16 Harry Potter London locations: best routes, locations and scenery to find in the city
London is full of places that were used as settings for the "Harry Potter" films - read on to find out more!
Platform 9 and 3/4 | © Diogo Nunes
If you're a big fan of the "Harry Potter" saga, you can make the most of your visit to the British capital to spend a different kind of day by taking an original tour of the streets and visiting the most famous locations from the films.Book the Harry Potter tour of London, grab your wizard hat and wand and head out to discover the most magical side of the city!
1. King's Cross Station is Platform 9 and ¾
One of the most famous places in the Harry Potter saga is King's Cross Station 's Platform 9 and ¾ which used to be the access platform for the Hogwarts Express to the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry.
You'll find Platform 9 and ¾ right next to the entrance to platforms 9 to 11 inside King's Cross Station. There you can have your photo taken with the prop trolley from the film and next to it is one of the official Harry Potter shops, where you can buy all sorts of souvenirs from the films. I recommend you take a look there because they have some very curious things, although there are also other Harry Potter shops in London that are very cool.
And from the same station you can book tickets for the Harry Potter Studios Park with transfer from King's Cross to complete your experience.
- Address: Euston Rd, London N1 9AL, UK.
- How to get there: By underground, Circle, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines.
2. Borough Market is The Leaky Cauldron
In the film "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", the Leaky Cauldron tavern and wizarding inn was located in Diagon Alley, represented at the time by Leadenhall Market. However, for the third film of the saga "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" the tavern was moved to another location, Borough Market, in what is now a florist's shop.
- Address: 8 Southwark St, London SE1 1TL, United Kingdom
- How to get there: By tube, London Underground station, Jubilee and Northern lines.
3. Leadenhall Market is Diagon Alley
The Victorian architecture of Leadenhall Market was perfectly suited to represent the famous Diagon Alley in the first film "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", dedicated to the sale of magical products. Here young Harry has his first contact with the world of wizardry.
- Address: Gracechurch St, London EC3V 1LT, UK
- How to get there: By tube, Monument station, Circle and District lines.
4. 25 Claremont Square is Sirius Black's residence.
At 25 Claremont Square is this Georgian-style house that represents the residence where Sirius Black lived at 12 Grimmauld Place, which is featured in the fifth film 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'.
- Address: 25 Claremont Square
- How to get there: By underground, Angel station, Northern line.
5. The façade of the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel is the entrance to King's Cross Station.
In the second film "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" the façade of the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel is the entrance to King Cross Station when Harry and Ron take Mr. Weasley's flying car to get to Hogwarts on time for the first day of school.
- Address: Euston Rd, London NW1 2AR, United Kingdom.
- How to get there: By tube, King's Cross St. Pancreas station, Circle, Metropolitan, Piccadilly, Victoria, Northern and Hammersmith & City lines.
6. The Australian Embassy is the inside of Gringotts Bank
The spectacular interior of the Australian Embassy in London was used to recreate the famous, impregnable, goblin-run bank of the wizarding world in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", accessed via Diagon Alley. As the diplomatic headquarters of a country, visits for browsing are not allowed, but at least you can take a souvenir selfie outside.
- Address: Strand, London WC2B 4LA, UK
- How to get there: By tube, Temple station, Circle and District Lines
7. The South African Embassy is the entrance to Gringotts Bank from the outside
The curious colonnaded façade of the South African Embassy in London was another location used to recreate Gringotts Bank in this magical universe. You'll find this striking building in Trafalgar Square in the heart of London.
- Address: South Africa House 9 Duncannon Street Trafalgar Square London (London) WC2N 5DP United Kingdom
- How to get there: By tube, Charing Cross station, Bakerloo and Northern lines.
8. The townhouses in Claremont Square are the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
In the fifth instalment of the saga, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", the townhouses featured in the film represent the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix and are those in Claremont Square. However, it is said to be inspired by the larger London public square called Lincoln's Inn Field.
- Address: Claremont Square
- How to get there: By underground, Angel station, Northern line.
9. A red telephone box is the entrance to the Ministry of Magic
In the film 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', one of the typical red phone boxes dotted around the city is the guest entrance to the Ministry of Magic that Harry and Mr. Weasley take into the Ministry of Magic.
However, you won't find the booth in the film on the streets of London as it was made specifically for the film. However, you can have your photo taken in any other phone box, for example the one on Parliament Street. Who knows... you might even discover another gateway to the Ministry of Magic.
- Address: Parliament Street.
- How to get there: By tube, Westminster station, Circle, District Line and Jubilee lines.
10. The reptile terrarium at London Zoo
London Z oo is located in Regent's Park, one of the Royal Parks of the British capital. In the reptile terrarium is where in the first film "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" Harry discovers that he can speak Parseltongue with snakes and give his nasty cousin Dudley a good scare.
- Address: Outer Cir, London NW1 4RY, United Kingdom
- How to get there: By tube, Regent's Park station, Bakerloo line.
11. Millennium Bridge
This bridge appears in the saga on several occasions. In "Philosopher's Stone" and "Order of the Phoenix" as well as in "Half-Blood Prince", but it is in the latter that it provides the setting for a spectacular scene.
In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" the Millennium Bridge is blown up when Voldemort's Death Eaters destroy it in retaliation against the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
- Address: Thames Embankment, London, UK
- How to get there: By tube, Blackfriars station, Circle and District Lines.
12. Tower Bridge and London City Hall
In this same scene from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" when the Millennium Bridge is destroyed you can also see Tower Bridge and London City Hall, Trafalgar Square or St. Paul's Cathedral, among others, in the distance. An accelerated and somewhat calamitous review of the various monuments in the centre of London.
- Address: Tower Bridge
- How to get there: By tube, London Bridge station, Jubilee and Northern lines.
13. Westminster Station underground station
When in the fifth film "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" the young wizard has to testify at the Ministry of Magic, he takes the tube with Mr. Weasley to Westminster Station, the closest station to the Ministry of Magic.
In the scene Mr. Weasley is amazed by the tube and the way the turnstiles work. So that you don't make a mess like him when it comes to using this transport, don't miss this Practical Guide to the London Underground, which will be of great help to you on your travels.
- Address: London SW1A 2JR, United Kingdom.
- How to get there: By tube, Westminster station, Circle, District and Jubilee lines.
14. Piccadilly Circus
In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1", the trio escapes from the attack of Death Eaters during a wedding celebration and is teleported to Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London, where they are almost run over by one of the city's famous red buses. A place always bustling with tourists and Londoners where they can blend in with the crowds without attracting attention.
Also between Picadilly Circus and Regent's Street another action scene from the film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1" was filmed in which the young wizards have a confrontation with some Death Eaters in a local café.
- Address: London W1J 9HP, United Kingdom
- How to get there: By tube, Piccadilly station, Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines.
15. Diagon Alley shop windows at Cecil Court
To recreate Diagon Alley in the films, inspiration was taken from a number of London streets, one of them being Cecil Court. The colourful shop windows of this place, full of curious objects and books, are somehow reminiscent of the mythical alley in the Harry Potter films.
- Address: Cecil Court
- How to get there: By underground, Leicester Square station, Northern and Piccadilly lines.
16. Surbiton Railway Station
After the Death Eaters attack Millennium Bridge in the film "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Dumbledore meets Harry at a railway station in Surbiton, about 20 minutes by train from central London.
If you're in the area it's quite a curious sight to see but if you're not, I don't think it's really worth the trip to this location.
- Address: Victoria Rd, Surbiton KT6 4PE, UK
- How to get there: By train from London Waterloo Station