Top 5 Harry Potter Locations To Visit In London

A visit to London wouldn’t be complete for Harry Potter fans without walking in the footsteps of the wizard himself. There are plenty of locations all over the city and the rest of the UK that were used as sets in the films. From Diagon Alley to the iconic platform 9 ¾, you can literally picture yourself as a Hogwarts student walking around these famous sights for free. If you have time, you could also take a day trip to Oxford and set foot in the colleges used for Hogwarts, and learn some fascinating UK history along the way.

Here are the top 5 Harry Potter locations you can visit in or from London.

1 – King’s Cross Station

Any fan of British pop culture will love the chance to take that classic selfie, pushing the trolley through into platform 9 ¾ to catch the Hogwarts Express. The platform in real life is located between platforms 9 and 10 at the actual station, along with a mock-up of the magic trolley from the books.

2 – Leadenhall Market (Diagon Alley)

If you really want to put yourself in Harry Potter’s shoes, you can visit this website here and get his iconic round glasses, and head to Leadenhall Market. This is the market where Diagon Alley was based and you can find the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron pub, which is actually an Optician’s. This stunning covered Victorian market is definitely worth a visit regardless.

3 – London Zoo

London Zoo Reptile House is the setting of the moment where Harry Potter realizes he can talk to snakes. London Zoo Reptile House was built in 1926 and hosts hundreds of species of reptile. London Zoo is the world’s oldest scientific zoo covering 36 acres of land with around 20,000 animals in total. It’s centrally located in Regent’s Park and well worth spending a day if you’re interested in exotic wildlife from all over the world.

Photo by **Diego Madrigal** from **Pexels**

4 – Christ Church College, Oxford

If you have an extra day then you should definitely consider visiting Oxford. It’s a short one-hour train ride from London and there are many more Harry Potter Locations in Oxford. The most iconic is probably Christ Church College which includes the famous dining hall. Many of the Hogwarts scenes were filmed in Oxford colleges. You can really get a feel for the movie, and Oxford is a beautiful and historic town to visit as well.

5 – Millennium Bridge, Westminster

Also known as the Harry Potter Bridge, The Millenium Bridge features in a famous scene in The Half-Blood Prince where it’s destroyed dramatically during the Death Eater attack. The wobbly footbridge is also fun to walk across and you have stunning views all around you of the River Thames, Tower Bridge, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Take a walk across Westminster and discover other London landmarks on the way. This area of London is steeped in history, and there are plenty of other sites you might spot from Harry Potter and famous films set in London.

What’s your favorite Harry Potter location? Are there any other locations not on this list that should be visited by Harry Potter fans? Sound off in the comments below!

It would be cool if there was actually a place underneath London that looked like the Ministry of Magic, or a stadium as big as the one used in the Quidditch World Cup.