The Harry Potter saga has fascinated children, teenagers and (why not?) adults in the last 20 years: and me too! 😉
But…Do you know where the 8 films of Harry Potter were shot? And, most of all.. did you know that these incredible and fantastic places are open to the public and, what’s more, that they can be visited?
Here they are: the places where Harry, Hermione and Ron have grown up and thrilled us!
Platform n. 9 and ¾ is the place where all the events began and actually it’s possible to find it between platform n. 3 and 4 (this time for real!) at King’s Cross station in London. But remember that not everyone is given the power to cross them and remain unharmed!! 😉
After leaving the station, the characters have to travel a long journey to reach their destination: they actually travel along the “Glenfinnan Viaduct”, which is in Scotland, in the Highlands, on the Hogwarts Express train, the steam-train that travels along this road, and brings the young magicians and young witches to their school: the school of Magic and Witchcraf of Hogwarts, that in the most famous scenes is the Castle of Alnwick, in Northumberland (England). The exteriors of this Castle were used as a location to shoot some scenes, as the first flight lesson taught by Madam Rolanda Hooch, while the outdoor panning scenes (lake, mountains, the Quidditch field) were invented and built using models.
The Great Hall of Hogwarts, where dinners and ceremonies take place (remember when Harry Potter was entrusted to Gryffindor by the famous sorting hat?) is actually a room in Christ Church, in Oxford.
Other locations inside the Castle of Hogwarts are: the library of the school, that is the Boddleian Library in Oxford, the corridors of the Castle, which are the corridors of Gloucester Church and those that are in the garden are the corridors of the cloister of the Abbey of Lacock, in Wiltshire, in England. In the sacristy of Lacock were shot the scenes where teacher Piton held his potion lessons. In the Warming room the scenes of Raptor’s lessons of Defence against the Dark Arts were shot, in the first chapter of the saga.
Instead Gringotts Wizarding Bank, the elves’s bank, was totally invented, but the interiors are those of Exhibition Hall of Australia House, in Strand, in London.
Leadenhall Market, in London, became Diagon Alley, with his shops and mysteries: the heart of many events that happened to Harry and his friends.
Larnebeth Bridge, south of Westminster, is the bridge of London where the funny scene of the shrinking bus between two double-deckers was shot.
Instead the Millennium Bridge is the pedestrian bridge that was destroyed by the dementors in “Harry and the Half-Blood Prince”. It can be found between the bridge of Southwark and Blackfriars.
The scenes outside the Ministry of Magic were shot at the crossroad between Scotland Place and Great Scotland Yard, in London, where Mr Weasley and Harry used the telephone booth as a lift in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”.
Moreover, for those who love Harry Potter, there’s a hotel for Muggles (Babbani) in London: the Georgian House near Victoria station has recently opened to the public two magic rooms, that carry directly to Hogwarts.
If you want to travel to discover England and if you love the world of Harry, you’ll have incredible opportunities to discover the British beauties chosen by the directors of Harry Potter! 🙂
Learning to fly 