Harry Potter Filming Locations in London: A Walking Route and Complete Guide

Jess and I are both huge Harry Potter fans. We’ve visited every location on this list (most of them more than once), and we’ve spent a lot of time figuring out the best way to see them all without spending an entire holiday running between tube stations.

This guide covers every major Harry Potter filming location in London, plus a few non-filming spots that are well worth your time. I’ve organised them into a suggested walking route so you can plan a proper day of it, with notes on which locations are worth a detour and which are more of a “note it as you walk past” situation.

We also have a separate guide to the best Harry Potter filming locations across the UK, a detailed guide to visiting the Warner Bros Studio Tour, and Jess has written guides to Harry Potter locations in Edinburgh and filming locations in Scotland.

One more thing before we get into the locations. If you’ve been following the news, you’ll know that a new HBO Harry Potter TV series is premiering on Christmas Day 2026. The first season adapts the Philosopher’s Stone across eight episodes, and filming has been taking place at many of the same real-world London locations used in the original films, including London Zoo, Borough Market, and King’s Cross Station. This guide focuses on the original film locations, but where the new series has also filmed at a location, I’ve noted it. If the TV series generates the same level of interest as the films (and with 277 million views of the trailer in its first 48 hours, it probably will), these locations are only going to get busier.

 

Harry Potter London Walking Route

Most of the Harry Potter filming locations in London are in central London and can be visited on foot in a single day. Here’s how I’d organise the route, grouping nearby locations together.

Start in the Westminster and Whitehall area (Westminster Tube, Scotland Place/Ministry of Magic, Horse Guards Avenue, Lambeth Bridge).

From there, walk or take the tube to the City and Southwark cluster (Borough Market, Millennium Bridge, Leadenhall Market).

Next, head to the West End (Australia House/Gringotts, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, the Palace Theatre/Cursed Child, House of MinaLima).

Finally, finish at King’s Cross (Platform 9 3/4, St Pancras, Claremont Square).

The Warner Bros Studio Tour and London Zoo sit outside this walking route and are best done as separate visits. I’ve covered both at the end of this guide.

If you’d rather have someone else handle the logistics, there are several good Harry Potter walking tours in London that cover many of the highlights. This tour includes a visit to Platform 9 3/4, this one is great for families (kids under 16 go free), and there’s even a bus tour on a purple Routemaster if you’d rather not walk.

If you’re thinking of getting a London Pass for your trip, it’s worth knowing that a Harry Potter walking tour is included free with the pass, along with entry to London Zoo and many other London attractions.

 

Westminster and Whitehall

This cluster of locations sits in the middle of political London, between the Houses of Parliament and Trafalgar Square. None of them are must-see Harry Potter destinations on their own, but if you’re walking between the major sights in this area (which you will be on any London visit), they’re easy additions that take no extra time.

Westminster Tube Station

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry and Mr. Weasley travel through Westminster tube station on their way to Harry’s hearing at the Ministry of Magic. Mr. Weasley gets wonderfully confused by the Muggle ticket barriers, which is one of those small character moments that makes the films so enjoyable.

The scenes were filmed over a full day at the station, which must have caused quite the disruption given how busy it always is. You’ll probably pass through Westminster tube anyway if you’re visiting the Houses of Parliament or the London Eye, so just keep an eye out for the ticket barriers and spare a thought for Mr. Weasley.

 

Scotland Place and Great Scotland Yard: The Ministry of Magic

From Westminster, it’s a short walk up through Whitehall to the intersection of Scotland Place and Great Scotland Yard, right next to the real government buildings. This was used as the entrance to the Ministry of Magic in several films.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry and Mr Weasley enter a red phone box here to access the Ministry. The phone box was a prop and was never actually at this location, so there’s nothing physical to see beyond the street itself. In the Deathly Hallows films, Horse Guards Avenue (just around the corner) was used as the staff entrance to the Ministry.

I’ll be straight with you: it’s hard to visualise the connection without having the film right in front of you to line up the shots. But this whole area sits on the natural walking route between Trafalgar Square and the Houses of Parliament (with 10 Downing Street nearby, another questionable stop given you can’t actually see anything), so you might as well pop in while you’re passing through.

 

Lambeth Bridge

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Knight Bus squeezes itself between two standard double decker buses on Lambeth Bridge. It’s the bridge upstream from Westminster Bridge, easily visible from the South Bank.

It’s a nice enough bridge, but there’s nothing specifically Harry Potter about it beyond the film connection. If your walking route takes you along the river, note it. If not, don’t detour for it.

 

City of London and Southwark

This is where the walking route gets more interesting. Borough Market and Leadenhall Market are both proper London highlights in their own right, and the Millennium Bridge connecting St Paul’s to the Tate Modern is one of the best walks in the city.

Borough Market: The Leaky Cauldron

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron moved from Leadenhall Market (where it appeared in the first film) to Borough Market. After his ride on the Knight Bus, Harry gets dropped off on Stoney Street and walks into the pub. The real-life location is by the “Chez Michele” flower shop.

Borough Market is one of my favourite spots in London regardless of the Harry Potter connection. It’s one of the best food markets in the city, and you should plan to eat here. The film crew for the new HBO Harry Potter series was also spotted filming at Borough High Street in August 2025, so this location will likely appear in the new TV series too.

 

Millennium Bridge

The death eater sequence in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was filmed across several London locations, but the most memorable moment is when the Millennium Bridge gets ripped apart and tossed into the Thames.

That was all CGI of course, and the bridge still stands. It’s a pedestrian footbridge linking St Paul’s Cathedral with the Tate Modern, and the views along the Thames in both directions are excellent. The bridge didn’t actually exist when the first books were written (it opened for the Millennium), but it was around by the time the later films were shot.

St Paul’s Cathedral is also worth noting here. The interior of the cathedral was used for some Hogwarts scenes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the geometric staircase inside one of the front towers served as the route to Harry’s Divination classroom. You’d walk past the cathedral on your way to or from the bridge anyway.

 

Leadenhall Market: Diagon Alley

This is one of my favourite Harry Potter filming locations in London, and one of the few where the real-life location actually feels like something out of the wizarding world.

Leadenhall Market is a beautiful covered market in the City of London, dating from the 14th century. It was used as the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Specifically, the door to an optician’s shop in Bull’s Head Passage served as the pub entrance. The ornate Victorian roof, cobbled floors, and the narrow passages make it easy to see why the film-makers chose it. It’s free to visit and well worth the walk, even if you’re not a Potter fan.

 

West End: Trafalgar Square to Soho

The West End cluster covers a mix of filming locations and Harry Potter experiences. It’s where you’ll find the biggest variety of Potter-related things to do beyond just looking at buildings.

Australia House: Gringotts Bank

The grand Australia House on the Strand was used for the interior scenes of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Harry visits Gringotts in several films, most memorably in the first film (collecting gold with Hagrid) and in the dramatic vault break-in during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Australia House is home to the Australian High Commission, so you can’t go inside. But the building itself is impressive from the outside, and if you’re walking along the Strand (which connects the City to the West End), you’ll pass right by it.

 

Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, after fleeing the Death Eater attack on Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Harry, Ron and Hermione apparate into the middle of Piccadilly Circus and narrowly avoid being hit by a number 19 bus. They then walk down Shaftesbury Avenue, which is one of the few London streets actually named on screen in the films. Hermione mentions it by name, recalling that her parents used to take her to the theatre there.

Piccadilly Circus is always heaving with people and the Harry Potter connection is brief, but it’s a place you’ll probably visit anyway as part of any London trip, and it’s a well-known scene that fans will recognise.

While you’re in the area, walk over to Leicester Square. This wasn’t a filming location, but it is where the Harry Potter films had their UK premieres, and there’s a Harry Potter bronze statue here that makes a good photo opportunity.

 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

The Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play has been running at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End since 2016, and it’s a fantastic experience for fans. The show is set nineteen years after the events of the final film and follows Harry as an adult, along with his son Albus, who is starting at Hogwarts.

There’s a big change happening in 2026. The original two-part version of the play (which required two tickets and two separate visits to the theatre) runs until 20 September 2026. From 6 October 2026, the production is being reimagined as a single performance running 2 hours and 55 minutes with one interval. This makes it much more practical for visitors, as you’ll be able to see the complete story in a single evening with a single ticket.

The Palace Theatre is on Shaftesbury Avenue, a short walk from Leicester Square. The show has won multiple awards and is hugely popular, so if this is on your list, book your tickets well in advance.

 

House of MinaLima

MinaLima is the design duo (Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima) who created the entire graphic world of the Harry Potter films. Every Daily Prophet newspaper, every Hogwarts acceptance letter, every wanted poster, the Marauder’s Map, the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes packaging: all of it came from their studio.

Their gallery and shop at 157 Wardour Street in Soho is free to visit and well worth your time. It’s spread over several floors and packed with original artwork and prop replicas from the films, as well as their work on the Fantastic Beasts series. You can buy prints, illustrated books, and beautifully made prop replicas, including personalised Hogwarts acceptance letters.

The gallery is open daily from 11am to 6pm (last entry 5:30pm). It’s small and can get busy at weekends, so weekday mornings are the best time to visit. Note that the gallery on the lower floor is only accessible via stairs. The location is a couple of minutes’ walk from the Palace Theatre, so it combines well with seeing the Cursed Child.

MinaLima also has a location in Edinburgh at 42-44 Cockburn Street, if you’re heading north. See more on the MinaLima website.

 

King’s Cross and Islington

The King’s Cross area has the highest concentration of must-see Harry Potter locations in London. Platform 9 3/4 is the single most popular Harry Potter site in the city, and St Pancras and Claremont Square are both within walking distance.

King’s Cross Station: Platform 9 3/4

How do you get to Hogwarts? You take a train from Platform 9 and 3/4 at King’s Cross Station. The scenes from the first two films were shot on location here, actually between platforms four and five.

Today, the famous trolley-in-the-wall photo opportunity is in the main concourse, next to the Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9 3/4. Staff provide a scarf in your Hogwarts house colours and a wand to pose with, and there’s a professional photographer on hand (photos available for purchase in the shop). You can also take your own photos for free.

Queue times are typically 30 to 60 minutes, and can be longer during school holidays and weekends. If you want to skip the queue, a VIP Photo Pass is available for £20 and gets you straight to the front. Alternatively, go early in the morning (the trolley is accessible from 8am Monday to Saturday, 9am Sundays) or after 8pm when the crowds thin out.

If you’re planning to visit the Warner Bros Studio Tour (and you should), they have the same trolley photo opportunity there with much shorter queues, so you could skip the King’s Cross version and get your photo at the studio instead.

The HBO TV series also filmed at King’s Cross Station in August 2025, with actors playing the Weasley family spotted on the platforms. So this location will be appearing in the new series too.

 

St Pancras Station

Film-makers are sneaky. When Harry arrives at “King’s Cross” to catch the Hogwarts Express, the exterior shots are actually of St Pancras next door, which just happens to be a much more photogenic building.

St Pancras was also where the Ford Anglia takes to the skies in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It’s right next door to King’s Cross, so you’ll see both on the same visit. The building itself is gorgeous and well worth admiring, Harry Potter or not.

 

Claremont Square, Islington: 12 Grimmauld Place

About a ten minute walk from King’s Cross, Claremont Square was the filming location for 12 Grimmauld Place, the home of Sirius Black and headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

It’s a residential square with nothing specifically marking it as a filming location, so this one is really for the completists. If you’re already at King’s Cross and fancy a walk through Islington, it’s pleasant enough, but most visitors will be happy knowing it exists without making the trip.

 

Outside Central London

London Zoo: The Reptile House Scene

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry sets a Burmese python free at the Reptile House in London Zoo, in Regent’s Park. This was filmed on location at the zoo’s original Reptile House.

A heads-up though: the original 1927 Reptile House where the scene was filmed no longer exists in its original form. In Easter 2024, the zoo replaced it with a brand new experience called “The Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians.” The reptiles are still there (including plenty of snakes you definitely shouldn’t try to set free), but the specific enclosure from the film has changed. It’s still the same general area of the zoo, and there’s a plaque noting the Harry Potter connection.

London Zoo is a great day out in its own right, especially with children. ZSL, the charity behind London Zoo, is celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2026. The zoo itself opened in 1828, making it the oldest scientific zoo in the world. The HBO TV series also filmed at London Zoo in July 2025, so expect to see the location in the new show as well.

Entry requires a ticket (from around £31 for adults, £21 for children when booked online). You can get in free with a London Pass.

 

The Warner Bros. Studio Tour

If you only do one Harry Potter related thing during your time in London, make it the Warner Bros Studio Tour. This is the film studio where all eight Harry Potter films were actually made, and they’ve retained a huge number of the original sets, props, and costumes.

You can visit the Great Hall, walk through Diagon Alley, explore the Forbidden Forest, see Dumbledore’s office, and marvel at the enormous Hogwarts castle model. The whole experience takes about three to four hours and is largely self-guided. There’s Butterbeer to drink and a very well-stocked gift shop.

2026 is a particularly good year to visit, as it marks 25 years since the first Harry Potter film was released. The studio is also where the new HBO TV series is being filmed, though the production areas are separate from the tour.

The studio is in Leavesden, near Watford Junction, about 30 minutes north of central London. You must buy tickets in advance from the official website as they don’t sell tickets on site, and tours book out well in advance.

The easiest way to visit is to book a tour from central London that includes transport. This handles your return coach transfer and admission ticket. This is another good option with a slightly different departure time. Both are well reviewed and not much more expensive than doing it yourself.

If you prefer to make your own way there, the cheapest option is the train from London Euston to Watford Junction (around 20 minutes), then the free shuttle bus to the studio (about 15 minutes). If you have an Oyster Card or contactless payment, you can use it on the train to Watford Junction, but not beyond.

For much more detail on visiting, including current ticket prices, what to expect, and tips for making the most of your day, see our full guide to the Harry Potter Studio Tour.

 

The Real Birthplace of Harry Potter

In 2020, JK Rowling confirmed that she first put pen to paper on the first Harry Potter book in a flat near Clapham Junction train station, in the Battersea area of south London. There’s nothing to mark the spot, which is above some shops on a high street, and eagle-eyed fans may notice that a nearby lane is called “Severus Road.”

It’s not really worth the trip, but if you’re a true completist who wants to tick off every location, there it is.

 

Map of Harry Potter London Locations

Here’s a map of all the Harry Potter filming locations and experiences in London covered in this guide. You can also see everything on Google Maps here.

 

Where to Stay in London

London has a huge range of accommodation at every price point, from hostels to five-star hotels. Here are a few well-located options to get you started.

• The Walrus Bar and Hostel is a well reviewed, centrally located hostel.
• The Z Hotel in Shoreditch offers great value in a lively part of London with excellent dining options.
• The Resident Victoria Hotel is well reviewed and centrally located.
• The Savoy is true luxury, as close to the centre as you can get.

If you prefer an apartment, we recommend Plum Guide (carefully curated listings at a range of price points) or Vrbo.

For a much more comprehensive guide with over 60 recommendations across different areas and budgets, see our full guide to where to stay in London. You can also browse all London accommodation on Booking.com here.

 

More London Resources

We have plenty more content to help you plan the rest of your London trip:

• Our two day London itinerary for the highlights (or a one day version if you’re short on time)
• Our packing list for London to help you prepare
• Guides to London public transport and paying with Oyster vs contactless
• Our guide to Harry Potter filming locations across the UK if you want to extend your Potter pilgrimage beyond London
• Our recommended London guidebook and Rick Steves’ London

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Harry Potter movies were filmed in London?

Every Harry Potter film has scenes that were shot in London. Locations include Leadenhall Market (the entrance to Diagon Alley in the first film), King’s Cross Station (Platform 9 3/4), Borough Market (the Leaky Cauldron entrance in the third film), Australia House (Gringotts Bank interiors), the Millennium Bridge (destroyed by Death Eaters in the sixth film), and many more.

Most of the indoor Hogwarts scenes were filmed at the Warner Bros Studio in Leavesden, just outside London, which you can visit on a studio tour.

Can you visit Harry Potter filming locations in London for free?

Most of the outdoor filming locations in London are free to visit. This includes Leadenhall Market, Borough Market, Piccadilly Circus, the Millennium Bridge, King’s Cross Station (including the Platform 9 3/4 photo opportunity), and all the street locations like Scotland Place and Lambeth Bridge. You only need to pay for the Warner Bros Studio Tour, London Zoo, and the Cursed Child play.

How long does it take to see all the Harry Potter locations in London?

You can walk between most of the central London filming locations in a single day. Allow a full day if you want to take your time and stop for food at Borough Market. The Warner Bros Studio Tour is a separate half-day trip, and London Zoo needs at least a couple of hours. If you want to see everything, plan for two days: one for the walking route and one for the Studio Tour.

Is the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London?

Not quite. The Warner Bros Studio Tour is in Leavesden, near Watford, about 30 minutes north of central London by train. You can get there by train from London Euston to Watford Junction and then a free shuttle bus, or book a tour with return coach transport from central London. You must buy tickets in advance as they are not sold on site.

Is the original Reptile House from Harry Potter still at London Zoo?

The original 1927 Reptile House where the Philosopher’s Stone scene was filmed was replaced in Easter 2024 by a new experience called “The Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians.” The new exhibit is in the same general area and the zoo still has plenty of snakes, but the specific enclosure used in the film no longer exists in its original form.

Is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child still running in London?

Yes. The original two-part production runs at the Palace Theatre until 20 September 2026. From 6 October 2026, it is being reimagined as a single-part show running 2 hours 55 minutes. Book tickets at the official website.

And that sums up our guide to the best Harry Potter filming locations and experiences in London! Have you visited any of these? Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.