In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, what is the name of the inn in Bree?

The inn in Bree in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit-related Middle-earth setting is called The Prancing Pony. It stands in the town of Bree and is operated by Barliman Butterbur. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin stay there while traveling east.

The inn is an important meeting place because the hobbits encounter Aragorn there, although he is initially known to them as Strider. The Prancing Pony also connects the ordinary world of travelers, merchants, and local residents with the hidden dangers surrounding the quest.

The Green Dragon is a different inn in Hobbiton, associated with the Shire and hobbit social life. The Golden Perch is another inn, located in Stock rather than Bree. The Prancing Pony therefore identifies Bree specifically, not the Shire. Tolkien’s detailed inns and roads help make Middle-earth feel like a lived-in historical landscape.