You’ll find Topping & Company at the top of Leith Walk, beside London Road Gardens. The shop is in a restored building with large windows and wooden interiors. It has the charm of a literary hideaway, but its open, modern layout encourages visitors to linger and explore.
Inside, shelves stretch down long aisles, each with a rolling ladder that gives the place a European feel. The shop offers books on Scottish history and politics, plus fiction, travel, philosophy, poetry, art, and children’s books. Comfortable chairs are scattered around so that you can sit and read for a while. The shop often offers free tea or coffee, which makes it feel even more inviting.
Topping Events
Topping & Company has built a strong reputation for its many literary events. Authors from Scotland and beyond regularly visit the shop for talks, signings, and discussions, making it an important part of Edinburgh’s book scene. In a city known for its love of books and festivals, the shop has become a favourite meeting place for readers, writers, students, and visitors.
Affiliate link
The atmosphere is calm and welcoming.
Unlike some older second-hand bookshops in Edinburgh with narrow aisles and stacks of books, Topping & Company feels bright and peaceful, designed for people to stay as long as they like. Soft lighting, polished wood, and rows of colourful book covers make the space feel almost like a movie set, especially on dark winter afternoons when the shop glows warmly against the city outside.
The shop sits between the New Town and Leith Walk, making it easy to visit for anyone exploring the city centre’s east side. For many, it represents the modern side of Edinburgh’s long history as a UNESCO City of Literature: independent, friendly, curious, and closely connected to books.
Share this page.