Edinburgh is the Scottish city closely associated with J.K. Rowling’s writing of the Harry Potter books.
Rowling lived in Edinburgh while developing and writing parts of the series. Cafés in the city, including Nicolson’s Café and the Elephant House, are often linked with her writing history, although popular accounts can oversimplify exactly where individual scenes or chapters were drafted. She also wrote at home and in other locations, so no single café should be treated as the exclusive birthplace of the books.
Edinburgh’s historic architecture and atmosphere have encouraged comparisons with the wizarding world, but Rowling has said the series was not directly based on one Scottish building or neighborhood. The city connection is biographical: it was an important place in her life during the period when the novels were being written and published.