If you’re a Harry Potter fan who also likes to travel, you’ve come to the right place. You and I would also be very good friends because I am also obsessed with Harry Potter (who isn’t?) and I love to travel. So when I started discovering Harry Potter destinations around the world, I soon realized that I would like to visit them all.
Here are the best Harry Potter destinations around the world, including where you can experience the Hogwarts Express and where you can dine in the Great Hall. While many of the locations are throughout the UK, there are a few locations you can visit in the US for similar experiences. So here they are!
Now I KNOW that you are familiar with this view. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Ron and Harry head to Hogwarts in the Ford Anglia which mistakenly land on the Hogwarts Express train tracks. But can you really visit here? Because if you can!!! You can ride the Hogwarts Express (also known as the Jacobite Steam Train) on this same route, shown above. It is one of the most memorable travel experiences I have yet to have! The season runs through summer (May to October).
A little further into Scotland you’ll find Glencoe, where many of the series’ dramatic landscapes were filmed. This village is located in the west of Scotland and experiences extreme weather conditions, so be sure to get up!
Edinburgh (Scotland’s capital) is an absolute mecca for Harry Potter fans around the world. Why exactly? Well, it’s the birthplace of Harry Potter of course! The super ridiculously talented J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter here at the Elephant Café… a series of books that turned out to be nothing but the best literary work(s) of our time. But it didn’t stop there, in fact, Rowling checked into the Balmoral Hotel to wrap up the latest installment of the series in peace and quiet. Although it is a luxury hotel, he even left his mark on a marble bust, writing “JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on January 11, 2007.” YES! You can book this room, still to this day. Just a short walk from the cafe, you’ll find Greyfriars Cemetery, and if you’re really intent on visiting all of the HP locations, look out for Tom Riddle’s headstone. But it doesn’t end there: Edinburgh is full of Harry Potter inspiration at all times, so be sure to give yourself a few days to explore this city, which is still the home of J.K. Rowling herself.
One of the locations to film Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was Durham Cathedral. This is also one of the most spectacular filming locations, so be sure to visit it if you’re in the country.
The Bodleian Library was famous before the film series, as a very famous older than time building in Oxford, England. However, the library was used for three of the movies, making it a popular place to visit for fans.
While you’re in Oxford, a tour of Christchurch University is a must – it’s the closest you’ll get to being inside the “real Hogwarts”. It was here that scenes from the Great Hall were filmed, and it looks just as magical in real life as it does in the movie (although it is MUCH smaller in real life).
Remember that scene where Harry and his new classmates have their first broom lesson? Well of course yes! Those scenes were filmed here at Alnwick Castle, though other locations were used for the exteriors (and interiors) of Hogwarts as well, including Christ Church, Oxford, Durham Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral, and Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire.
Goathland train station was used as Hogsmeade station in the movies and fans still flock here to get their photos, despite not being able to board the Hogwarts Express (although you can on the Jacobite steam train).
Have you been deceived into thinking that this address does not exist? For all you skeptics out there, here is a detailed description of where to find the REAL 4 Private Drive in Little Whinging. But for most of us, the replica at the Warner Bros Studio Tour London will have to suffice.
Many fans coming to London will rush to book a tour on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour to enjoy great reproduction of the sets used in the films and photos galore.
King’s Cross Station is home to the famous ‘Platform 9 and Three Quarters, which is actually located between Platforms 4 and 5. Here you will find a long line of HP fans eager to get their picture taken and head to Hogwarts, but not Do it. attempt to break through the wall… It’s a hoax. We all know this isn’t the royal platform, because why would we inform muggles of the royal deal?
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida is perhaps the closest you will get to live out your dreams of being inside the wizarding world. They have invested lots of money in the project and the results are fantastic. Diagon Alley is a highlight, but the new Hogsmeade Village is just as fantastic. You can even hop aboard the Hogwarts Express! There are many of memorabilia on the site, which was perhaps the highlight. While one wand is surely enough, one can never have too many Hogwarts sweaters and uniforms. Read about my time at the park here. Don’t forget to try a Butterbeer! Warning: frozen BB tastes MUCH better. delicious!