yes. The Elephant House reopened on December 29, 2025, after being closed for over four years due to a devastating fire in August 2021. The cafe has been fully refurbished and includes a “Writers’ Room” with J.K. Rowling’s original writing table, which was salvaged from the fire and restored.

The cafe is currently open daily from 10am to 6pm at 21 George IV Bridge. A smaller sister location called The Elephant House Magical Cafe also operates at 30 Victoria Street.

Can you visit the hotel room where JK Rowling finished Harry Potter?

Yes. J.K. Rowling finished the seventh and final Harry Potter book in Room 552 at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. The room has been renamed the JK Rowling Suite and you can book it. It typically costs between £2,000 and £3,000 a night depending on the season. You can also visit the Balmoral Hotel’s restaurant or book afternoon tea if you want to see the hotel without staying overnight.

Does JK Rowling still live in Edinburgh?

Yes. J.K. Rowling has lived in Edinburgh since 1993 and still lives there with her family. She has said that Edinburgh is very much home for her. She now does most of her writing at home, in a writing room located in her garden.

Where is the JK Rowling plaque in Edinburgh?

There is a black plaque near the former Nicolson’s Cafe (now Wu Zhen of China) at 6a Nicolson Street. It states that “J.K. Rowling wrote some of the early chapters of Harry Potter in the rooms on the first floor of this building.” The plaque is attached to the green building on the corner of Drummond Street, which is easy to miss if you are looking at the restaurant entrance directly.

Are Harry Potter walking tours in Edinburgh worth it?

We think so, especially if it is your first time in Edinburgh or if you are traveling with children. The tours cover a lot of ground and the guides share stories and connections between Edinburgh and the Harry Potter books that you might not discover on your own.

Most tours are about 2 hours and take you past The Elephant House, Greyfriars Kirkyard (where you can see the graves that inspired character names), Victoria Street (believed to have inspired Diagon Alley), George Heriot’s School (which looks like it could be Hogwarts), and J.K. Rowling’s golden handprints outside the City Chambers on the Royal Mile. There are also longer tours that focus more specifically on J.K. Rowling’s life and writing process.

What is the Elephant House Magical Cafe on Victoria Street?

The Elephant House Magical Cafe at 30 Victoria Street is a smaller sister cafe opened in December 2023 by the owners of The Elephant House while the main cafe was closed for refurbishment after the 2021 fire. It serves coffee, tea, butterscotch beer, and other drinks.

Now that the main Elephant House on George IV Bridge has reopened, the Victoria Street location appears to be continuing to operate as well. Victoria Street is the cobbled street that many believe inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books.

Would you be interested in visiting any of these Harry Potter related sites in Edinburgh? If you have visited any spots where J.K. Rowling wrote about Harry Potter in Edinburgh, we’d love to hear about your experiences. If you are planning a trip to Edinburgh and have any questions, just leave your questions in the Comments section below and we’ll get back to you!