Whiterun map: districts, buildings and surroundings

Plains District: the gate and the market

You enter Whiterun through the main gate at the bottom of the hill. Warmaiden's is immediately on the right, with its forge, grindstone and workbench outside, and Breezehome is a few steps further up on the same side. The road continues past the Drunken Huntsman on the left to the market square.

The market is the busiest spot in the city: Carlotta's produce stall, Anoriath's meat, Fralia Gray-Mane's jewellery, Belethor's General Goods, Arcadia's Cauldron and The Bannered Mare all face the square. Ysolda, Severio Pelagia and Olava the Feeble live in the small houses behind the inn. The guard barracks are also on this level, built into the wall.

Wind District: the Gildergreen, the temple and Jorrvaskr

Stairs from the market lead up to the Wind District, which is arranged around the Gildergreen tree and the pool in front of the Temple of Kynareth. Heimskr preaches at the statue of Talos here every day, and the Shrine of Talos at its base gives the Blessing of Talos.

On the east side of the district stands Jorrvaskr, the upturned longship that houses the Companions, with the Skyforge on the rock above it where Eorlund Gray-Mane works. The Underforge hides beneath the forge. The Hall of the Dead and its catacombs are on the west side. The larger homes here belong to the feuding Gray-Mane and Battle-Born clans, with Amren, Uthgerd the Unbroken, Heimskr and Carlotta Valentia in the smaller houses.

Cloud District: Dragonsreach

The top tier is almost all Dragonsreach, the great hall built long ago to trap a dragon. Inside you find Jarl Balgruuf, the steward Proventus Avenicci, who sells Breezehome and grants the title of Thane, and the court wizard Farengar Secret-Fire, who buys and sells spells. The Great Porch at the back is where Odahviing is trapped during the main quest, and the jail is in the basement. A Stone of Barenziah sits in the Jarl's quarters upstairs.

Outside the walls

The Whiterun Stables and the carriage stand are just outside the gate, and a smelter is nearby for anyone returning from a mine. Three farms surround the road: Pelagia Farm to the southwest, where the Companions first fight a giant, Chillfurrow Farm and Battle-Born Farm to the east. Honningbrew Meadery stands beside the river east of the city.

The Western Watchtower on the road west is where the dragon Mirmulnir attacks during Dragon Rising, the quest that unlocks the ability to buy a house here. Further out, the tundra holds giant camps such as Bleakwind Basin and the bandit lair at Halted Stream Camp. See the Whiterun Hold page for all 98 locations in the hold.