Best of London Private Tours · P3
Harry Potter Filming Location Tour
London is mentioned constantly throughout the Harry Potter books, so it's no wonder the films were shot in the capital. Look hard enough and you'll find the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, Platform 9¾, the Ministry of Magic and Gringotts Bank.
- 10-hour full-day private tour
- Luxury 8-seater private minivan
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
About This Tour
Tour highlights.
- Harry grew up in dull Little Whinging, but central London is where you'll find many of the film locations
- Travel between them by private van to see, stand beside and sometimes walk through the real places
- See Diagon Alley, get a step closer to Platform 9¾ and stand outside Gringotts Bank
- Nothing imaginary about it: you'll feel as if your Hogwarts letter arrived after all
Full Description
The itinerary.
21 stops on this private, chauffeur-driven tour.
Stop 1: Leadenhall Market / The Leaky Cauldron
A colourful Victorian marketplace with over 700 years of history. In the Philosopher's Stone, Harry and Hagrid walk through here to Diagon Alley; the Leaky Cauldron's door is on Bull's Head Passage.
Stop 2: King's Cross Station / Platform 9¾
Where Harry first catches the Hogwarts Express. Find the trolley photo spot and the Harry Potter Shop, the wall between platforms 4 and 5 that Harry passes through, and the footbridge he crosses with Hagrid.
Stop 3: St Pancras Renaissance Hotel
This Gothic landmark played the outside of King's Cross in the Chamber of Secrets, when Ron and Harry miss the train and chase it in the flying Ford Anglia. Inside is one of London's prettiest grand staircases.
Stop 4: Claremont Square / 12 Grimmauld Place
The filming location for 12 Grimmauld Place, the Noble House of Black and headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, hidden between numbers 11 and 13.
Stop 5: El Pastor, Stoney Street / The Leaky Cauldron
In the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Knight Bus couldn't fit inside Leadenhall Market, so a new Leaky Cauldron entrance was created here, under a bridge beside Borough Market. Today it's a popular Mexican taqueria.
Stop 6: Charing Cross Road / Diagon Alley
In the books, the Leaky Cauldron stands on Charing Cross Road. In the Half-Blood Prince, the Death Eaters fly down this street of bookshops and theatres on their way to kidnap Mr Ollivander.
Stop 7: Piccadilly Circus
In the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry, Ron and Hermione apparate here after Bill and Fleur's wedding and are nearly hit by a bus. Filming closed almost the whole Circus, with over 300 extras.
Stop 8: Shaftesbury Avenue
Follow the Golden Trio past the grey columns of Shaftesbury Avenue, where Hermione apparated them because she used to come to the theatre here with her parents.
Stop 9: Westminster Tube Station
Where Muggle-obsessed Arthur Weasley struggles with the ticket barriers while taking Harry to his Ministry hearing in the Order of the Phoenix.
Stop 10: Millennium Bridge
The bridge the Death Eaters destroy in the Half-Blood Prince. Nicknamed the 'Wobbly Bridge' when it opened in 2000, it looks out over Tate Modern, St Paul's, Tower Bridge and Shakespeare's Globe.
Stop 11: St Paul's Cathedral / Divination Stairwell
The cathedral's geometric staircase became Hogwarts' Divination Stairwell, where Hermione storms off in the Prisoner of Azkaban. It isn't part of a standard ticket, but can be seen on a Triforium tour.
Stop 12: Australia House / Gringotts Bank
Gringotts' banking hall was filmed inside Australia House, home of the Australian High Commission, whose chandeliers, marble floors and columns needed little change. You can't go in, but it's worth a stop.
Stop 13: London City Hall
The glass building beside Tower Bridge where curious Muggles watch the Dark Mark appear over London in the Half-Blood Prince.
Stop 14: Trafalgar Square
Fenrir Greyback and the Death Eaters sweep across the square in the Half-Blood Prince on their way to Diagon Alley. Built to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar, it's also home to the National Gallery.
Stop 15: Tower Bridge
Harry and the Order fly past it on their way to 12 Grimmauld Place in the Order of the Phoenix. Often mistaken for London Bridge, it was built between 1886 and 1894.
Stop 16: Scotland Place / Ministry of Magic
The visitors' entrance to the Ministry of Magic, reached by red telephone box in the Order of the Phoenix. The box is gone, but the spot near Whitehall and Scotland Yard remains.
Stop 17: Horse Guards Avenue / Ministry of Magic
In the Deathly Hallows Part 1, the trio, disguised with Polyjuice Potion, sneak into the Ministry through public toilets here. The toilets never existed, but you can still picture it.
Stop 18: Lambeth Bridge / The Knight Bus
The Knight Bus squeezes between two double-deckers on this bridge in the Prisoner of Azkaban. A jetty near Lambeth Fire Station frames the bridge with Parliament behind.
Stop 19: 12 Great Newport Street
Near Covent Garden, the alleyway the Death Eaters race through before crashing into Diagon Alley in the Half-Blood Prince.
Stop 20: Cecil Court / Diagon Alley
A beautiful street of oil lamps, hanging signs, vintage bookshops and colourful shopfronts, thought to have inspired Diagon Alley.
Stop 21: Goodwin's Court / Knockturn Alley
A mysterious backstreet of black bay windows that looks more like Knockturn Alley. It isn't a filming location, but it's a must on any Harry Potter tour of London.
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