The Ultimate Harry Potter Holiday – must-see sites and activities in London

Helloooo all my lovely readers!

Before heading back to Durham, my best friend from uni and I decided to have a little holiday around England before our second year starts. Because we’re both Harry Potter fans, we thought it might be fun to put a little theme to our holiday, and visit some Harry Potter locations alongside getting in some fun and relaxation before the stresses of tertiary education begin again.

The first stop on our trip was London, and London is filled with all sorts of magical Harry Potter experiences, from film sites, to immersive tours, and other fun activities. So today, for all the other Harry Potter fans out there, here is the ultimate Harry Potter Holiday in London, with everything you should see and do during your stay. I hope you enjoy it!

Check out all the film sites

London may be a really popular tourist destination (and given the restaurants, shopping and theatre it’s hardly a shock), but there are a surprising number of Harry Potter book locations, film sites and inspiration for locations scattered around London:

• Leadenhall market (aka Diagon Alley)
• The Leaky Cauldron (Old Tom’s Bar in Leadenhall Market)
• Millennium Bridge
• Australia House (Gringotts)
• The Reptile house, London Zoo
• Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross train station
• Shaftesbury Avenue
• Westminster Tube Station
• 13-10 Downing Street
• St Pancras International
• Borough Market (entrance to the Leaky Cauldron)
• Trafalgar Square
• Old Scotland Yard (entrance to the Ministry of Magic)
• No. 12 Grimmauld Place
• St. Paul’s Cathedral

Okay so I know that this list seems really excessive, but it’s not as bad as it looks. There are walking tours available in London for you to book and a tour guide will walk you around all the major sites, but you can quite easily do it by yourself as my friend and I did. It’s a great way to explore London and see the city by foot, plus it’s not too extreme a walk. We managed it in a few hours, including some stopping into shops, a tea and cake break and taking lots and lots of photos. If you’re a Harry Potter fan and want to see London, this is the best thing to do!

The Cauldron, Cocktail Bar

For all those under 18, and those who don’t drink please feel free to skip over this part. If you’re someone who appreciates mixology and is looking for a fun place to get a drink, I could not recommend this place more. It has drinks inspired by the movie, but not only that, you get to make your own cocktails in your very own potions class. Part of the ticket experience is a welcome drink, and brewing two of your own potions that you can sip on for the rest of the night. There are other signature HP drinks available for purchase, and non-alcoholic versions too. Not only is it fun to pretend you’re in a potions class, but add in the wand and the fun drinks and it’s a truly magical experience.

Harry Potter Escape Room

Okay what could be better than a Harry Potter escape room?

Actually doing the escape room! Sadly my friend and I couldn’t do this escape room because there were only two of us and you need a minimum of three people so we had to give it a miss, but if you’ve got a bigger group of people then I seriously recommend trying it out. I’m quite a nut for escape rooms in general, but I can’t imagine how funky a Harry Potter one would be so if anyone ends up doing it (it’s done by Enigma Quests), please let me know!! We may have missed our Hogwarts letters but this is the next best chance to graduate from the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

This is something I actually did on a previous trip with my boyfriend but it’s still a great thing to do for any HP fans in London. I know that there’s mixed views on whether or not The Cursed Child is acceptable cannon, but it’s still a fun experience, and a chance to enjoy the London theatre scene. 

Warner Bros Studio Tour

Any true Harry Potter fan would not set foot in London without having the Warner Bros Studio tour somewhere near the top of their list. If you love the books, films or any part of the Harry Potter universe, this is truly as close as you can get to falling right into the wizarding world J.K Rowling spent so many years crafting. You can genuinely spend the whole day doing this activity, if you read all the little information boards, do the self-guided audio tour and essentially just take your time drinking in all the incredible little details the team left behind after filming for us to appreciate. Plus, because fangirling is tiring work, there is a butterbeer refreshment stop (you can get food too) halfway through the tour and a café with amazing food you can access at the start or end of the tour. You’ll also have to go through the glorious gift shop before you can truly exit your experience, so don’t be upset with yourself if you’re more than tempted. If you’d like to hear more about my fun experience at Warner Bros with my best mate from uni, click here to read my ‘Six reasons to visit the Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio tour’.

And there you have it! What did you all think of my list of great Harry Potter activities and sites to enjoy whilst you’re in London? From my own experience, it is such fun to do, plus it adds an interesting dynamic to an already fun holiday so you get to make even more special memories. Has anyone else visited any of these places, or done something like this in another country? How was it?? Let’s chat in the comments section!

Lots of Love

Blondey on a Mission xxx