If you’re looking for the best Harry Potter things to do in London, look no further. Here’s our guide for all the wandering wizards and Hogwarts fans.
In the unlikely event that you don’t know of Harry Potter, he is the main character in a series of fantasy novels written by British author J K Rowling.
The novels follow the fantastical life of young wizard Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
As of February 2023, the books had sold more than 600 million copies worldwide, making them the best selling book series in history.
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1. Platform 9 3/4
An obvious number 1 on the Harry Potter things to do in London list!
Platform 9 3/4 is located at Kings Cross Station and is of course the platform is where Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry students board the Hogwarts Express.
In the films, students must catch the train from Platform 9 3/4 on the 1st September, in order to attend school.
However, you can visit and capture your London Instagram photos 365 days of the year, at possibly the most famous Harry Potter spot on your London itinerary!
Finding the luggage trolley embedded in the wall is simple. Take the tube to Kings Cross Underground Station and follow the exit signs to Kings Cross Rail Station.
Once you enter the overground station, look up for the big black departure boards showing all the train departure times. When facing the boards, turn to your left and you can’t miss it.
The Harry Potter shop is also located next door. Styled to resemble Ollivander’s wand emporium, you can find time turners, horcruxes and games, as well as Hogwarts school jumpers in house colours.
The trolley is accessible at all hours, and you don’t have to pay to take your own photographs.
There is a professional photographer on hand between 9am-9pm daily. Offering the service of photographing you with a scarf in your house colours, which is then available for you to view and purchase inside the Harry Potter shop next door.
2. Warner Bros Studio Tour
Warner Bros Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter is a permanent exhibit offering an authentic behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Harry Potter films.
One of the most popular tourist attractions in the UK, this is an absolute must on the Harry Potter things to do in London list!
“Step on to authentic sets, discover the magic behind spellbinding special effects and explore the behind-the-scenes secrets of the Harry Potter film series. Tread the original stone floor of the iconic Hogwarts Great Hall, encounter animatronic creatures and wander down Diagon Alley. Located at the Studios where all 8 films were produced, the Studio Tour showcases the incredible British talent, imagination and artistry that went into making the impossible a reality on screen.”
Located in Leavesden, it’s a little outside of central London, so the best option is to book your Ticket to Warner Bros. Studio Tour with Transfer in advance.
The first tour starts at 10:00 and the last tour is between 16:00 and 18:30 (depending upon the time of year, school holidays and weekends).
If you’re a Harry Potter fan this also makes for a great Fun Date Idea In London.
3. Harry Potter Bus Tour
A great way to get around and visit all the famous locations associated with Harry Potter is to jump on a Harry Potter Bus Tour.
The tours offer a guided experience that lasts about 3 hours. You visit places like Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station, the Leaky Cauldron, Grimmauld Place and more.
There’s a few different tours to choose from so, just check they are visiting the places you are interested in and hop aboard.
Tickets start at approximately £26 per person. Buses leave at regular intervals from various locations across London including King’s Cross and St Pancras stations.
I would recommend booking your bus tour tickets in advance as they are very popular with tourists from all around the world.
This is a great option to visit all your favourite Harry Potter spots, with the added bonus of getting all the inside information about each one from a knowledgeable guide.
4. Harry Potter & The Cursed Child Show
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a 2016 British two-part play written by Jack Thorne based on an original story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne.
It is currently acted out in 6 locations around the world: London, New York, Melbourne, San Francisco, Hamburg and Toronto.
The plays depict what happens after the movies finish, and the story is acted out live on stage:
“While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.”
The London west end show is located at The Palace Theatre, with the nearest tube station being Leicester Square. This is just a 5 min walk to the theatre.
The play is split into two performances, and performances are available from Wednesday to Sunday.
However if you wish to watch both parts of the play in one day, the best option is to visit on a Wednesday or Saturday where Part 1 is shown at 2pm and part 2 follows at 7.30pm.
Tickets start at as low as £15 per performance (£30 for both parts), although they can go up to £80 per performance (£160 for both parts) depending on choice of seating.
Both times and prices can be found via Harry Potter The Play website and, for the more mature fans, this is a great one to add to the Harry Potter things to do in London list!
5. Georgian House Hotel
If you are looking to stay over in London after the show and want to continue with the wizardly theme, then head for the Georgian House Hotel, 35-39 St George’s Drive.
Hidden away behind the front doors of this beautiful old hotel lies a unique and magical experience.
You can choose to stay in the sumptuous Wizards Chamber, which is adorned with everything wizardly. Including a velvet-draped four poster bed, stained glass windows, stone archways and cauldrons.
Or, alternatively, concealed behind a bookcase door on the lower ground floor of the hotel, you have the Enchanted Chamber which is also full of all things magical.
The hotel also offers a ‘bewitching breakfast’ and an ‘enchanting afternoon tea’ as well as potion-making sessions every Saturday and Sunday.
For a magical overnight stay that offers Hogwarts feels, prices start at around £329 per night including breakfast.
So, for one of best Harry Potter things to do in London, head to one of the delightful, wizard-themed rooms of The Georgian Hotel.
6. Leadenhall Market
For a mix up of both the Wizarding world and the Muggle world, Leadenhall Market is perfect!
Leadenhall Market, which first appears in the film Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, is where Diagon Alley was transformed.
The place that gave Harry his first look into the world of wizardry!
This is one of the destinations included on the popular Harry Potter Guided Walking Tour.
The covered market in London, is home to high-end fashion brands and cosy restaurants scattered among the cobblestones.
Just a 10 minute walk from the Tower of London, it makes for the perfect place to rest your legs and grab a bite to eat.
In the film Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, you can see Harry and Hagrid pass through Leadenhall Market on their way to the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley.
7. Take A Harry Potter Walking Tour
If you’re short on time, or simply want to leave the planning to someone else, then a walking tour is one of the easiest Harry Potter things to do in London.
The tours generally last 3-4 hours, as you explore the streets of London and indulge in your fandom for Harry Potter.
Most walking tours begin at King’s Cross Station, where the magical journeys of young wizards and witches begin, and your guide will take you to a few famous places in London that heavily inspired several locales in the book series.
Throughout this short adventure, you will be entertained with stories about London and trivia regarding the films.
8. Find The Harry Potter Film Locations
If the walking tour isn’t enough, then why not keep on going and hunt out all of the Harry Potter film locations around the capital!
We spent a full day exploring on the film locations alone, and it was a great day out in London.
This one is more for the die hard fans, but if you have plenty of time spare then there are always more spots to find.
Here’s a little list of some of the most popular ones:
- Diagon Alley: Leadenhall Market & Borough Market
- Platform 9 3/4: Kings Cross Station
- Cafe Attack: Piccadilly Circus/ Shaftesbury Ave
- Ministry of Magic: Great Scotland Yard, Scotland Place
- Gringotts Wizarding Bank: Australia House, Strand
- Harry First Speaks Parseltongue: London Zoo
- 12 Grimmauld Place: Lincoln’s Inn Fields
- The Three Bridges: Tower Bridge, Lambeth Bridge & Millennium Bridge
9. Hardy’s Original Sweetshop
The inspiration for the famous Honeydukes sweetshop, as seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
So if you’re looking for Butterbeer, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs then this is your place.
Hardy’s is a traditional British sweet shop, who’s stores are magical emporiums for confectionery connoisseurs everywhere.
After finding out that J.K Rowling took inspiration from there old fashioned sweet stores, they of course stocked up and now supply Harry Potter treats across 12 stores around the UK.
There are actually a few Hardy’s Sweetshop’s located in London, however the most central are those near Leicester Square Underground Station.
We visited the one at 52 Charing Cross Rd and it was a candy lovers heaven!
A great addition to the Harry Potter things to do in London list, if you’re looking for souvenirs to take home!
10. House Of MinaLima
House of MimaLima is the design studio behind the graphic props of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films.
Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima started working together in 2002, to imagine and create the graphic universe of the Harry Potter film series for Warner Bros.
Sharing a common artistic vision, they crafted the entire graphic style of all the Harry Potter movies. They have since also opened a gallery and store showcasing their entire treasury of graphic works.
An absolute creatives heaven, this store/exhibition is an amazing place to pick up some unique works of art for your home. Or even small gifts to take home and put on display.
You can purchase the prints on display and there is a shop on the ground floor with lots of Harry Potter trinkets.
Overall it’s a really interesting place for Harry Potter fans, and best of all it’s completely free to look around.
The exhibit in London is located at 26 Greek St, Soho and is open daily 10.30am-7pm.
If you’re looking for more things to do in London, other than Harry Potter, there are some awesome tours on Get Your Guide available to book in advance.
For all tourists visiting London, I recommend purchasing a Go City London Pass.
These are a great way of saving money when visiting multiple tourist attractions during your stay in London.
11. The Cauldron
If you want an immersive, ‘Harry Potter style’ potion-making experience, then The Cauldron Cocktail Bar is perfect.
Inspired by the fantastical, The Cauldron offers a magical cocktail/mocktail mixing class. Wearing cloaks and using actual working wands, you get to brew two molecular potions of your choosing.
The Cauldron on Stoke Newington Road is open Weds to Fri 5.30pm – 10.00pm and Sat/ Sun 1.30pm – 10.00pm.
You can book a magical mixology class lasting 1.45 hours and tickets starting at £43 per adult.
Or, alternatively, just drop in and experience the wizardry of The Cauldron molecular cocktail bar.
A visit to The Cauldron also makes for a great Fun Date Idea In London.
12. School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
For all Harry potter fans that enjoy a challenge, The School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Escape Room is a must.
Inspired by classical fantasy worlds, you will be looking to graduate from the prestigious School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and thereby exit the escape room.
Inside the fantasy themed room, your inner Harry Potter is put to the test with puzzles to solve that involve magical potions, spells and defence against dark powers.
Designed for teams of 2 – 5, you have just 60 minutes to complete all the challenges and graduate from this special school. However, don’t panic, there is a Questmaster in each room to support and offer hints if needed.
Part of the Enigma Quest group, The School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is located a 2 – 12 Wilson Street in Shoreditch. Open Mon to Fri 11am – 8pm and Sat/Sun 10am – 9pm prices start at £70 per team.
As far as magical experiences go for all aspiring wizards and witches, this has to be one of the best Harry Potter things to do in London.