Harry Potter Tours in London

For many of us, London is not just Big Ben, Nothing Hill or Hyde Park; for many of us, London is Diagon Alley, Platform 9 and ¾, Gringotts and the Leaky Cauldron. Welcome to Hogwarts (or almost...).

One of the activities I recommend you do in London if you are a fan of the Harry Potter saga is to take a tour of the locations where the films were filmed. With a specialised guide, you can visit the most important places in the city that gave life to the eight stories of this famous wizard, such as Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden or Soho.

The most economical option

Harry Potter Tour in London

Tour of Harry Potter locations in the City of London

As you wander the streets of London, an expert guide will show you places that appear in or inspired the Harry Potter films.

From £22 at Hellotickets

The city of London is full of places that have to do with the Harry Potter films and with this tour they will not go unnoticed. A guide will show you around Platform 9 and 3/4, Diagon Alley and Gringotts Bank as you wander around London like a Muggle.

This tour is also in small groups of (at most) 25 people. This means that the guide can focus on the explanations you ask for in a more personalised way. The guides on this type of tour have two things in common: they know London inside out, and they're fans of the Harry Potter books and films, so make the most of the opportunity and enjoy every moment of the tour!

• Recommended if... you want to enjoy the Harry Potter universe at a reduced price or you're left wanting more after seeing Warner Bros. Studios.

Throughout the city of London you have different locations that inspired the books and films. Years ago fans had to track them down on their own, now there are expert guides who show them to you on a walking tour of Harry Potter locations while telling you interesting facts about the saga.

On this approximately two-hour walking tour, a guide who specialises not only in the saga but also in the history of London, will take you to Harry Potter locations in London such as the following:

Platform 9 and ¾ at King Cross Station

At King's Cross Station you can find a corner where the famous platform has been recreated with a luggage trolley through the wall. You can have your photo taken there and then stop by the Harry Potter souvenir shop while the guide tells you how this tourist spot was set up after the success of the films and how J.K. Rowling used the station as a setting for her books. The pity is that you won't be able to catch the Hogwarts Express...

Diagon Alley in Leadenhall Market

This is one of the oldest markets in London and is inspired by the famous Diagon Alley where Harry bought books, potions and, of course, Ollivander's wands. This is one of the longest and most special stops on the tour; you will discover how reality inspires fiction and how fiction transforms reality. Your guide will tell you all about Knockturn Alley or the Leaky Cauldron Inn and then leave you a few minutes to explore the area at your leisure.

Gringotts Bank and Australian Embassy

The famous goblin bank that appears in several of the films is inspired by the Australian Embassy in London. You may have passed by and not noticed the striking resemblance, but to give you a clearer picture of it, your guide will show you photographs from the films to prove that the wizarding bank was indeed inspired by this building.

Premieres and Trafalgar Square

Not everything on this tour revolves around the locations of the films, you'll also learn anecdotes about the actors and the significance of the saga, and Trafalgar Square will probably be the place your guide will choose to tell you these. It's precisely from here that thousands of fans experienced the end of the saga as well as other moments related to the release of the films.

If you want to complete the experience of walking around the Harry Potter locations in London, you can book a tour that includes a cruise on the Thames. Also accompanied by a guide, you can learn trivia and anecdotes about the films, while relaxing on a boat ride on the river. This activity also includes interactive games that you can share on board with other fans of the saga.

And if the two-hour walking tour is too short for you, I recommend you consider a private driving tour of the Harry Potter locations where the guide will be dedicated exclusively to you and the group you are travelling with. This tour lasts about four hours, is fully adaptable to your preferences and is available in English, Spanish and French.

This is a highly recommended option if you are travelling to London with children, as you can ask the guide to alternate locations from the film with other London landmarks during the tour.

Harry Potter Tour in London

Tour of Harry Potter locations in the City of London

As you wander the streets of London, an expert guide will show you places that appear in or inspired the Harry Potter films.

From £22 at Hellotickets

Harry Potter Locations Tour in London and Thames River Cruise

The option that completes the Harry Potter walking tour

You'll see must-see sights of the city where the Harry Potter films were filmed, such as Trafalgar Square and the London Eye. Then you can relax on a cruise on the Thames while having fun with interactive games from the saga.

From £28 at Hellotickets

Harry Potter Taxi Tour in London

A more exclusive tour with a small group

You'll tour the locations of the Harry Potter films with a guide in a typical English black taxi. Plus, you'll have complete freedom to stop and take photos wherever you want, whenever you want.

Duration: 4 hours

From £497 at Hellotickets

If you decide to take a guided tour of the Harry Potter universe in London, whether it's a group tour or a private tour, there are a few things to bear in mind:

• As the tour is on foot, it is logical that you will not visit all the locations as London is a huge city and many of them are quite far apart from each other.
• The meeting point will always be in a central location that you can easily reach from your accommodation. If you have any questions you can ask your guide once you have booked your place or ask to be picked up from your hotel for a surcharge.
• Tours last between two and three hours, so be prepared to walk. They run almost every day of the week and the best time to go depends on the weather.
• You'll have the chance to buy Harry Potter souvenirs at many of the tour stops as you'll pass Harry Potter shops in different parts of London and the guide will leave time for you to do so.
• If you have a London Pass, you will have a tour included where you will see locations from Harry Potter and many other films that were filmed or inspired by London such as Mary Poppins, Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. You can find out more about London Passes in this article about the London Pass. London Tourist Cards.
• Check out the theatre listings when you've decided on your trip to London. If you're lucky, you might be able to catch a performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Legacy.

If, like me, you're a real Harry Potter fan, you should also consider visiting the Harry Potter Park at Warner Bros Studios London. To make the most of it I'm going to give you some tips:

• How to get there: Transport to Warner Bros Studios is an important detail to bear in mind. Don't forget that they are far from the centre of London so it's best to book it in advance for the outward and return journeys. There are direct buses from Watford Junction train station to the studios.
• Durationof the visit: Take your time in each of the Warner Bros. studios. Don't be in a hurry to see everything; the details are so well thought out that it will be worth your while to take in every nook and cranny. To see everything properly, I recommend that you set aside between 3 and 5 hours for the visit.
• Timetable: when you buy your ticket (always in advance, as you can only exchange it at the studios), you can choose the day and time of your visit. I recommend you choose the first time to avoid crowds. Bear in mind that you can enter but not leave, so there will be more and more people in the facilities.
• Take the audio guide: it costs about five pounds, but it's worth it. While you immerse yourself in the magical world, they will tell you details you didn't know about the film, the actors and the saga.
• If you go with children they will be fascinated by the tour, but the younger ones might be frightened by the realism of some of the sets or the visit to the Forbidden Forest. Just keep this in mind in case you want to avoid these rooms.
• Where to eat: Don't forget to stop by the bar if you want to try the famous butterbeer or the Frog café if you want a chocolate frog. There is nowhere to eat in the surrounding area, so if your visit coincides with lunchtime, you will only be able to eat at the studio's own restaurant, where the price will not be very cheap.
• Souvernirs: The gift shop is also worth a visit, even if it's just to get your teeth into it. Here you will find all the merchandising of the saga available. You can take photos, but don't let the camera spoil the experience; better to live it than record it.

During this tour, as well as seeing the set design and costumes from the films, you'll learn more about the saga and how the films were made, including special effects. With Muggle details in mind, we recommend booking tickets to Warner Bros Studios in advance due to the large number of visitors and arranging transport to and from the Warner Bros Studios, as they are a long way from the centre. A word of advice: beware if you are offered resale tickets to the Harry Potter Studios.

If you want to be sure whether or not it is worth visiting the Warner Bros. studios for the Harry Potter tour, I will give you a small taste of what you will find there. For starters, the studios are divided into indoor and outdoor areas and the sets in both locations have not only original props from the films, but also cinematic information on how they were made. But one step at a time.

Also, the Harry Potter studios in London are not just for watching - in many of them you will be able to do magic by waving a wand or lifting a broom.

What you'll see in the indoor studios

• Start your visit in the Great Dining Hall, where you'll be greeted by the figures of the professors at the head table as they do every year with Harry, Ron and Hermione, or at least the years when no one crashes a flying car into a boxing willow (which, by the way, you'll also see on this tour).
• After that it's on to the corridors of the school, including the changing staircases, where you'll see a multitude of pictures of former heads of Hogwarts houses, including the Fat Lady.
• You will then follow the typical start-of-term route through the common room and on to the Gryffindor dormitory.
• The professors' offices are also waiting for you during your visit, as well as display cabinets where you will find all the information you want about the sport of Quidditch.
• You'll visit Lucious Malfoy's house (creepy), the Weasley's living room or a very elaborate Forbidden Forest full of creatures, visuals and sound effects.

What you'll see in the outdoor studios

As for the outdoor studios, they're also full of surprises. You'll see the Dursley' s house on Privet Drive (including the stairwell), the night bus, Platform 9 and ¾, Ollivander's shop and many other nooks and crannies. The only downside of this tour is that once you leave the studios, it's difficult to mingle with Muggles again.

Hiring transport to the studios from London

It is not advisable to book transport without having secured your tickets, as availability is very limited and you run the risk of getting there and being sold out. In addition, many park ticket options also include travel from London.

However, if you've already got your ticket and you'd like to book a shuttle service to and from the park to drop you off at the gate, you can check out this post on how to get to the Harry Potter Studios from London.

If you enjoyed the Harry Potter walking tour experience, be sure to take the London walking tour during your visit to the UK capital. You may think that the Muggle world is not as charming as the magical one, but remember that London is also the city of Sherlock Holmes or Peter Pan and that, on its own, it has many stories to offer you without resorting to fantasy.

As I say, this was my favourite, but the truth is that the offer of guided tours in London is infinite and I have written a guide to help you sort out all the ideas, which are the best tours and why. You can read it in this article on Top 10 Tours and Excursions in London.