Where was Harry Potter filmed? If you’re looking for a list of Harry Potter filming locations that you can visit in real life, this HP locations guide will tell you everything you need to know… and then some.

As I’m sure you’re well aware: Harry Potter fandom can come in all sorts of fantastic shape and sizes.

For some, there’s of course the movie marathons, the repeat-readings, the secret Pinterest boards for HP parties, recipes and weddings…

Then there’s the eager wanderlusters like you and me who really go for it, zoning in on the mac daddy of fandom glory: chasing actual Harry Potter filming locations in real life.

*heavy breathing*

If this is your mission, don’t worry.

Welcome to Christina’s judgement free zone! Because I’m the biggest dork on Earth, I’ve gone ahead and compiled a comprehensive list of ALL the Harry Potter filming locations that you can actually visit in real life.

Save this post for later on Pinterest:

NOTE: This list of excludes any “Harry Potter”ish or inspired spots, and is based solely on sites that actually appeared in the Harry Potter films. Trust me though, this is the most thorough compilation you’re going to find because I wrote it WHILE watching the movies to ensure I didn’t miss any details.

Did I use this post as an excuse to re-watch all 8 films?

Well…. “I must not tell lies“… BUT, excuse my bloodshot eyes and let’s get to it. *waves wand*

PS: If you love reading about HP filming locations, I highly recommend the wonderful book Harry Potter: Magical Places from the Films. I used it heavily to research this post, and it’s filled with super fun facts, photos, production sketches and more!

Harry Potter Filming Locations in London

Let’s start with London! There are a LOT of amazing Harry Potter-themed activities in London you can enjoy, but if your plan is to visit as many Harry Potter filming locations around the city as possible, here’s a little bucket list for you.

PS: Many of the London locations featured in Harry Potter are pretty normal and boring places (e.g. government buildings, train stations, etc.) I list them all below for thoroughness sake, but if you want a more curated selection, I narrow down the ones really worth visiting in this post.

The Actual Harry Potter Set at the Warner Bros Studio Tour

Appeared in: ALL THE HARRY POTTER MOVIES

Okay, so duh… we can’t really create a list of Harry Potter filming locations without FIRST giving a shoutout to the most magical attraction in the cosmos: the Warner Brothers Studio in Leavesden, which house a truly sob-worthy assortment of sets, props, costumes and more used throughout the franchise.

During your visit, you get to prance through the Great Hall, snoop around the Gryffindor common rooms, lurk creepily in Diagon Alley, taste Butterbeer, and so. much. more.

You can click here for my full guide to visiting the studios, but just know that if your ideal day trip consists of nerdy drooling and ugly-crying your way through real-life set pieces, this is a must-do!

The Millennium Bridge, AKA The Bridge that the Death Eaters Destroy

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This iconic bridge in London is usually part of any tourist’s itinerary anyway, but you might enjoy your shameless photo opps here a little more knowing there’s a Harry Potter connection involved!

When? Well, do you remember that super dark opening scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince where the death eaters just rip through London and leave behind a path of destruction?

Well, this is the bridge that just…. snaps and breaks. Yeah. Have fun walking on it!

You also spot St Paul’s Cathedral in this scene as well, which is another Harry Potter filming location that most people don’t know about! I’ll explain what shot there below.

But anyways – back to the bridge. Most people looking for the Harry Potter Bridge in London are usually talking about this one, but in certain cases they might be referring to…

Lambeth Bridge, AKA the Bridge the Knight Bus Whizzes Across

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Do you remember that scene with the Knight Bus at the start of Prisoner of Azkaban, when it’s whizzing across a bridge and has to compress itself to fit between two red double decker buses?

Yup, that bridge is none other than London’s Lambeth Bridge!

It also makes a super super brief appearance in Order of the Phoenix when they are flying over the Thames.

The Reptile House at London Zoo

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

The Reptile House at London Zoo is the real life location where Harry sets that Burmese python free near the beginning of the veeery first Harry Potter movie.

Allow me to jog your memory if this doesn’t sound familiar: the whole Dursley fam is there to celebrate jerkface Dudley’s birthday, and when Dudley knocks Harry over to look at the snake, Harry’s angry powers get the glass to disappear and Dudley just falls and gets trapped in the snake pit. Classic.

Leadenhall Market, AKA the Entrance to the Leaky Cauldron

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 

Leadenhall Market is one of the prettiest little spots in London, and well worth a visit!

When does it appear in Harry Potter?

Well, you see Leadenhall Market briefly in Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone when Harry and Hagrid are headed to the Leaky Cauldron and Harry is reading about how he can choose from “An owl, a cat, and a toad…”

You see the famous covered market in the background as Harry reads that line, but then they step into a smaller side street (Bull’s Head Passage) where they enter the Leaky Cauldron.

You can actually still visit that shop today but it’s like, an optometrist, so don’t make it weird.

Borough Market, AKA Another Entrance to the Leaky Cauldron

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The entrance to the Leaky Cauldron took on a new location in Prisoner of Azkaban – relocating to one of London’s top food markets: Borough Market.

After Harry gets off the Knight Bus, this is where he’s dropped off to go to the Leaky Cauldron. Specifically, the drop off point is on Stoney Street between Park & Southwark.

But while you’re here though, be sure to stop at Kappacasein Dairy for a life-changing grilled cheese sandwich:

Australia House, AKA Gringotts Bank

While we know that the real Gringotts is located in Diagon Alley, and therefore the real facade is found on set at the Warner Bros Studio, you should know that the interior shots of Gringotts were filmed inside London’s Australia House.

NOTE: This is actually an important government building so you can’t just waltz in with your wand and robe, SO if you’re short on time, I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to see it. That said, if you really need your Gringotts fix, the studio tour has unveiled a new Gringotts section for 2019 so be sure to go check it out!

Westminster Tube Station

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

When in London, it’s likely you’ll be relying on the Tube to get around. Well, head over to Westminster Tube Station and tick another Harry Potter location off your list!

This busy station makes its grand appearance when Arthur Weasley and Harry go on a little trip on the tube on their way to the Ministry of Magic for Harry’s trial. It’s here that we get to see just how little Arthur Weasley knows about the muggle world. Remember that line: “Trains… underground…! Genius, these muggles,”?

Fun fact: According to the BBC, this scene required a full day closure of the station in October 2006, which I’m sure was a great convenience to commuters 😉

The intersection of Great Scotland Yard and Scotland Place, AKA The Ministry of Magic

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

After the aforementioned tube ride, Harry and Arthur end up at the intersection of Great Scotland Yard and Scotland Place, where they take a Red Phone Booth elevator down to the magical Ministry of Magic. While sadly, the red phone booth (and the bridge above it) were added for the film and don’t exist in real life, it otherwise looks very similar.

We see this area again in Deathly Hallows Part 1, when Harry Ron and Hermione go to the Ministry of Magic to hunt down Slytherin’s locket… you know, when they basically mugged those 3 (innocent) Ministry of Magic employees so they could use polyjuice potion to become them and infiltrate. Specifically, that area where they filmed was the UK office of the Department of Energy & Climate Change, a fun event that even landed Harry Potter a mention in this World Nuclear News article.

St Pancras Station, AKA Where the Ford Anglia Takes Off

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

This picture-perfect train station is where the Ford Anglia takes off in the Chamber of Secrets when Ron and Harry need to get to Hogwarts after missing their train. 7 muggles might have seen them take off at the time, but now thousands of muggles pass it everyday 😉

The station also makes a final appearance in one of the films’ final scenes ever in Deathly Hallows Part 2, when they show it again just before the scene where their kiddos are all being sent off to Hogwarts to begin (I hope) a much less eventful school year than their parents.

King’s Cross Station

Appeared in: All the Harry Potter films (I think)

Is there any train station more synonymous with Harry Potter than King’s Cross?

SO many iconic scenes took place here… I mean, when Hagrid hands Harry his ticket in Philosopher’s Stone and he’s all like “wait – Platform 9 and 3/4?!” and Hagrid just unhelpfully vanishes? Or how about Harry meeting the Weasleys for the first time? I like to think that Molly saw lost Harry and that’s why she was so loud and non-discrete about the whole “COME ON THIS WAY TO PLATFORM 9 3/4” thing.

Side note: did seriously NO muggle notice all the kids disappearing into the wall with their carts?

Naturally, King’s Cross appears in pretty much every movie. In Order of the Phoenix for instance this is where Harry and Sirius have their mega-covert meeting before Harry goes on the platform and has that Slenderman-esque vision of Voldemort.

Harrow School, AKA the Charms Classroom

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 

“Swish and flick!”

This is Professor Flitwick’s Charms classroom, and yes, it’s located in an actual real school, in the Fourth Form room of Harrow School to be precise. You can book tours of it, although it’s a little out of the way in London. But, can you resist visiting the very space where Hermione uttered her iconic line “it’s leviOsa, not levioSAAAA”.

PS: the oak walls of this classroom have signatures lovingly carved in from former students….. including some you may know, like Winston Churchill.

23-29 Claremont Square, AKA 12 Grimmauld Place

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Tucked away on an unassuming street in Islington lies Claremont Square, the location of the famous Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

We first see this location in Order of the Phoenix, when Harry is brought here for the first time and is super stoked to see his godfather hanging out with his best friends’ mom.

Random note: They did of course build some Grimmauld Place facades for in-studio shooting (we can assume probably for the parts where the building like, splits open, but who knows).

They apparently re-used these in Half-Blood Prince for the street leading up to Wool’s Orphanage (which was shot completely in the studio).

And, while the orphanage itself is set in London, the inspiration came from an old brick factory building in Liverpool.

London City Hall

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The opening sequence in Half-Blood Prince shows Death Eaters terrorizing a variety of iconic landmarks in London. Well, the first shot showing businesspeople looking out the window was shot in the distinctively modern London City Hall, found right along the Thames. You briefly also catch a glimpse of the Gherkin as random businessman #1 looks out the window.

Trafalgar Square

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

You’ll most likely end up at Trafalgar Square at some point during your London sightseeing, but know that it does make a cameo appearance in the Harry Potter franchise!

Briefly, during the opening scene of Half-Blood Prince, you see the Death Eaters rush through Trafalgar Square, one of London’s main squares, then onwards to Charing Cross Road, past Leicester Square Tube Station and then onwards through an alley that brings them to Diagon Alley.

If you want to find the (not so magical) real life entrance to Diagon Alley, then head to…

12 Great Newport Street, AKA the Entrance to Diagon Alley

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

While there is a gate barring entry here in real life, superfans will be delighted to know that this point marks the alleyway that the Death Eaters whoosh through to enter Diagon Alley in that Half-Blood Prince opening sequence.

Other Iconic London Landmarks

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

When the Order of the Phoenix comes to rescue Harry, they go for a fun little ride over the Thames and pass a bunch of iconic London landmarks, including Canary Wharf, the HMS Belfast (and Tower Bridge in the background), the Palace of Westminster and a few bridges. If you follow this sequence, the way they fly is pretty ridiculous and doesn’t make a ton of sense, but nonetheless that’s movie magic for ya 😉

Likewise, in Half-Blood Prince, when the Death Eaters go on their murdery rampage around London, you see quite a few iconic London spots as well. For instance, in the overhead view of the Thames as they rush into the scene, you’ll actually see the London Eye in the lower right side if you look hard enough, which means the Houses of Parliament are found diagonally across.

Surbiton Railway Station

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Ah yes, the scene at the start of Half-Blood Prince where Harry gets shamelessly hit on by his cafe server. I know they really roll hard with the teenage romance thing in the sixth movie, but this always seemed so random to me!

Anyway, if you want to see the railway station where this scene is shot (and where Dumbledore eerily appears across the platform), then head to Surbiton Railway Station. Unfortunately, there is no cafe there as there is in the movie – apparently it’s a dull little Nero Express now, so it’s not exactly the most thrilling Harry Potter filming location, but hey, now you know 😉

Piccadilly Circus (and the area around it in Central London)

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

As I’m sure you remember, after Bill and Fleur’s wedding goes awry in Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry, Ron and Hermione apparate to Central London.

If you want to follow in their footsteps during this scene: here’s quick walkthrough! Our favourite trio start off (almost getting run over by a double decker bus) in Picadilly Circus in front of the GAP store, walking down Shaftesbury Avenue (where Hermione used to go to the theatre with her parents) and ducking into an alley where we see how next-level Hermione’s purse is.

They end up at a cafe where they run into two Death Eaters masquerading as repair men. This cafe was a set, although if you look closely, you see the shop “Chris Bryant’s Musical instruments” (now permanently closed) outside the window, which would put this cafe near Tottenham Court Tube Station.

Later on, the gang is walking through a covered arcade when Hermione laments the fact that they didn’t get to celebrate his birthday and give him his cake, which yeah, in the grand scheme of things does NOT seem too important. Nonetheless, this arcade was apparently in London Trocadero, a complex which closed in 2014.

St Paul’s Cathedral Staircase, AKA The Divination Tower Stairwell

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Alright – sorry to leave you hanging about St Paul’s! Here’s a little known fact about this famous cathedral and Harry Potter: unknown to most, one of St Paul’s stairwells was actually used as the stairs to the Divination Tower in Prisoner of Azkaban then in Goblet of Fire as the stairs to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. You know, after that first class with Mad Eye Moody (where he breaks all protocol and shows them the unforgivable curses).

Hampstead Garden, AKA Hermione’s Hood

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

How can we forget that sad little scene in Deathly Hallows Part 1 when Hermione takes running away from home to the next level by using Obliviate on her parents and erasing herself from their memory?

Well, the real-life house that stood in as Hermione’s swanky pad is actually located in the suburb of Hampstead Garden in Heathgate, London. Since the Grangers are dentists, this is (unsurprisingly) a very nice neighbourhood, and when the house went on sale a few years back, it had a tidy little asking price of £2,400,000. No charm could make me Obliviate the fact that I can’t afford that.

PS: Random geek out moment, did you ever notice that Hermione’s mom is Catelyn Stark from Game of Thrones? Does that technically make Hermione Robb Stark’s half-sister in the twisty universe of nerdy fiction? Anyway…

Horse Guards Avenue & Whitehall, AKA The Ministry of Magic Gentleman’s Toilet

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Alright, last London location, I promise!

In the shot just before we see all the Ministry of Magic workers flushing themselves down the Gentleman’s toilets, we get a glimpse of the toilet entrance. While no such toilet exists (it’s actually right in the middle of the road in this shot!!), the background and surrounding scenery does, and you can find it at the intersection of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in London.

Harry Potter Filming Locations in Oxford

Alright – next up, let’s do Oxford. Honestly, visiting Oxford feels like prancing around one giant Harry Potter film set so you don’t need too much of a guide, but there are several hotspots around town that were both used for filming and as clear inspiration for many of the sets in the franchise. Here are some spots you definitely need to check out:

Christ Church College AKA the Great Hall (ish) and the Stairs Leading To It

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I’ve been to this stunner in-person and I can’t lie to you, subtle tears may have been shed.

SO, let me clarify one thing: while the Great Hall from all the Harry Potter movies is actually a set (you can see it on the Warner Bros Studio Tour), this hall in Oxford is still well worth visiting because the film set design was heavily modelled after it. So much so that “The Hall” (as it’s known) is basically a spitting image of the Great Hall we’ve learned to love throughout the franchise.

Plus, the stairs leading up to it appear it in the first two films: in the Philosopher’s Stone as the scene RIGHT before all the newcomers enter the Great Hall and also in Chamber of Secrets when Ron and Harry have just crashed into the Whomping Willow and run into Filch being super creepy on the stairway. You’ll also briefly see it in the flashback scene where Tom Riddle is chatting with Dumbledore about the student death, and he, too, is being super creepy on the stairway.

Duke Humfrey’s Library at the Bodleian Library, AKA Hogwarts Library

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Duke Humfrey’s Library is the oldest reading room in Oxford’s (and one of the oldest in Europe) making it a fitting place to play the stunning Hogwart’s Library. Yes, this room is where Harry takes the invisibility cloak for its first spin during the first film (when he’s rummaging through the restricted section of the library and cringily knocks over that lantern). You also see Ron, Hermione and Harry studying here later on, and of course, who can forget the polyjuice potion research conducted in Chamber of Secrets?

The library comes into view again in Half-Blood Prince, when Hermione is seeeeeeething about Ron’s new romance with Lavender, and they’re both contemplating who to invite to Slughorn’s big Christmas bash.

How to visit this Harry Potter location for yourself: You can easily visit the Bodleian Library through a guided tour. They have tours of different lengths but even the shortest one allows you to visit both Duke Humfrey’s Library and also the Divinity School (used as Hogwarts Infirmary). More info here.

Divinity School at the Bodleian Library, AKA Hogwarts Infirmary

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

If you, like me, watched the infirmary scene of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone thinking “what the heck kind of gorgeous hospital is this?!” then you’re in luck – it’s a room you can actually visit in real life!

This gorgeous Gothic vaulted room is actually the Divinity School at the Bodleian Library. It appears in a few films because well, unsurprisingly, people at Hogwarts get hurt a lot. In Chamber of Secrets for instance, this is where Harry goes after Gilderoy Lockheart royally screws up his bone structure and he has to literally REGROW bones thanks to his incompetence. Hermione is also seen recuperating here later thanks to her… Cat-astrophic encounter with Polyjuice Potion.

The Divinity School also made a reappearance as the room in Goblet of Fire where McGonagall is teaching everyone how to dance prior to the Yule Ball… and Ron gets awkwardly chosen as tribute. So. awkward.

How to visit this Harry Potter location for yourself: You can easily visit the Divinity School for a small fee. For only £2, you can go inside for a quick peek. Otherwise, you can also book a full tour of the Bodleian Library which would include other spots only accessible via tour, like  Duke Humfrey’s Library (AKA Hogwarts Library, as mentioned above). More info here.

New College, Oxford

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“Is that a student?”

“Technically it’s a ferret”.

Ten points to your house of choice if you remember that line!

Even if you don’t, let me show you where that excellent scene was filmed: the New College in Oxford. This is where you see Harry walking past the students wearing Potter Stinks badges after his name was spat out by the Goblet of Fire and where he runs into Cedric, gets pissed at Ron and then gets sassed by Malfoy sitting in that ridiculously giant tree.

Other Harry Potter Sites in England

A Harry Potter England tour would be wholly incomplete without mentioning a few of the other amazing Harry Potter filming locations you can visit in England.

Besides London and Oxford, here are some Harry Potter locations in England you can’t miss:

12 Picket Post Cl, Winksfield Row, Bracknell, AKA 4 Privet Drive

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 

To clarify, a set was built for 4 Privet Drive for the majority of the Harry Potter movies (which you can visit at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour).

That said, in the very first Harry Potter movie (presumably before they had a high enough budget), they actually used the house on 12 Picket Close in Bracknell in place of the fictitous Little Whinging. You can check out some set photos and a news article from the filming period here.

PS: The house actually went on sale a few years back and it’s safe to say the owners made a tidy profit.

Goathland Station, AKA Hogsmeade Station

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 

If your goal is to see the Harry Potter train station in real life, then head over to Goathland Station, which is the station used for filming two iconic squeal-worthy moments of the first film: all the students getting off the Hogwarts Express for THE FIRST TIME and of course, the end scene of Philosopher’s Stone when Hagrid is waving bye to all the kiddos.

Gloucester Cathedral, AKA Hogwarts

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and a bit of  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

While there were many real-life stand-ins for Hogwarts over the years (click here for a full list), one of the most iconic ones is the stunning Gloucester Cathedral.

Many interior shots for Hogwarts were filmed here early in the series. Most notably, during the troll scenes when Percy’s freaking out and leading the mini-Gryffindors back to their common room, when Harry and Ron break off to look for Hermione, and in Chamber of Secrets when the bloody words first appear and they find Filch’s petrified cat.

You also get a very clear view of it when Moaning Mrytle has flooded the bathroom and they pan to all the water on the ground (the architecture looks especially gorgeous in this shot!)

The crew returned to film a few scenes for Half-Blood Prince, a shoot that came with a hefty price tag of 100,000 pounds! 

An assortment of hallway scenes were shot here, including near the start, when McGonagall convinces Harry to take up Potions with Slughorn, and later after Slughorn’s big Christmas bash, when Harry overhears Snape and Malfoy chatting after Malfoy’s dumb blunder getting caught at the party.

Of course, it’s at this point that Harry discovers Snape has made an unbreakable vow to protect Malfoy.

If you’re curious to learn more about the Harry Potter/Gloucester Cathedral connection, you can check out a full article about that here.

Durham Cathedral, AKA Hogwarts

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets

If you want the full scoop on Harry Potter locations at Durham Cathedral, you can click here for a full article.

But if you’re too cool to read an entire article dissecting all the links and connections between HP and this cathedral, here’s quick digest: Durham Cathedral is where you’ll find Professor McGonagall’s Transfiguration classroom, which is the cathedral’s Chapter House.

It also (on several occasions) used for Hogwarts ‘quad’ scenes, like when Harry lets Hedwig go in the snow during Philosopher’s Stone, and that scene in Chamber of Secrets when Ron tries that slug spell that backfires.

Lacock

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

If you’re looking for an in-depth article about Lacock and its Harry Potter connection, you can read one here!

Otherwise, here’s what you need to know – the adorable town of Lacock was used for filming during the first, second and sixth Harry Potter films. Here are the filming locations you can visit:

Lacock Abbey: Used for many interior scenes of Hogwarts during the first two films! You’ll find a few noteworthy filming locations here, including Snape’s Potions classroom, Professor Quirrell’s classroom, the Hogwarts Study Hall, a few different corridors, and of course, the room where Harry finds the Mirror of Erised.

Slughorn’s House: In Half-Blood Prince, when Dumbledore whisks Harry away from his almost-date with that train station waitress, he brings him to Horace Slughorn’s House, which is in Lacock. You can find this on Google Maps easily as “Horace Slughorn’s Hideaway”

Harry’s Parents House: Including this last because it’s not the most exciting spot, but nonetheless, in the first film, during the flashback scene when Hagrid is telling Harry about how his parents died, we see a Lacock house featured as Harry’s parents’ house. More details of course in this post.

Alnwick Castle, AKA Hogwarts

And if you’re looking to see where many exterior Hogwarts shots were filmed, head over to Alnwick Castle, doable as a day trip from Edinburgh.

A LOT of Hogwarts scenes were filmed here, most notably the scene in the first film when Madam Hooch is teaching the kiddos how to fly, and also where Harry is learning how to play Quidditch.

Many of the shots that involve the students walking around Hogwarts “outside” (e.g. when they’re walking to Hagrid’s Hut or detention in the first film), were filmed at Alnwick Castle as well.

Black Park, Buckinghamshire AKA the Forbidden Forest

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Okay, so the truth is, the Forbidden Forest scenes were filmed on a specially built set for the majority of the films with the notable exception of the FIRST film because it was more affordable to just film on location.

And so, Black Park in Buckinghamshire was chosen as the spot. While this is just a simple park, and you won’t expect to see any um… dead unicorns, valiant centaurs or anything else while lurking around, it’s still a nice enough park to stroll through.

Black Park was later used for a few small scenes throughout the franchise, notably in Goblet of Fire when Hagrid brings Harry to see the dragons before the first Triwizard Challenge, and we get a glimpse into the romantic flirtations of Hagrid and Madame Maxine.

Also in Order of the Phoenix, when they get off the train and go to the thestral-pulled carriages, and at the end when the students are leaving and Harry says that iconic line “we have one thing that Voldemort doesn’t have….. a nose.” NO JK – he says “something worth fighting for”, but I’d always wished he said a nose. *sigh* Why didn’t I write the script?

Royce Grove, AKA where Harry is Running Away from Home

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Located in Leavesden, Royce Grove was used to film the sad scene where Harry is, pretty much, running away from home in Prisoner of Azkaban. We see him dragging his suitcase out onto this street, which is just a quiet residential street like any other. It would take a pretty hardcore fan to actually come here for tourism purposes!

Later, on Dowding Way is where Harry sits down and is eventually picked up by the Knight Bus.

Virginia Water Lake, AKA the Lake Besides Hogwarts

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

There were many lakes used to depict the lake by Hogwarts, and Virginia Water Lake is one of them!

You might recognize it from the following scenes: in Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry flies with Buckbeak and later has his showdown with dementors by the lake. It’s also seen during the second Triwizard Cup challenge in Goblet of Fire, and for a few other scenes in the film like Victor Krum getting followed by his fangirls, Neville fishing, and that awkward exchange where Hermione comes and has to be the messenger/mediator between Harry and Ron.

Chesil Beach, Dorset, AKA Home to the Burrow

While of course, the exterior of the impossible gravity-defying Burrow was accomplished through CGI, and the interiors were all shot on sets in Leavesden, the backdrop for the Burrow was inspired by a marsh near Chesil Beach in Dorset.

According to Stuart Craig, the HP production designer, this remote location seemed like the perfect place for the Burrow given its flatness really accentuated the weird impossible structure of the building.

Near Abbotsbury Swannery, AKA The Area Near the Burrow

This is a very random filming location because only about 2 minutes of footage was shot here, using entirely body doubles because the actual scenes where you can see the actors was shot in the studio BUT nonetheless, I wanted this list to be complete.

This big field of reeds (supposedly half a mile west of Abbotsbury Swannery)  stood in for the land on which the Burrow is built, you know just before it gets burnt to the ground (sadly).

According to the Dorset Echo, filming took place in November 2007 for this short clip, a feat that required 100 production staff (and Harry’s stunt double) present! If that’s not a hint at just how big these film budgets were, I don’t know what is…

Ashridge Estate, Hertfordshire, AKA the Forest Near the Burrow

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Ashridge Estate is where they filmed scenes in the Goblet of Fire, specifically when they are walking through the forest from the Burrow to get to the portkey to the Quidditch World Cup.

This is where we meet Cedric Diggory for the first time… *holds back sob*

Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, AKA Miscellaneous Forests Throughout the Franchise

Home to many ancient trees, the Burnham Beeches National Nature Reserve in Buckinghamshire is used several times int he later films.

For instance, this is where Luna introduces Harry to the thestrals in Order of the Phoenix, and in some campsite scenes in Deadly Hallows Part 1. 

Ivinghoe Beacon, AKA Home to the Manky Old Boot Portkey

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

While this spot is only shown for a short few seconds, the gorgeous Ivinghoe Beacon is where they filmed the scene where they grab onto the portkey to the World Quidditch Cup, AKA where there was the “manky old boot”.

The Seven Sisters Cliffs, Sussex, AKA the Campsite for the Quidditch World Cup

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This is a beautiful spot worth visiting regardless of its Harry Potter connection, but you briefly spot the Seven Sisters Cliffs in all their chalky wonder when the portkey brings the gang to the Quidditch World Cup and Harry lands super awkwardly.

You can see them especially well in the shot where Arthur Weasley and Golden Boy Diggory + his dad land gracefully like swans.

If you’re looking for the specific spot where they land, it seems like it was a field nearby the Coastguard Cottages in Cuckmere Haven.

Swinley Forest, AKA One of the Forests They Camp In

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Parts of Swinley Forest in Bracknell were used for miscellaneous scenes in Deathly Hallows Part 1, like when they’re being chased by Snatchers… but most of them used green screens to add more dramatic landscapes, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to see this place.

That said, I found this hilarious news article about how the crew kept denying that they were filming Harry Potter there, until a 10 year old boy literally just found a callsheet in the bushes that had ALL THE ACTORS’ ON-SET TIMES, where they would be, and a map of the locations! Luckily, he only found this after the filming wrapped up, otherwise it would have made fangirl stalking a little too easy.

Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This is where they filmed that flashback scene in Order of the Phoenix, where we get a glimpse into Snape’s worst memory and find out that Harry’s dad was kind of a dick in school. The bullying scene where Snape is held upside down (seriously, SO MEAN!) from a big cedar tree was filmed at Blenheim Palace, which is also where Winston Churchill was born.

Random fact: this cedar tree is now mega-famous thanks to the film, and they had to perform emergency “surgery” on it in 2016 to prevent it from collapsing.

Hardwick Hall, AKA Malfoy Manor

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2

The ominous Malfoy Manor may not be recognizable at first glance as Derbyshire’s Hardwick Hall. That’s because CGI was used to enhance the roof and make it… pointier. BUT otherwise, the giant windows and imposing facade are all there for you to gawk at in real life, since the property is owned by the National Trust and open to visitors!

According to the BBC, “exterior shots were filmed from a helicopter and the film-makers photographed and measured inside to help shoot indoor scenes at the studio”, although there are definitely big similarities with the interior, especially the dining room we see near the start of Deathly Hallows Part 1. Remember, when Voldemort is having a fun dinner party with his squad and he kills the Muggle Studies prof who becomes Nagini’s dinz for the night?

Malham Cove

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

The distinctive landscape where Hermione and Harry decide to camp out after Ron throws a hissy fit and leaves is the limestone pavement above Malham Cove.

I was always in awe of this spot while watching the film, after all – it’s just so RUGGED and COOL!

Well, you can easily visit it for yourself, although don’t expect to find anywhere suitable to pitch your tent. It was here that Hermione and Harry decide to go to Godric’s Hollow. On that note…

Lavenham, AKA Godric’s Hollow

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Ah yes, the birthplace of both Harry Potter and Dumbledore. That’s a pretty star-studded alumni list 😉

The quaint and adorable village of Lavenham can be found in Suffolk, and was the real-life inspo for Godric’s Hollow thanks to its half-timbered Tudor style architecture (around the Guild Hall area).

According to Harry Potter: Magical Places from the Films, the production team wanted something quintessentially English so that they could get a nice contrast with the Gothic styles of Hogwarts, and well, looks like they found it!

NOTE: Before you get too excited, apparently no cast members actually filmed here. Instead, Harry and Hermione were added into Lavenham shots through the magic of CGI, as most filming took place in-studio (along with 40 tonnes of fake snow!!). A lot of the scenes were actually shot at Pinewood Studios (not Leavesden!) because it had a beautiful garden and cedar tree in which they set up the set for the graveyard.

Oh, and if you’re a curious cat like me, you can click here to check out some photos of the inside of Harry’s birth home. It’s gorgeous, and was on sale for about 1 million last year (unclear on if it’s still up for grabs). Supposedly it has the most photographed door in England, second to only 10 Downing St.

The Moorlands of Grassington, Yorkshire AKA Setting for the Lovegood House

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Grassington is a little village in North Yorkshire, and it was near it (in its nearby moorlands) that they did some filming for background shots to be used in Deathly Hallows Part 1, most notably for the strange and whimsical Lovegood house, which the squad visits and where they learn what the Deathly Hallows actually are.

Dartford Tunnel

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Okay, no, I’m not suggesting you go visit a random tunnel in England just because it showed up in a Harry Potter film, but I couldn’t claim this was an exhaustive list without including it, soooo anyways in the scene where Hagrid and Harry are trying to get to the Burrow, Hagrid drives them into a tunnel and the entrance you see is Dartford Tunnel.

The interior however was filmed in Liverpool’s Queensway Tunnel.

Prince of Wales Bridge

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Formerly known as the Second Severn Crossing, the Prince of Wales Bridge links England to South Wales and is the bridge we briefly spot in Deathly Hallows Part 1 when Ron, Harry and Hermione are trudging along on their Horcrux hunting journey.

High Marnham Power Station

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Harry, Ron and Hermione are camping out at an abandoned nuclear power plant in Deathly Hallows Part 1 before they camp out in the woods.

I wouldn’t suggest you travel and come here cuz it honestly does seem creepy AF but yes, that’s where that part was shot!

Hatfield House

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

According to the official Hatfield House website, they filmed here for Deathly Hallows Part 2, and after some sleuthing/re-watching, I’m 99% sure the scenes that shot here were from Snape’s super sad memories.

Specifically, it looks like the Hatfield House gardens where Snape and Lily Potter meet as children and are playing in that beautiful park with that giant, ancient oak tree.

Harry Potter Filming Locations in Wales

Okay, so maybe Wales wasn’t used too often as a filming location for Harry Potter, but there IS one noteworthy location worth mentioning, and that is…

Freshwater West Beach, AKA Home to Shell Cottage

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2

This Welsh beach in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is where Shell Cottage is set. It appears in the two Deathly Hallows movies, notably during…… a very sad scene that is so sad I can’t even type it out.

Unfortunately, the cottage isn’t there anymore for you to explore. In fact, due to bad weather, they had to build the cottage somewhere else and then lug it over just before filming. That said, it’s still a beautiful beach, and for a time, you could even visit Dobby’s actual grave here.

Harry Potter Filming Locations in Ireland

Say what? Harry Potter filmed in Ireland?! It sure did. Not a ton, but here are the two spots that you can visit:

Lemon Rock

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

When Harry and Dumbledore head to the cave, they appear on a famous rock in Kerry called Lemon Rock, which was meshed together with CGI to fit the background of the Cliffs of Moher.

Cliffs of Moher

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Ah, the epic Cliffs of Moher, home to the cave scene from Half Blood Prince that will haunt all our nightmares forever. Of course, these cliffs are a wonderful destination in their own right… just bring shoes with grip because I personally was almost blown over!

Harry Potter Filming Locations in Scotland

Last but not least, we have some beautiful Harry Potter filming locations in Scotland. In the books, Hogwarts is actually located in Scotland, so it makes sense that they would film and take much inspiration from the beautiful landscapes of the Highlands and beyond.

While most of these are just landscapes that were used in the films in one way or another, here are some Harry Potter places in Scotland that you can’t miss:

Glenfinnan Viaduct, AKA the Viaduct that the Hogwarts Express Takes

Who as a kid DIDN’T dream of one day riding the Hogwarts Express?

Well, if you want to make that childhood dream come true, you can hop on The Jacobite Steam train, which follows the same route as the Hogwarts Express, with a notable crossing over the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct, which is featured heavily in the films.

Fun fact: during the Half Blood Prince, 100 students from Fort William’s Lochaber High School got to act as extras and board the Hogwarts Express themselves during filming. How freaking lucky.

Loch Shiel, AKA the Lake by Hogwarts

Of all the lakes that subbed in for the lake by Hogwarts, Loch Shiel is perhaps the most distinctive.

You can see it clearly during the whole Ford Anglia flying scene in Chamber of Secrets, but it’s most visible in the Chamber of Secrets extended version, when you see Harry perched on a viewpoint having an existential crisis about the fact that he can speak parseltongue. Well, this viewpoint is on a hill just behind Glennfinnan visitor center and yes, he’s overlooking Loch Shiel! A path next to the visitor center is said to bring you straight to this view 🙂

Loch Shiel also makes several cameo appearances in later films when they’re doing landscape shots of the Hogwarts Express, and also in Goblet of Fire, at the very end when you see Durmstrang’s boat and the pretty pegasus carriage from Beaux-Batons leaving.

Clachaig Gully, AKA Home to Hagrid’s Hut

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The interior of Hagrid’s Hut may be a set that you can visit on the Warner Bros Studio Tour, but the exterior shots were filmed at Clachaig Gully from Prisoner of Azkaban onwards. (whereas Black Park was used in the first two films).

According to the official Glencoe website, there were three sets constructed for filming: two near the bottom of Clachaig Gully, and one directly opposite Clachaig Inn.

Loch Eilt

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Besides being a go-to lake shot for a few scenes involving the Hogwarts Express, Loch Eilt is where Hagrid is moodily skipping stones in Prisoner of Azkaban after finding out Buckbeak needs to be put down, but it actually makes a brief appearance in Chamber of Secrets as well, when the Ford Anglia flies alongside the Hogwarts Express.

Eilean na Moine

This is the beautiful island in Loch Eilt that is used as Dumbledore’s final resting place… and also where Voldemort goes to literally grave-rob the Elder Wand from him at the end of Deathly Hallows Part 1.

In case you’re not bummed out enough, this island also makes a background appearance in the scene when the gang hears that Buckbeak is going to be put down. Yep. I’d like to nickname this one ‘Bummer Island’.

Steal Falls and Black Rock Gorge, Ben Nevis

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

In the first Triwizard Challenge, Steal Falls and Black Rock Gorge were used as a backdrop during the chase scene between the Hungarian Horntail and Harry. Whee alliteration!

You also spot Steal Falls in Half-Blood Prince during a Quidditch Game.

Glen Nevis

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

According to Harry Potter: Magical Places from the Films, they set the maze from the final Triwizard challenge near Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. Aspiring to make the maze as difficult as possible, “the whole thing became two miles long and half a mile wide and filled the valley”. So, if you want to scope out the setting of the maze, head over to Glen Nevis!

Loch Etive

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

In Deathly Hallows Part 1, Loch Etive is the lake seen in the background when Harry, Ron and Hermione are camping out and they get in that big argument (AKA Ron’s jealous hissy fit).

Rannoch Moor

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

In Deathly Hallows Part 1, you see the scenery of this moor when the Death Eaters halt the Hogwarts Express and board, only to have Neville be uncharacteristically sassy and say “hey losers, he isn’t here”.

… Gotta love that boy.

Loch Arkaig

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

In Deathly Hallows Part 2, after Harry, Ron, and Hermione have their epic escape from their Gringotts heist on board a dragon, this is the lake they get dropped into, and when Harry has his vision of Voldemort knowing they’re hunting horcruxes.

BONUS: A Harry Potter Filming Location in Norway that Nobody Talks About!!!

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I love Norway, so I was delighted to discover that a small portion of the Half-Blood Prince features the snowy wonderlandy landscapes of this Scandinavian gem. According to a few sources, including this Norweigan newspaper, some crew members (no cast though) came to Norway to film scenes along the Rauma Railway between Oslo and the Fjords region to use as window/background shots for the Hogwarts Express. Specifically, they shot around Bjorli.

If you can’t immediately recall this scene, let me help you! Remember Lavender’s peak psychotic moment when she walked past Ron and Harry’s train carriage and draws a big heart on the glass with her and Ron’s initials? Super kyuuute. Anyways, those snowy shots outside the window as she does this were shot in Norway.

BONUS: A Harry Potter Filming Location in GERMANY that Nobody Talks About!?

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

I know, I know… Germany and Harry Potter combined? It’s like my worlds colliding.

I feel silly including this because the shot literally lasts for half a second, but how could I not when it involves HP and a German half-timbered house?

Anyways some context: a few years back, fans went into meltdown mode after spotting “Rothenburg ob der Tauber” in the credits of Deathly Hallows Part 1. According to multiple sources (including the official Rothenburg.info website), the crew was simply here filming some aerial helicopter shots in March 2010, and there are no actual recognizable scenes that were shot IN Rothenburg itself. BUT, thanks to some eagle-eyed fans, it is now known that the cobble-stoned half timbered shot that appears in one of Harry’s “visions” (in particular of Voldemort finding Gregorovitch), was actually filmed in Bernkastel-Kues, along the Weinstube Spitzhäuschen. If you really pause the clip a million times, the distinctive “Weinstube” sign comes into view.

Here is the clip where it appears! Again, it passes in like a fraction of a second.

Did I miss any of your favourite Harry Potter filming locations?

SO that list was……… long! I’m pretty sure I covered all the Harry Potter places (from the films) that you can prance around in real life, but let me know in the comments if I missed anything. Now, tell me: which of these locations is highest on YOUR bucket list?