London Harry Potter Walking Tour: An OG Fan Review
Are you a Potter fan heading to London and want to check out all the London Harry Potter locations you can?
One of the most time-friendly ways to see Harry Potter filming locations in London in a short period of time is to take a Harry Potter walking tour. On a recent trip back to London, I made a point of getting to every Harry Potter attraction London has to offer, and I succeeded in getting to almost every single one.
As part of this ultimate Harry Potter London tour, I signed up for a London Harry Potter walking tour to check the many filming locations and learn about some Harry Potter film trivia. Iโve written up this detailed review of my experience to help other Harry Potter fans decide whether a Harry Potter walking tour is worth the time and money during your trip.
After all, Iโm one of the OG Harry Potter fans, you know, the fans who went to midnight book release parties and stayed up all night reading the latest installment. The kind whoโs gone to Harry Potter festivals and owns a set of official robes.
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Harry Potter Walking Tours London: Whatโs Available?
When I was planning out my itinerary of the ultimate Harry Potter trip to London, I knew I wanted to try a Harry Potter walking tour, but how to choose? There are several available, including:
- Original Harry Potter Locations Tour โ London (OHPL)
- The Best London Harry Potter Tour (BLHP)
- Harry Potter in London โ Private Tour
- Original Harry Potter Locations by Boat โ London (OHPL-B)
- Harry Potter London Walking Tour (HPLWT)
And a few more. All of the above tours range from $20-$90 (the most expensive being the private tour, of course).
Assuming you want to join a group tour and donโt want to shell out for a private Harry Potter walking tour, letโs take a quick look at the similarities and differences among the top 4 options for Harry Potter walking tours in London. This information is up-to-date as of January, 2024.
| OHPL | BLHP | OHPL-B | HPLWT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per person | $25 for adults $20 for children | $25-50 for adults (depending on dates) Kids <13 half price | $46 for adults $38 for children | $20 for adults $13 for children |
| Usual Tour times | 10:30 14:30 19:00 | 10:00 12:30 16:00 | 10:00 19:00 | 14:00 |
| Group size | 25 or fewer | 20 or fewer | 35 or fewer | 30 or fewer |
| Duration | 2.5 hours | 3 hours | 2.5 hours | 2 hours |
| โExtrasโ | House trivia competition during the walk | Harry Potter quizzes and games during the tour Boat ride across the Thames river | ||
| Starting point | Southwark View Point | Kingโs Cross Station | Southwark View Point | Westminster station |
| Ending point | Palace Theater | London Bridge Station | Palace Theatre | Royal Exchange/ Bank Station |
| Other notes | Also available in Italian, Spanish, French, or German (note tour times may be different) | Also available in French, Spanish, Italian, or German (note tour times may be different) | Has the fewest number of Viator reviews and the most ambivalent |
Hopefully this table helps you do a quick and easy comparison of the top London Harry Potter walking tours to help you decide on which tour is best for you. While youโll see similar Harry Potter locations in each of the tours, there are important differences to note, including the languages available, tour duration, cost, and start and end points.
After comparing the tours, I decided on the Original Harry Potter Locations Tour. The time and locations fit really well into my schedule (taking me right to the Palace Theater right before I had tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), it has the best and most reviews, and perhaps most of all, because they offer a friendly House trivia competition during the tour.ย
So from here on out, I will be reviewing this specific London Harry Potter walking tour.
Related: Looking for more Harry Potter activities in London? Why not try out a Harry Potter-inspired afternoon tea, one of the many themed afternoon teas in London. Or, find out my take on the question: is the Harry Potter studio tour worth it?
London Harry Potter Walking Tour Review
I signed up for a 10:30 am tour on a Sunday morning for the Original Harry Potter Locations walking tour. The meeting point was easy to find with Google Maps, and conveniently, it was right next to Southwark Cathedral, which has some very cool literary stained glass windows inside and a fun William Shakespeare statue outside.
The tour guide did not hold a sign but did call out for โanyone here for the Harry Potter walking tourโ enough times that it wouldโve been impossible to miss the meeting point.
Over the next 2.5 hours, we did a good bit of walking around London. It is important to note that the tour did in fact take 2.5 hours, despite it being listed as 2 hours on Viator. The tour guide told us right from the beginning that it would actually be 2.5. That meant we had to leave the tour about 15 minutes early to catch our reservation for the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, but we were still able to participate in the vast majority of the tour.
What is the tour like?
Our guide was named John but informed us we could call him Hagrid if we liked. He fit the part, a substantial, bearded gentleman with a certain rugged friendliness about him.
John was great with the kids on the tour, easygoing, and obviously passionate about Harry Potter. He even showed us a photo of him cosplaying Hagrid for some event or other and proudly let us know he was a Hufflepuff.
Once everyone was marked present for the tour, we were sorted into houses. If you already knew your house sorting, he wouldnโt argue with you; if you werenโt sure, you could draw a house card from his โsorting hatโ and join a house that way. The houses were just for fun and for the friendly Harry Potter trivia competition that accompanied the walking tour.
For me, the trivia competition was a big draw that set this London Harry Potter walking tour apart from the others. They all involve lots of walking, which means inevitably there are periods of walking between Harry Potter filming locations. So why not engage in a friendly trivia competition during the travel time?
The Harry Potter trivia contest was informal and unstructured. Periodically throughout the tour, Hagrid would ask us a question about the Harry Potter books or movies, and a correct answer would gain the answererโs house 10 points. He kept track of our points on his iPad but didnโt try to fan up an intense competition.
Related: Looking for the best place to stay in London while checking out all the Harry Potter attractions? Why not consider a hotel near the Harry Potter studio tour โ you’ll save time getting to the tour and still be near enough to hop a train into central London.
This London Harry Potter walking tour did involve one short ride on the London underground (not included in the cost of the ticket). Itโs easy to manage with todayโs contactless payment systems (just tap your card or phone on entrance and exit, making sure to use the same card both times). Still, for newcomers, the tour guide was also there to walk anyone through the process who was unfamiliar with buying a ticket for the London underground.
Throughout the tour, we walked across London and visited several Harry Potter filming sites or places loosely related with Harry Potter trivia (see the next section for more on what we saw!). At each location, our tour guide would tell us the association with the Harry Potter franchise and, if applicable, use his tablet to show us scenes from the movies that were filmed in the location.
While not all the movie trivia was new to me, some of it was. Overall, our tour guide for the London Harry Potter walking tour was obviously knowledgeable about the making of the Potter films and clearly enjoyed finding out new tidbits to share with tour goers.
Related: If you’re a Harry Potter fan heading to NYC soon, be sure to check out my Harry Potter NYC bucket list.
London Harry Potter filming locations visited
During our London Harry Potter walking tour, we visited many Harry Potter filming locations and other Potter-related sights. Here are some of the highlights of the tour:
Borough Market: used for filming in the third film, when the Knight bus drops off Harry at the Leaky Cauldron; also used as the view from Harryโs window at the Leaky Cauldron. Our tour guide shared with us some fun trivia about what it was like filming there in such a busy part of London and with trains going by every few minutes (that shaky camera effect in the third movie isnโt all special effects!)
The Globe Theatre: not a London Harry Potter filming location, but here our guide shared some interesting trivia about the actress who plays Madame Hooch in the first film.
Related: Ever heard of the man whose pants were set on fire during a performance of the Globe? Read about the fun and fascinating history of the Globe theatre with these unusual facts I’ve dug up.
Millennium Bridge: aka Death Eater Bridge, the bridge the Death Eaters take down in the seventh Harry Potter film. Our guide shared some fun behind-the-scenes trivia about making that scene as well as how Londoners have always felt about the structure.
Old Scotland Yard: A filming location for the visitorโs entrance to the Ministry of Magic, used in the 5th and 7th films
Goodwinโs Court: the supposed inspiration for Knockturn Alley
Palace Theater: the current home of the two-part Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play
At the end of the tour, the guide led tour goers to the House of Spells, one of the many Harry Potter-themed stores in London, where those on the tour could get a 10% discount. He also pointed out the way for anyone interested in checking out the House of MinaLima, another impressive London Harry Potter shop.
Related: If you like visiting places that feel like you’ve stepped into Hogwarts, head north to Manchester, England to visit the John Rylands Library and Chetham’s Library!
Verdict: is the London Harry Potter walking tour worth it?
If youโre a Potter fan in London, then absolutely, the London Harry Potter walking tour is a great way to spend a few hours and some dollars in London. Youโre likely to learn some behind-the-scenes facts about making the movies, youโre guaranteed to see some of Londonโs most famous sites (including the Globe Theater, St. Paulโs Cathedral, and views of Tower Bridge), and youโll more likely than not have a great time.
Plus, you can always recreate the movie scenes in the original filming locations, if thatโs your kind of thing.
Overall, our tour experience was fun, informal, informative, and friendly. Just the kind of laidback Harry Potter attraction in London that will break up the more fast-paced sightseeing.
Related: For more bookish travel sights in London, check out the Sherlock Holmes Museum and the Charles Dickens Museum
Tips for taking a London Harry Potter walking tour
- Note that if you choose the Original Harry Potter Locations Tour โ London, the tour time is actually 2.5 hours, not 2 hours as itโs listed on Viator, so plan accordingly.
- Our guide informed us that the Original Harry Potter Locations Tour with Boat ride is essentially the same tour, except instead of walking across the Thames on Milennium Bridge, you take a ferry across. He clarified that itโs NOT a sightseeing ferry ride down the Thames, but more a means of transport from point A to point B. So if youโre looking for a scenic Thames boat ride, youโll want to look elsewhere and maybe just choose the cheaper Harry Potter walking tour option.
- Come prepared to ride the London underground. It helps if youโve already set up a card on your phone for contactless pay and if youโve already ridden the underground before, though thatโs not necessary.
- Wear your house gear! Youโll be amongst other Harry Potter fans, so why not nerd out and show your House pride on the walking tour and during the trivia competition?
- If the timing works out, you can combine the London Harry Potter walking tour with a showing of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! As the tour ends near the Palace Theater, it can work out well to book a morning walking tour that leads right into a matinรฉe showing of Cursed Child Part One. Plus, itโs nice to know during all the walking that you will have a nice, long, seated rest coming up.ย
For diehard Harry Potter fans in London, a Harry Potter walking tour is a great way to see some of the film locations and learn some Harry Potter trivia you never knew. It’s a worthwhile way to fill a few hours’ time while covering a lot of ground and seeing many iconic London sights along the way.
What’s the best walking tour you’ve ever taken? Drop it in the comments!
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