Visit Harry Potter filming locations

Britain is bursting with spell-binding Harry Potter filming locations, making it magical for Potterheads everywhere. Head to King’s Cross station’s Platform 9¾ with its disappearing luggage, to York’s own wonky timber-framed version of Diagon Alley, the giant cauldron located in a Wiltshire abbey, and creep around the cloisters of Gloustershire Cathedral.

Check out Oxford, the city of spires, with the famous Bodleian Library doubling up as Hogwart’s library, and the vaulted Divinity School next door which became Hogwart’s Hospital – admitting students with broomstick injuries and back-firing spells. For a full experience, immerse yourself into a film set tour and check out original sets, animatronic creatures and impressive special effects. Or, tour Edinburgh to discover the city where the magical world was conceived.

In 2025, we’re celebrating 20 years since the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Follow in the magical footsteps of Harry and his pals to the Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire, the filming location of the Quidditch World Cup, or uncover the secrets of the Triwizard Tournament at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.

Top Harry Potter locations in London

Photo by: @aleks_london_diary

King’s Cross Station

The Hogwarts Express departs from Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross station. On the western concourse, you’ll find a baggage trolley disappearing into the magical realm through a wall.

Photo by: eethie

Reptile House, London Zoo

The Reptile House at ZSL London Zoo is where Harry first discovers his gift for talking with snakes in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Chat to snakes, lizards, frogs and crocodiles.

Photo by: visitlondon.com/Ben Pipe

Location: London

Leadenhall Market

Leadenhall Market in the City district was used as Diagon Alley. The entrance to wizard’s pub, the Leaky Cauldron, is an optician in Bull’s Head Passage.

Photo by: Bryan Shorter

Lambeth Bridge

It’s on Lambeth Bridge that the Knight Bus has to squeeze between two oncoming double-decker buses in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Photo by: @levensgenieter_77

Millennium Bridge

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens with a dramatic sequence of the Millennium footbridge collapsing. The bridge links Bankside with the City and St Paul’s Cathedral.

Everything you need to know before visiting Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter

Photo by: Warner Bros Studio Tour London @znajdujacsens

Costumes worn by actors featuring in the Harry Potter films at the Warner Bros Studio Tour

What is the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter?

Next-door to the working film studios where all eight Harry Potter films were made, the Harry Potter Studio Tour offers visitors the unique opportunity behind the scenes. Explore two sound-stages and a backlot filled with original sets, animatronic creatures and breathtaking special effects.

Where is The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour?

The Harry Potter Studio Tour is located 20 miles (32 kilometres) north-west of London and less than three miles (approximately 5 kilometres) from the M1 and M25 motorways. The postcode for sat-nav is WD257LR.

What sets can I explore on the Harry Potter Studio Tour?

Step onto iconic sets on the Harry Potter Studio Tour including the Great Hall, the Forbidden Forest, Platform 9¾ and Diagon Alley.

What Harry Potter props will I see on the studio tour?

In Professor Dumbledore’s office, you’ll find 900 memory vials. There’s over 950 filled potion jars lining the walls of the Potions Classroom. In Professor Dolores Umbridge’s pink office, you’ll find her collection of plates featuring various moving kittens.

Are there costumes from the Harry Potter films on display?

Everything from Quidditch uniforms to a more formal style of wizard wear - created for the Yule Ball, held to celebrate Christmas and the Triwizard Tournament - are on display during the tour.

What else can I expect on the Harry Potter Studio Tour?

Treat yourself to a tankard of Butterbeer – this delicious non-alcoholic drink tastes of shortbread and butterscotch. And marvel at a model version of the whole of Hogwarts. The 1:24 scale construction was used for filming the exterior and aerial shots of the school.

Are you brave enough to put your name into the Goblet of Fire? From 15 May – 8 September 2025, the Studio Tour will mark 20 years since the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by revealing a host of behind-the-scenes secrets at the Triwizard Tournament – Making of Champions. Discover how the Tournament’s epic dragons were brought to life at the brand-new Backlot Stage, where you can uncover the Secrets of Special Effects. Or, relive the excitement of the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students’ arrival at Hogwarts with special demonstrations. Watch out for Rita Skeeter’s iconic self-writing quill, too – and don’t become its next victim.

How much are Harry Potter Studio Tour tickets?

Studio Tour tickets can be purchased from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter website.

Enjoy a Magical Harry Potter Studio Tour

Harry Potter film locations around Britain

Photo by: VisitBritain/Crown Copyright

Man surfing in the evening with mountains in the distance

Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire, Wales

This stretch of golden sand was the location for Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour‘s Shell Cottage in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When Harry found himself inside the whimsical cottage he could hear nothing but the ebb and flow of the sea. Although the cottage was taken down after filming, you can still visit the Freshwater West Beach and watch surfers riding some of Wales’ best waves.

Photo by: National Trust Lacock Abbey @ashtonprior

A young visitor looks up at a large book case

Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, England

Lacock Abbey’s Warming Room – which contains a giant cauldron – was Professor Quirrell’s Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, while Professor Snape’s Potions Class was held in the Sacristy. It was in the abbey’s Chapter House that Harry stumbled upon the Mirror of Erised, which shows the heart’s deepest desire.

Photo by: VisitBritain

Young woman hovering on a broomstick in the Outer Bailey of Alnwick Castle

Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, England

Madame Hooch’s broomstick flying lesson, from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, takes place in the Outer Bailey of medieval Alnwick Castle in Northumberland.

Harry also learns the rules of Quidditch here, while the inner courtyards and baileys were used to film Hogwarts students and staff going about their daily activities. Broomstick training for visitors still occurs at Alnwick Castle, along with wizardry magic shows and costumed tours.

Photo by: ievgeny

Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire, England

Watch out for Nearly Headless Nick or Moaning Myrtle and see where Harry and Ron hid from the giant troll in the spooky cloisters, under the fan vaulted roof of the 1,300-year-old Gloucester Cathedral. The cathedral was transformed into the corridors of Hogwarts for the first, second and sixth Harry Potter films.

Photo by: VisitOxford

Location: Oxford

An old hall with grand ornate walls in the Divinity School as part of Oxford's Bodleian Library

Bodleian Library, Oxford, England

The oldest reading room in Oxford University’s magnificent Bodleian Library doubled as the Hogwarts library in three Harry Potter films. The next-door vaulted Divinity School became Hogwarts hospital, admitting students for broomstick injuries, curses and back-firing spells.

Nearby Christ Church College is where we were first introduced to Hogwarts, with Harry and the other first-year wizards ascending the 16th-century stone staircase to the Great Hall.

Photo by: Visit England/ Diana Jarvis

Family walking on a hill top looking down on to Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral, Durham, England

Durham Cathedral’s Chapter House was where Professor McGonagall taught the young wizards to turn animals into water goblets. The cathedral’s elegant cloisters saw Ron Weasley fall victim to his own slug-vomiting curse, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. They were also the setting for the snow-covered quadrangle where Harry first set Hedwig flying in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Photo by: Getty Images / Peter Lourenco

Location: Highlands, Scotland

Two male hikers trekking along a pebbled path, cloudy skies, green rolling mountain vista.

Fort William, Highlands, Scotland

A short walking route around Fort William’s Nevis Gorge will take you to Steall Falls, a location that Potterheads won’t want to miss. This striking waterfall featured in the infamous Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Harry was forced to face off with an angry Hungarian Horntail dragon.

Photo by: VisitScotland / Paul Tomkins

Location: Loch Shiel, Scotland

Glenfinnan Monument at the head of Loch Shiel, Lochaber.

Loch Shiel, Highlands, Scotland

Picture-perfect Loch Shiel is surrounded by dramatic peaks and home to diverse wildlife – expect to spot eagles, red deer and black-throated divers. If something feels familiar, that’s because a certain wizard flew across these waters on Buckbeak the hippogriff, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!

Photo by: VisitBritain/@lifewithbugo

A woman sits on a rock surrounded by a stream and hills beyond

Glen Etive, Highlands, Scotland

Glen Etive is a haven in the Highlands. Known as one of the most challenging white-water routes, adventurers can navigate their way round rushing pools and dramatic waterfalls. You might recognise Loch Etive from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Harry, Ron and Hermione camp out here!

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