Harry Potter Filming Locations in London: A Complete Guide
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The Harry Potter films may largely take place at Hogwarts School in the Scottish highlands, but the Harry Potter London locations are by far the most visited. Every year, thousands of Potterheads (like yourself, most likely) swarm like Cornish pixies to King’s Cross Station, London Zoo’s Reptile House and the Order of the Phoenix’s HQ.
If you’re a true Harry Potter lover, you no doubt want to make sure you visit all 22 of the Harry Potter film locations during your visit to London. And along with the Harry Potter Studio Tour, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child performing at the Palace Theatre in the West End, London is the best place for Harry Potter fans to visit!
Here are all of the locations from Harry Potter in London, listed in the order you should visit them on a self-guided walking tour. I’d put one whole day aside if you can. I’ve also detailed the underground journeys you should take, too. Don’t worry, there are only two! And the four remaining filming locations that are a bit too far out to include in the walking tour are listed at the bottom. Everywhere is pinned on the map, too. I’ve taken care of everything because I’m nice like that, I am a Hufflepuff after all. So, let’s check out all the Harry Potter locations in London!
Harry Potter London Locations: Where was Harry Potter filmed?
Harry Potter Filming Locations in London: Step-by-Step Walking Tour
1. 28 Claremont Square, Islington
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010).
Which Scenes? Exterior for 11 Grimmauld Place, the Order of the Phoenix’s headquarters which is where Mad-Eye takes Harry at the beginning of in Order of the Phoenix and Hermione, Harry and Ron’s hideout at the start of their quest in Deathly Hallows Part 1.
Just an unassuming square in North London, Claremont Square is one of the best-kept secrets in Harry Potter history. And where you should start your self-guided Harry Potter walking tour! Yes, this is the exterior of 11 Grimmauld Place. If you want to pinpoint the exact house that stood in for the Order’s HQ, it’s N. 28.
2. Platform 4/5, King’s Cross Station
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2011).
Which Scenes? Harry runs through the barrier of Platform 9 3/4 with the help of the Weasleys in Philosopher’s Stone, Harry and Ron run into the closed barrier in Chamber of Secrets, Mrs Weasley runs along the platform to hand Scabbers the rat to Ron whilst the train leaves the station in Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry has a vision of Voldemort whilst getting on the train in Order of the Phoenix and during the ’19 years later’ segment when the grown-up Hogwarts students are dropping off their children in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Without a doubt, one of the most popular Harry Potter locations in London! The Harry Potter train station, where the Hogwarts Express departs every year at exactly 11:00 on September 1st, is King’s Cross Station. Platform 9 3/4 may be located between platforms 9 and 10 in the film, but in reality, the scenes were shot between platforms 4 and 5.
If you want the full “Harry Potter at King’s Cross” experience, you can also queue (and pay) to get your photo taken at the makeshift trolley-in-the-wall. And there’s even a shop where you can buy HP branded gifts, too.
3. St Pancras International
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011).
Which Scenes? The exterior for King’s Cross Station where Ron and Harry steal Mr Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia car to drive to Hogwarts in Chamber of Secrets and also in the ’19 years later’ segment of Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Just around the corner from King’s Cross Station is St Pancras International, a luxury hotel as well as a country-crossing train station. I think you’ll agree it’s a much nicer exterior to King’s Cross than the real-life one is!
4. Leadenhall Market
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001).
Which Scenes? Hagrid and Harry walk through the market while reading out Harry’s Hogwarts letter in Philosopher’s Stone.
Barely a 5-minute walk from Bank tube station is Leadenhall Market. Possibly the most beautiful and ornate stop on our filming locations tour?! This mostly indoor, covered market was the gorgeous location for the start of Hagrid and Harry’s back-to-school shopping trip.
5. London Migraine Clinic, Bull’s Head Passage
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001).
Which Scenes? The entrance to The Leaky Cauldron wizards pub in Philosopher’s Stone.
Just around the corner from where Hagrid and Harry walk through the market is the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron pub, also a doorway to the wizarding shopping street of Diagon Alley in London.
At the time, it was an abandoned building with a massive hole in the floor. So the actors couldn’t walk too far in the building during the shot. Right now, it’s London Migraine Clinic. Since the first film was released 20 years ago, it’s understandable that things have progressed!
6. Dean’s Staircase, St Paul’s Cathedral
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011).
Which Scenes? The staircase to Divination class in Prisoner of Azkaban, the staircase in the Astronomy tower where Mad-Eye asks to talk to Neville in Goblet of Fire and where Luna helps Harry with a Horcrux in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
St Paul’s Cathedral is one of the most beautiful churches in London. The Dean’s staircase within the Cathedral stood in for the winding steps to Divination as well as the astronomy tower in later films. Sadly, this staircase isn’t open to the public! So you can either marvel at the Cathedral from outside or have a nosey in, but don’t bet on seeing this Harry Potter filming location. One day maybe, one day…
7. Millennium Bridge
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2007).
Which Scenes? Death Eaters destroy this bridge at the beginning of Half-Blood Prince.
Just a very short walk from St Paul’s Cathedral is the Millenium Bridge, which you will need to cross anyway to continue on your tour of the Harry Potter London locations! Though not mentioned in the book, this bridge was chosen to be destroyed by Death Eaters on their rampage through London. Which is understandable, considering the locals’ love/hate relationship with it.
When the bridge opened, the first volunteers to cross the bridge were unnerved by how much it swayed and immediately ran to safety.
8. River Thames
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011).
Which Scenes? Mad-Eye Moody picks up Harry from the Dursleys and flies with him over the river to the Order’s HQ in London in Order of the Phoenix and Hermione, Ron and Harry fly over the river on the back of Gringotts’ dragon in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Of course, you’ll get a fantastic view of the River Thames from the Millenium Bridge. The Thames features in two Harry Potter films as well as some other famous landmarks along the banks such as Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast and the Houses of Parliament.
What you don’t see, however, is the London Eye. The Coca Cola company that owns the London Eye wheel did not want its popular attraction to be shown out of sequence on the Broomstick flight (as it would have been) as tourists may be confused as to its location in real-life. It’s just a movie, chill.
9. El Pastor Restaurant, Borough Market
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
Which Scenes? The new entrance of The Leaky Cauldron wizard pub where the Knight bus drops off Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban.
Borough Market is a great place to go in London for the best street food stalls and a variety of cuisines. It’s also a Harry Potter London location! The taco restaurant El Pastor‘s entrance is where the Knight bus dropped Harry off and the exterior of Arthur Hooper’s top windows stood in for Harry’s room. Though the interior was shot elsewhere, you can tell because the windows are different.
10. City Hall, The Queen’s Walk
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).
Which Scenes? Workers spot something odd outside their office at the beginning of Half-Blood Prince.
Only onscreen for a short amount of time, London’s City Hall building acted as a generic office building in the sixth Harry Potter film.
11. Australia House
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011).
Which Scenes? Interior for Gringotts Bank when Hagrid and Harry visit Diagon Alley in Philosopher’s Stone and when Hermione impersonates Bellatrix Lestrange at the beginning of Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Just a 7-minute walk from Temple tube station, the interior of Australia’s Embassy in London acted as the interior for Gringotts bank! It’s likely in the later films, an incredibly authentic and detailed set was used, but this location was definitely the inspiration.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to go inside unless you have some kind of business with the Australian embassy, sorry!
12. 12 Great Newport Street, Covent Garden
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).
Which Scenes? The new entrance to Diagon Alley where the Death Easters enter to terrorise the street at the beginning of Half-Blood Prince.
This is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it location, but we are exploring every Harry Potter location in London, correct? A gated alley off 12 Great Newport Street acts as another entrance to Diagon Alley. It’s small and insignificant, but hey, that’s why the muggles haven’t discovered it yet. Am I right?
13. London Trocadero, Great Windmill Street
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010).
Which Scenes? Hermione, Harry and Ron walk down this street when Hermione realises it’s Harry’s birthday in Deathly Hallows Part 1.
London Trocadero is an indoor shopping mall and arcade, but it’s the tiled exterior next to Picturehouse Central cinema where the famous three walk after narrowly escaping Voldemort’s evil minions.
14. Piccadilly Circus, Shaftesbury Avenue
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010).
Which Scenes? Hermione apparates herself, Ron and Harry, here when the Death Eaters crash Fleur and Bill’s wedding.
One of the most visited places in London and a Harry Potter location – you may have already ticked this one off your Harry Potter bucket list without realising! Escaping the Death Eaters at The Burrow to one of the busiest places in the UK, Piccadilly Circus, is a stroke of genius on Hermione’s part.
15. Corner of Great Scotland Yard & Scotland Place
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010).
Which Scenes? Where the red telephone box/visitors entrance to the Ministry of Magic is when Mr Weasley escorts Harry to his hearing in Order of the Phoenix and where Ron watches out for Ministry employees to impersonate and capture in Deathly Hallows Part 1.
The corner of Scotland Place and Great Scotland Yard can be a confusing filming location as there was a lot of set dressing for the films. Firstly, the red telephone box was just a film prop! It never existed in real life. And there is also a CGI bridge which makes the scene look more hidden and private than it actually is.
Check out me being a super-nerd pretending to be Ron on my Brit Movie Tours walking tour…
16. Horseguard’s Avenue
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010).
Which Scenes? A Gentleman’s toilet built in the middle of this street is the employee’s entrance to the Ministry of Magic in Deathly Hallows Part 1.
Just around the corner from Great Scotland Yard is Horseguard’s Avenue. Sadly, an underground men’s loo doesn’t exist in the middle of the road there in real life!
17. Westminster Tube Station
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).
Which Scenes? Mr Weasley takes Harry on the London Underground through Westminster Tube Station for his hearing at the Ministry of Magic in Order of the Phoenix.
Very briefly, pop down into Westminster tube station (I recommend not doing so in rush hour) to see where Mr Weasley found a new muddle invention to be fascinated by.
18. Lambeth Bridge
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
Which Scenes? The Knight bus squeezes between two double-decker buses on this bridge.
One of the lesser appreciated London bridges, Lambeth bridge is a 10-minute walk down the river from Westminster and the last stop of your Harry Potter London locations self-guided walking tour!
Harry Potter Filming Locations in London: Off the Beaten Path
1. Reptile House, Regent’s Park
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001).
Which Scenes? When Harry and the Dursleys visit the zoo for Dudley’s birthday and Harry accidentally sets a python on him in Philosopher’s Stone.
Though technically in London’s city centre, I didn’t include the Reptile House in London Zoo at Regent’s Park on the walking tour because you’d probably like to spend a few hours enjoying the whole London Zoo here. It’s not exactly somewhere you can pop in and out, especially when you’re paying a ticket price.
We all know the Reptile House is a classic Harry Potter location so it’s not to be missed, you just might need to set aside an afternoon to explore it properly.
2. Harrow School in Harrow
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001).
Which Scenes? Professor Flitwick’s classroom where he teaches the first-year students the Wingardium Leviosa charm in Philosopher’s Stone.
The famous Harrow School is roughly 45 minutes to one-hour north of London via car or public transport. So not really somewhere that’s easily accessible from the city centre! Plus, since the Harry Potter filming location is inside a working school, it’s not open to visitors. Sadly, along with the Dean’s Staircase in St Paul’s Cathedral, you may never be able to visit this location.
3. Platform 1, Surbiton Station, Claremont Road
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).
Which Scenes? Harry reads a newspaper at a cafe on Platform 1 in this tube station as Dumbledore appears on Platform 3 at the beginning of Half-Blood Prince.
It’s fascinating why Surbiton Station in South London near Hampton Court Palace was chosen as a filming location instead of any of the more centrally-located tube stations. But it’s still much easier to visit than Harrow School or our next location in Hampstead Garden! It’s just a 30-minute direct journey south via South Western Railway from Waterloo Station.
4. 9 Heathgate, Hampstead Garden
Which Films? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010).
Which Scenes? Hermione’s childhood home where she wipes her parents’ memories at the beginning of Deathly Hallows Part 1.
Our final Harry Potter London location is 30-40 minutes drive north of London in an expensive London suburb, Hampstead Garden Suburb. Apparently, this was specifically built to be a diverse estate with affordable housing but is actually one of the most pricey suburbs in the country. London, eh?
Join a Brit Movie Tours Harry Potter London Locations Walking Tour!
Maybe you can’t be bothered following a simple list of locations and want to join a guided Harry Potter tour of London? I can’t judge you too much, as I did the same. And though you won’t see every location, I absolutely recommend Brit Movie Tours Harry Potter Walking Tour of London.
The Harry Potter locations walking tour runs, at the very least, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 14:00. In school holidays, bank holidays and between April and October it runs every day at this time. Their website states the tour lasts around 2-2.5 hours and I’d say that’s accurate, mine fell just under 2.5 hours. The tickets for adults cost £12 per person, and less for children. You will also need an oyster card/contactless card/single Zone 1 ticket for the tour.
The group size was perfect and my guide, Kathryn, was incredibly knowledgable, fun and engaged. Exactly what you’d want in a tour guide!
Top tip: As with any walking tour, wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather! Luckily, we had a mild spring day with no rain scheduled but expect the tour to continue in rain or shine (this is England, after all). Other good things to bring would be a bottle of water and don’t expect there to be any toilet facilities either.
Check out the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour!
Of course, any self-respecting Harry Potter fan needs to visit the Harry Potter Studio tour in London (well, just north of London in Watford). It’s honestly the most amazing, interactive studio tour I’ve ever seen. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. I’ve written an extensive guide to everything you need to know about The Making of Harry Potter studio tour including prices, timeslots and a full breakdown of the exhibits.
If you’re not sure about visiting the studio tour before you read my guide, you will after! Plus, I show you how to visit an undiscovered, secret filming location just a few minutes walk from the studio tour too…
And that’s my complete guide to all the Harry Potter London locations! Have you done a Harry Potter walking tour in London or planning a visit to the Harry Potter attractions in London? Let me know in the comments below!
Read more:
Harry Potter Filming Locations in Scotland: A Complete Guide
Harry Potter Steam Train in Scotland: How to Ride AND Photograph
The Ultimate Self-Guided Harry Potter Tour of Edinburgh (11 locations)
Harry Potter Filming Locations in Yorkshire & North East England (ALL 5!)
