What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional inn in The Lord of the Rings?

The Prancing Pony is the fictional inn in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

The inn stands in Bree, a settlement where Hobbits and Men live together. Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took stay there during their journey after leaving the Shire. The innkeeper, Barliman Butterbur, provides important information and eventually helps the travellers continue their mission.

The Prancing Pony is also where Frodo meets the mysterious ranger known as Strider. Strider is later revealed to be Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor. The meeting changes the hobbits’ route and brings them under the protection of a much more capable guide.

Readers sometimes confuse this inn with The Green Dragon, a drinking house in Hobbiton associated with the Shire. The Prancing Pony belongs to Bree and is one of the story’s key meeting places.