How To Visit Toppings, A Bookshop in Edinburgh
Last Updated on 12th November 2025 by Sophie Nadeau
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Toppings & Company Booksellers are a small chain of bookshops in the United Kingdom that offer plenty of signed and first edition copies, as well as hosting various events that provide a direct connection between the writers and their readers.
Found at the bottom of Calton Hill in a beautiful corner side terrace house is the two-storey Toppings Bookshop of Edinburgh. Here’s your guide on how to visit Toppings Bookshop, as well as insider tips (from a local) and other bookshops to visit!
Contents
A brief introduction to Toppings
Toppings & Company Booksellers is the formal name for the family business started by Robert and Louise Topping, and they first opened their doors in Cambridge in 2002. As of now, the business has expanded to Bath, St Andrews, and Edinburgh (2019).
The various bookshops are known to be home to rare and collectable editions, including signed copies and books which have gone out of print, most of which are on display and for sale.
Another point of interest for those bookworms out there is that you can get your hands on several books signed by the authors themselves. As well as this, Toppings tends to run events throughout the year, hosting writers for talks and meet-ups alike which allow avid readers to meet the person behind the pages they have loved so much!
Psst! We know that a visit to Toppings is a great rainy day activity, but what else should you do in Edinburgh?
Scotland in general experiences a lot of rain throughout the year. However, this Gothic fairytale city can be even more enchanting when explored in the rain.
Find out more…
How to visit
Opening hours: 9 am – 9 pm every day of the week!
One of the most magical things about Toppings Bookshop is that it’s open all hours of the day, meaning that almost everyone has the opportunity to visit, no matter their work schedule.
Found on the corner of London Road which sits just below Edinburgh’s iconic Calton Hill, Toppings is set over two storeys in a beautiful corner side property that boasts tall reaching ceilings and huge bay windows.
Upon entering, you are greeted with colourful shelves neatly filled with hundreds of books, from literary travel (a personal favourite section), non-fiction interests to all types of fiction you could hope for. Each category of where to find the book types you’re in search of is clearly labelled at the top in gold writing on each shelf.
It’s no secret that for many, bookshops are a place of comfort and warmth where you can easily hide yourself in the pages of a book while you browse the shop. One of the best things about Toppings is, thanks to its size and layout, there are several nooks and corners to explore (as well as plenty of seats which you are encouraged to use!)
The ceilings, typical of the Georgian terrace buildings across Edinburgh, reach high and so do the shelves which line the walls. The only way to reach the books at the top is to climb the beautiful wooden ladders that roll across to whichever location you desire (of course, staff are willing to help if ladders aren’t for you.)
My first visit to Toppings in Edinburgh was met with the light hum of Jazz music filling the background as I went from room to room and took in the enchanting display of books. There are genres of every kind, and if you can’t choose or happen to be looking for a gift, there’s a small “mystery book” section where you can purchase a wrapped book which only reveals the blurb/outline of what the novel is about.
Perhaps one of the best things about Toppings is that there’s no rush to buy a book. In fact, it’s even encouraged to take a seat on one of the many tables and chairs dotted throughout the shop and spend some time reading and enjoying the ambience of this Edinburgh gem.
Top Toppings tip!
If you’re planning on spending a little while enjoying the bookshop what many people don’t know is that you can order coffee or tea (and it’s completely free!) Toppings have small amounts of seating dotted about, where its encouraged to read, and if you go to one of the many shop desks you can aak to have a coffee/tea and they’ll bring it to you!
Other bookshops in Edinburgh
There are plenty of other bookshops in Edinburgh worth a visit. After all, this is UNESCO’s first city of literature. In no particular order, here are some of my favourites:
McNaughtan’s Bookshop
Found under a minute’s walk away from Toppings is the oldest second-hand and antiquarian bookshop in Scotland. McNaughtan’s was established in 1957 and still collects and sells old and rare books to this day.
Situated down a stairwell in a basement, this bookshop smells ancient and musty, which I would usually associate with comfort and books, however its particularly pungent thanks to the age of the books displayed here.
Typewronger Books
Sat next door to McNaughtan’s and by way of extension of the company is the more modern, yet still as charming, Typewronger Books and gallery space. This tiny bookshop is run as a non-profit shop that sells new books, indie zines and publications, all to fund creative projects and events they host throughout the year.
Armchair Books
This cosy family-run bookshop can be found just before you reach Grassmarket from the left of Edinburgh Castle. Armchair Books is tightly stacked with a huge collection of rare & secondhand titles that are practically spilling off the shelf.
It’s quite hard to squeeze through the tiny shop as it’s been filled with so many copies, but it feels like a small hidden enchanted forest for which to have a mooch around on a rainy day in Edinburgh.
Elvis Shakespeare
As its name might suggest, this bookshop sells both music and literature, specialising in rare vinyls and quality records. The unassuming shopfront which just states “books & records” doesn’t do justice to the hidden treasures that can be found in here, especially if you take time to search through the piles upon piles of record cases.
Argonaut Books
This community bookshop was established in 2021 and is locally owned. One of the best features is that it’s also a coffee shop, so you can enjoy a warm beverage as you enjoy getting stuck into your latest read.
Blackwell’s Bookshop
Blackwell’s boasts of being the city’s oldest bookshop and it can be found right in the heart of Edinburgh’s neighbourhood, the historic Old Town. Selling books since 1848, here you can find the newest releases, as well as plenty of specialist resource books and academic works.
Tills Bookshop
Tills is a second-hand bookseller that has two locations in Edinburgh. Established in 1985, it is one of the oldest surviving second-hand bookshops in the city and both shops are crammed full with a range of books and literary intrigue.
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