Harry Potter NYC: a 1-Day Itinerary for Potterheads
When we think of Harry Potter sights to visit, most of us think immediately of London or elsewhere in England. After all, that’s where the books take place and where the movies were filmed. There’s lots to see there. But are there any Harry Potter sights in the US, like in New York City for example?
Potterheads will be glad to hear there’s actually quite a few Harry Potter NYC activities to add to your bucket list! The list seems to keep growing, too, with the opening of the Harry Potter Exhibit in New York in May, 2023, and the flagship Harry Potter store in NYC that opened in 2021.
In this post, we’ll cover 3 Harry Potter NYC activities that will fill an entire day in New York, plus give you some extra ideas to check out if you’ve got a longer stay and haven’t sated your Harry Potter thirst by then.
The following post was written in conjunction with Jayme from My Musical Odyssey, a fellow reader, traveler, and Harry Potter lover. She recently made a trip to NYC to check out the newest Harry Potter sights there and has given us her honest Harry Potter exhibit review as well as information on checking out the NYC Harry Potter store. The photos, anecdotes, and tips are from her personal experience with these sights.
If you’re looking for a great day of Harry Potter activities in NYC, look no further. We’ve got the entire day planned for you, sure to entertain any Potterhead.
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As always, this post may contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, shopping from them may generate small commissions to support the operations of this blog.
Whenever possible, I recommend buying books at local bookshops or through Bookshop.org, because shopping there puts the profits right into the hands of indie bookstores all over the country.
The Harry Potter Exhibit NYC
The Harry Potter Exhibit in New York opened up in May, 2023, and is a temporary Harry Potter NYC sight. So if you’re a Potterhead wondering when’s the right time to make it to New York, do it soon, before the exhibit leaves!
You might be wondering what to expect from the Harry Potter Exhibit NYC, so here’s a walk-through of the exhibit so you know exactly what you’re signing up for and my personal Harry Potter exhibit review.
The first thing to know is it takes up a massive amount of space — 14,000 square feet, to be exact — all spread across one floor. So come prepared to explore!
When you first check in at the Harry Potter Exhibit, you will digitally register at the entrance. This involves getting a wristband that will track you through the exhibit and unlock the interactive elements. You’ll use a kiosk to take your picture and pick your Hogwarts house (Are you best suited to Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff? You decide!). Now that you’ve chosen your house, you’ll also get to pick your wand and Patronus.
At the entrance, you’ll also pause to smile for some photos. This is the first interactive element of the Harry Potter Exhibit NYC. These photos are digitally superimposed onto various Harry Potter movie scenes, and the result is really fun! You can purchase them for an additional fee. My friend and I loved our photos so much we decided to purchase all of the digital files and a couple of printed ones.
Tip for visiting: Purchasing 3 printed photos includes access to all of the digital photos as well. That bundle costs about $54. We were able to share the digital copies between the two of us without any issues, which cuts the cost of the package in half!
What is on display at the Harry Potter Exhibit NYC?
The majority of the Harry Potter Exhibit NYC is a display of movie memorabilia, including props and costumes from the various movies, along with details about how they were chosen for the exhibit.
As you explore the Harry Potter exhibit, you’ll come across a room displaying all of the main characters’ wands, but the lighting is weird, so they are difficult to see. Luckily, the movie costume displays are better lit and easier to see.
Related: Literature lover in NYC? Check out this easy walking tour to see the sights from Edith Wharton‘s The Age of Innocence in New York.
Interactive elements of the Harry Potter Exhibit
One of the highlights of the Harry Potter exhibit in New York is the number of interactive elements.
Visitors can practice casting the Ridikulus spell, which then shows the glowing orb that Remus Lupin sees when he casts the spell in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Since I could only do the spell-casting once, I’m not sure if any other fears are shown (In case you forgot, the Ridikulus spell is used to banish a boggart, a magical creature that takes the shape of a witch or wizard’s darkest fear).
Other interactive features at the Harry Potter Exhibit include taking a picture under a superimposed witch’s hat in the Ravenclaw area and brewing your own potions by selecting potion ingredients on a touchscreen.
Tip for visiting: Unfortunately, you are only able to do any of these interactive elements once, as you’ll need to scan your wristband before unlocking each one. When my friend went with her daughter on a class field trip, it meant that most of the kids couldn’t participate because they didn’t have parents with them to register them individually. So it’s best that each person has their own wristband.
My favorite part of the Harry Potter Exhibit NYC was a recreation of Hagrid’s Hut. There is even a Hagrid-sized chair you can sit in and look like a small human being. That was definitely fun.
There is also a quidditch pitch where you can live out your dreams of being a Quidditch seeker. You can throw a Quaffle through the golden goal hoops (a wizarding version of a basketball arcade game), but someone before us got all of the balls stuck where we couldn’t reach them, so we weren’t able to participate in this activity.
Another fun section in the Harry Potter Exhibit is the Fantastic Beasts section. Here, you can take a photo that makes it look like you are magically emerging from Newt Scamander’s famous, vivarium-concealing suitcase!
At the end of the Harry Potter exhibit, you are able to see which house is winning. They don’t specify how House points are acquired, but I believe they depend on which house you register as and how many of the interactive elements you complete. As most people register as Gryffindor, I expect they are always winning (insert eyeroll).
Is the Harry Potter Exhibit NYC worth going to?
The Harry Potter exhibition is a very cool experience for any Potterhead who is interested in movie memorabilia. There are a number of interactive elements (such as spell-casting) which could be fun for younger children, but overall the exhibit is better for older children, teenagers, and adults.
If you’ve already been to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London, you can probably pass on the Harry Potter Exhibit in New York, as you’ll see many repeats and far less overall than you see on the studio tour. That being said, if you want to do both, I won’t judge!
How much does the Harry Potter NYC exhibit cost?
Tickets to the Harry Potter Exhibit in New York are about $30 for adults (16+) after fees. Children ages 3-15 are slightly cheaper but not by much (about $28). Children under 3 are free.
If you know which month you are visiting but not yet which day, you can purchase Flex Tickets. They cost about $60 per person, with no discount for children ages 3-15 for this option.
You can also get a VIP Ticket that isn’t tied to an entry time for about $75. It comes with some extras — a collectible lanyard, free audio guide, discount at the retail store, and the option to exchange tickets for a different date.
The audio guide is $8. We did not do it, so I can’t speak to how good it is, but we didn’t feel like there was anything lacking without it.
How long do you need to visit the Harry Potter exhibit?
Plan on 60-90 minutes to avoid rushing through it and to allow ample time for all the interactive elements of the exhibit.
Tips for visiting the Harry Potter Exhibit
- Like most tourist attractions, the Harry Potter Exhibit NYC is probably least crowded on weekdays. We went on a Friday afternoon and didn’t find it too crowded. It did start getting more crowded toward the end of our visit.
- Tickets to the Harry Potter Exhibit are timed entry, so buy ahead if you can.
- If you’re a real Potterhead, feel free to dress up for the Harry Potter Exhibit in New York! Coming in costume is encouraged, but there’s no pressure to do it. Wands are also allowed, so you can bring your own. I did not see many people dressed up the day that I attended, but you certainly wouldn’t be out of place if you arrive in costume.
- The Harry Potter Exhibit NYC is a temporary, traveling exhibit! While there’s no closing date announced yet, know that this will not be around forever. Before too long, it will be moving along to other cities around the world. There are also currently Harry Potter exhibits you can visit in Paris, France; Macao, China; and Barcelona, Spain.
Harry Potter Exhibit NYC Location & Open Hours
The Harry Potter Exhibit NYC is located at 50 W 34th St., New York, NY 10001 across the street from Macy’s, a 1-minute walk from the 34th street subway station.
The exhibit is open 7 days a week, hours may vary by day, so always check the official website for the current hours.
Harry Potter Store NYC
The Harry Potter store first opened in New York on June 3, 2021, to wide fanfare, as it is the largest Harry Potter store in the world and one of the coolest NYC bookstores. The store covers 21,000 square feet, or two floors full of Harry Potter merchandise.
Upon entering the Harry Potter Store NYC, you are greeted with an enormous phoenix, Fawkes, overhead. As you move in, you will see that the layout is like a large wheel, with a two-story spiral staircase in the center. The staircase is overlooked by the statue of the griffin that guards Dumbledore’s office in the Harry Potter films.
From the central staircase, rooms branch off like the wheel’s spokes, and different rooms have different sub-themes.
Accessibility note: If you are unable to take the stairs, there is an elevator, or, for Potterheads, a fireplace connected to the Floo network that will get you from floor to floor.
The Harry Potter Store NYC supposedly has the largest selection of Harry Potter merchandise in the world. There are so many cute items, such as silver time turner necklaces, chocolate frogs, and Free Dobby tote bags, just to name a few things. Of course, you can also purchase robes, school supplies, books, and wands here as well.
One of the rooms in the Harry Potter store is Honeydukes-inspired. Honeydukes is the candy store in Hogsmeade, and arguably the most popular store for Hogwarts students on a weekend break. In this muggle version, there are endless shelves of sweets. Here, you can get bottled butterbeer, peppermint toads, dark chocolate or milk chocolate frogs, along with many other magical sweets.
I chose to come home with a butterbeer Christmas ornament, peppermint toads, and a dark chocolate frog as my souvenirs from the Harry Potter Store.
Related: Traveling to London soon? Here’s a breakdown of what Harry Potter merchandise, including butterbeer, you can find at the top London Harry Potter shops.
The Butterbeer Bar at the Harry Potter Store
One of the best reasons to go to the Harry Potter Store NYC, however, is the Butterbeer Bar. At the Butterbeer Bar, you can choose from draft Butterbeer, bottled Butterbeer with an exclusive label designed by Minalima, and Butterbeer ice cream (according to the website — this wasn’t available the day I went).
I chose the on-tap butterbeer, which comes in a commemorative glass. Once you finish drinking it, there is a glass cleaner and paper towels so you can take the glass with you without everything else in your bag getting sticky.
One thing that surprised me was that the butterbeer at the Harry Potter Store NYC is different from Harry Potter World butterbeer. The butterbeer at the Harry Potter Store is very sweet. I prefer the taste of the Harry Potter World butterbeer, but it’s definitely worth trying the NYC draft version at least once. I would pass on the baked goods available at the bar – I got a Snitch cookie, but it was pretty dry.
Tips for visiting the Harry Potter Store
- When I visited, the Harry Potter Store was PACKED with people. The website mentions a virtual queue, but there weren’t enough people there for them to require it the day I visited. I wonder if that is a vestige of the pandemic, when they needed to control how many people were in the space at once. But whenever you visit, anticipate that the store will be crowded. It’s very popular.
- You can personalize products you buy in the store, like getting your wand engraved, a personalized Hogwarts acceptance letter, or a Tri-Wizard jersey with your name on it. Some items are exclusive to this Harry Potter store. Some merchandise is available to purchase online. I think this would make an amazing gift idea for a Harry Potter fan.
- The Harry Potter Store NYC can easily be combined with the Harry Potter Exhibit NYC in one day of Potterhead activities. You’ll have to choose which place to go at opening to beat some of the crowds and accept that whichever one you save for later will be all the more crowded. That’s just the life of a traveling Potterhead, isn’t it!
Location and Open hours:
934 Broadway
Monday through Saturday 9:00 AM- 9:00 PM and Sunday 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Related: While in NYC, make sure you don’t miss out on some of New York’s best indie bookstores. There are so many to choose from.
NYC Harry Potter Store or Harry Potter Exhibit: Which one to Visit?
What if you only have time or money to visit one of these Harry Potter sites in New York, which should you choose?
If you only have time to visit either the Harry Potter Exhibit or the Harry Potter Store, I would say you should choose based on what you’re in the mood for.
If your priority is to see movie memorabilia, definitely opt for the Harry Potter Exhibition. You’ll see a lot of cool, original pieces from the movie series and can purchase some souvenirs, but you’ll have a pretty limited selection.
If you’re looking mostly for licensed Wizarding World gear, save your money on the exhibit and go straight to the Harry Potter Store. There are a few items of memorabilia from the movies here, such as one of Tom Riddle’s journals with the fang stabbed through it. But you’ll have a much greater selection of items to purchase — supposedly from the largest selection of Harry Potter merchandise in the world
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (newly condensed version)
Any Harry Potter NYC itinerary should be topped off with a showing of the Harry Potter play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. However, there’s an important update to the Broadway version of the Harry Potter play that visitors definitely need to be aware of — it’s now much shorter than the original!
In most places, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a two-part play that requires you to see them in order. That is, watching it on two consecutive nights in a row, or back-to-back showings on one weekend day.
When Cursed Child reopened in New York after the pandemic, however, they shortened it to fit into a single performance. It’s still extremely long (around 3.5 hours) with one intermission but seems worth it if you’re going for a whole Harry Potter day. I saw it in two parts pre-pandemic but haven’t been able to see the new version yet, though many reviewers claim the condensed version is better than the original.
Tickets for the newly condensed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway range in price from $67 to $250, but you can also get rush tickets at a discount (that is, tickets sold the day of and at lower prices. These may end up being front row or standing room only).
At one point, rush tickets were $40, but I’m not sure if that was a special deal for the start of school or if that is the standard rush ticket price. Anywhere you sit in the theater is fantastic — they keep the wings dark enough that nothing is spoiled if you’re in an outer row seat.
More Harry Potter NYC Sights
Got more time in NYC and want to see more Harry Potter sights? Here’s some more ideas to flesh out a full weekend for Potterheads in the Big Apple:
- Check out The Cauldron, a magically themed bar in Manhattan where you can brew your own potions. You can also have a Harry Potter-inspired afternoon tea, like this one in London.
- Have lunch at the Pasta Wiz Express, a Potter-inspired fast food noodle bar. The food isn’t themed, but the decor is. There are a few options to find this unique eatery in New York, including in Brooklyn and in Greenwich Village.
- Catch a quidditch game! Quidditch — now legally required to change its name to Quadball — is an actual intercollegiate sport, and NYU has its own quidditch — I mean quadball — team! Check out their Instagram page to find out when games are. Let me tell you, I’ve been to some live games, and there’s really nothing like it.
Finding Accommodations in NYC
As you look for somewhere to stay, I recommend checking for lodging on Hotels.com. I almost always book my accommodations through Hotels.com, because you can earn rewards for every night you stay without having to choose only one hotel chain to be loyal to. You can even book locally owned apart hotels and bed and breakfasts.
If you’re looking for privately owned vacation rentals, I recommend checking VRBO. I’ve personally had much better experiences with their owners and rentals than I have with their primary competitor.
Travel Resources At-A-Glance
All of the following are links to sites and services I actually use to book and plan my travel or to purchase books or travel gear.
For flights: Skyscanner is my number one go-to resource for booking flights. I love using the “explore” function to find the cheapest places I can fly during a given time or using the fare calendar to identify the cheapest days to fly.
For hotels and lodgings: For hotels, hotels.com, and for vacation rentals, VRBO.com. I’ve had much better experiences with private rentals through this website than through other popular private vacation rental websites.
For car rentals: Kayak allows comparisons across a wide range of booking agencies and lists reviews of companies as well. I’ve found this to be the most user-friendly and efficient way to compare car rental prices.
For tours & excursions: Viator and Get Your Guide are my top choices for booking excursions and tour experiences in a new destination.
For travel gear: Amazon.com and REI for more outdoorsy items. Check out my travel gear recs here.
For booking trains & buses: I find the Omio app and website to be the most easily navigable for comparing options for public transportation, especially in Europe,
Best travel credit card: My favorite travel rewards credit card for European travel has been the Chase Sapphire Rewards card. Visa is accepted just about everywhere in Europe, and there are no foreign transaction fees on the card. Some of the travel benefits I love on the Chase Sapphire include free TSA pre-check or Global Entry (worth it every time), an annual $200 travel credit, an annual $200 hotel benefit, built-in rental car, and trip insurance, and points are worth 50% more when used to book travel. I travel around Europe a LOT, and I end up with many free flights and hotel stays from using my points on my Chase Sapphire.
For books: Bookshop.org often has prices as good as Amazon or sometimes better, but profits go to indie bookstores all over the country. Whenever possible, consider buying your books from this online indie bookshop resource.
That rounds out our perfect 1-day itinerary for Harry Potter sights in New York, including an honest and thorough Harry Potter exhibit review and what to expect at the Harry Potter Store NYC. Hopefully, even more Potter-themed attractions will soon open in the Big Apple.
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