Harry Potter Tour in Edinburgh: Which Walking Tour Is Worth Booking?
Updated October 13, 2026 · 5 min read
Book the Original Harry Potter Tour at €16.58 unless you want the most-reviewed one. It is a 2-hour walk, rated 4.9 from 1,489 reviews, and it is the cheapest of the main four. The better-known listing, the Harry Potter Magical Guided Walking Tour at €21.31, has far more reviews (13,256 at 4.8) and a nearly identical description.
What these tours do
Three of them are two-hour walks through the Old Town that tie the places you can see to the books and to J.K. Rowling’s life in Edinburgh. The listings mention a quiz, working out your Hogwarts House, and a visit to Tom Riddle’s grave. They are short and they stay on foot. They do not go into any film set, because the films were not shot here.
The tours compared
| Tour | Price | Length | Rating | Reviews | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Harry Potter Tour | €16.58 | 2 h | 4.9 | 1,489 | Quiz, Hogwarts House, Tom Riddle’s grave |
| Harry Potter Magical Guided Walking Tour | €21.31 | 2 h | 4.8 | 13,256 | Same described programme; most reviewed |
| Real-Life Harry Potter Walking Tour | €26.05 | 2 h | 4.7 | 1,686 | “Real Diagon Alley”, the Hogwarts lookalike school |
| Harry Potter Tour with Entry to Edinburgh Castle | €68.67 | 4 h | 4.7 | 1,244 | Walk plus castle entry and an Old Town cafe |
How to choose
For most people: one of the two cheap, near-identical walks. The descriptions of the €16.58 and €21.31 tours are almost word for word the same, so the choice is between price and review volume. The €21.31 tour has the larger base; the €16.58 one has the higher score. We do not know whether they share an operator.
For a slightly different route: the Real-Life tour. At €26.05 it describes the “real Diagon Alley” and the Hogwarts lookalike school with an expert guide who is a fan.
For a package day: the castle combination. At €68.67 and 4 hours, it bundles the walk with Edinburgh Castle entry. If you were going to buy a castle visit anyway, compare it with the castle tickets and guided tours: the plain castle tour starts at €41.44, so the Harry Potter walk is effectively about €27 on top.
Do you need a tour at all?
Honestly, no. The places are free to walk past, and the main ones sit close together around the Old Town and Greyfriars:
- Victoria Street, a curved, colourful street often named as an inspiration for Diagon Alley.
- Greyfriars Kirkyard, where fans look for headstones with names that match characters, including Thomas Riddell.
- George Heriot’s School, beside the kirkyard, with the towers that make it look like Hogwarts.
- The Elephant House cafe, which has long been tied to Rowling. It was closed for a long time after a fire, so check that it is open before planning around it.
- The Balmoral Hotel, where she finished the last book.
A guide adds the stories behind them, the quiz and the structure, and that is what you pay for. If you enjoy a guided walk, €17 to €21 is cheap. If you prefer to wander, a map and a couple of hours is enough.
What this is not
It is not a studio tour and it is not a film location tour. For the filming locations you want the Highlands: the viaduct in the films is at Glenfinnan, covered in our Glenfinnan comparison. That is a 12-hour day, not a walk.
The short version
Book the €16.58 Original Harry Potter Tour for the cheapest guided walk with a very high rating, or the €21.31 tour if you prefer the safety of thirteen thousand reviews. More options sit under Harry Potter tours in Edinburgh and Edinburgh walking tours.
