It doesn’t matter which house you belong to: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Here are three magical plans (also suitable for kids!) for you to enjoy in the Muggle city of London.
You don’t need the Sorting Hat to decide your fate this year: it’s definitely a trip to London! We know you love the magical world of Harry Potter and that you know perfectly well how to say the spell Wingardium Leviosa. So, hop on your Nimbus 2000 and fly towards an amazing experience with all the family. We’re going to share three plans that will take you to the magical universe of your favourite wizards and witches. Accio, fun!
1. Explore London at your own pace
If you and your family prefer to do your own thing and go at your own pace, here’s a little tip: jot down all the magical places you would like to visit and be realistic with time, so you can make sure you don’t miss a thing and you manage to visit them all (unless you’ve got Floo powder to travel to any part of city you want instantly!) Here are some of the places that true fans of the wizarding world shouldn’t miss in London:
Platform 9¾
This platform is at King’s Cross Station and is the place where the young wizards climb aboard the Hogwarts Express to begin studying magic and wizardry. Next to the platform there is an amazing gift shop where you can buy chocolate frogs, jelly slugs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans (be careful not to eat a booger-flavoured one! Yuck!) and lots of magical souvenirs.
The Leaky Cauldron
Close to Liverpool Street Station you’ll find the covered Leadenhall Market. If you look for number 42 and an optician’s, you’ll discover the door that Harry and Hagrid use to get into The Leaky Cauldron. A legendary place that you shouldn’t miss!
House of MinaLima
This place isn’t in the Harry Potter films, but any fan of the magical world will love it. It’s a gallery-shop created by the graphic designers of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. Remember The Daily Prophet, Advanced Potion-Making book, The Quibbler and the “Undesirable nº 1 Harry Potter” posters? Well, they were all designed by Miraphora and Eduardo, the founders of MinaLima. Make sure to bring some money with you as you’ll probably want to buy everything in the shop!
2. Guided walk round the city
If you prefer to follow in the footsteps of your favourite wizards, led by a true Harry Potter fan like yourself, the best option is to book a guided walking tour of London. You may ask, why walking? Well, it’s best not to make Muggles suspicious, isn’t it? Imagine a group of people flying over London on their magic brooms. The Ministry of Magic would go mad! So flying is not an option.
But we can assure you that if you book this tour, you’ll live a fun and magical experience. This is what you can expect:
- You’ll discover which is your Hogwarts house and your knowledge of the Harry Potter universe will be put to the test during the tour with an interactive quiz.
- You’ll discover places that inspired J. K. Rowling: from the narrow streets that inspired Knockturn Alley to Shakespeare’s Globe and Gringotts Wizarding Bank, to name but a few.
- You’ll visit some of London’s landmarks such Borough Market, the London Eye and Trafalgar Square.
- And to get around, you can either go on the famous Tube or book a boat trip on the river Thames.
3. Harry Potter film studios
If you want to take your magical trip to the next level, you shouldn’t miss the Warner Brothers Studios. Spend a great time making memories as a family as you visit the sets of your favourite films!
These studios are on the outskirts of London, but there are tickets that include the bus trip. You can discover many of the sets, both indoors and outdoors, where scenes from all the Harry Potter films were shot. Imagine walking along Privet Drive, the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore’s office or even Diagon Alley?
But that’s not all - there is a huge shop full of official products and a bar where you can enjoy a large glass of Butterbeer, just like Harry, Ron and Hermione.
You can also book a package to visit the Harry Potter film studios and Oxford University, the oldest university city in the world, where you can find many Harry Potter filming locations.
And if you want more, you can always find lots of things to do with kids in London. The list is endless!
