30+ Magical Harry Potter Themed Places ALL over the World!

Harry Potter is loved all over the world. How do I know this? Because anywhere in the world that I travel, I find real-life Harry Potter themed places.

And of course, I go out of my way to visit them.

If you’re a die-hard fan, allow me to share with you a list I’ve been keeping of all of the Harry Potter themed places I came across in my travels—from Europe to the US to Asia.

Evidence of the worldwide Harry Potter fandom is everywhere, and you can find it all, “if yeh know where to go.”

So, my fellow Potterheads. Here we go. Get your bucket list ready and grab your brooms, because you will want to visit every single Harry Potter themed place on this list!

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 Americas: Harry Potter Themed Places to Visit

Universal Studios: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Orlando, Florida)

Pure heaven. I visited the Wizarding World back when it first opened and again when the new Diagon Alley section opened. Both of these Harry Potter parks hold enough magic to keep a true Harry Potter fan occupied for an entire day (or week or month or year–or, let’s face it, lifetime).

Wizarding World: Hogsmeade

The first part of the Wizarding World to open, and here you’ll find several rides (Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Flight of the Hippogriff and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey).

There are also several Harry Potter themed shops and places to get yourself a yummy butterbeer! Don’t leave without a pic at the Hogsmeade Station.

Wizarding World: Diagon Alley

This second part of the Wizarding World just gives you a reason to spend even longer at the Wizarding World. Eat at the Leaky Cauldron, go on a trip at King’s Cross Station (no need to go all the way to London…but there kind of is–keep reading!) and visit the ride at Gringotts Bank.

Quidditch US Cup (changing locations)

Did you know there’s such thing as Muggle Quidditch? There is, and honestly, the reason why I chose the university that I did was because it had a Quidditch team.

It’s a pretty legit sport with a very long rule book, and it even has worldwide tournaments.

Every year (when there isn’t a pandemic), there is a Quidditch US cup, so check out the website to see if it will take place near you!

Europe: Harry Potter Themed Places to Visit

Czocha Castle (Poland)

What does this castle in Poland have to do with Harry Potter? It hosts as annual Hogwarts Larp event. The College of Wizardry at Czocha Castle is an unofficial role play of Hogwarts and the Harry Potter world, so if you want to pretend that you’re living at Hogwarts, this place is the closest you’ll get in real life!

Dziorawy Kociol (Krakow, Poland)

Poland has yet another reason for you to visit if you’re a Harry Potter fan. Dziorawy Kociol means Leaky Cauldron in Polish, and this underground café is as magical as it sounds!

Ever since I first found out about its existence in the city where my dad is from, I have gone to this Harry Potter café every time I visited Krakow. The dimly lit interior is made cozy with Harry Potter ambience: magical music, Harry Potter décor and hanging candle lights.

Choose snacks and drinks from the Harry Potter inspired menu. Not only butterbeer on the menu here, but lots of other Harry Potter themed treats too!

Porto, Portugal

Did you know that J.K. Rowling used to live in Portugal? She did, and she worked on the first Harry Potter book while living there!

People say J.K. Rowling got inspiration for the bookstores in Harry Potter at Livraria Lello. While that’s not true (confirmed by Rowling), it’s still a magical bookstore to visit, and a wander around Porto is worth it!

The school uniforms worn by university students are likely the inspiration for the Hogwarts uniforms, and Majestic Café is meant to be one of the cafes Rowling wrote in.

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

I bet you’ve heard of the Cliffs of Moher. But did you know that a scene in Harry Potter was filmed here?

It was in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince when Harry and Dumbledore apparate on rock in front of the sea cave where a horcrux was hidden. The rock was CGI-ed in, but the cliffs and the sea cave opening were the Cliffs of Moher!

The best way to see the sea cave as it was portrayed in the film is by boat, although you can see the sea cave from the cliff walk too.

For more tips on how to best see the Cliffs of Moher (and the Harry Potter sea cave), check out this post.

UK: Harry Potter Places to Visit

I didn’t give the UK its own category because it’s not part of Europe, but because it has the most Harry Potter related locations to visit. Here they are.

Warner Bros Studio Tour London

Located just outside of London, this is a must-visit for any Harry Potter fan. The first few films had a low budget, so they were filmed in some of the places listed below. But especially with the later movies, most were filmed in this very studio.

While many sets were demolished, the biggest one, the Great Hall, is still around for you to walk through. And it was the coolest thing ever!!! I was freaking out the whole time and was too emotional to get a good picture there! Oh well, just a reason to return one day.

You’ll also see a ton of props, go on the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 ¾, see the Dursley’s house and a replica of Hogwarts, among other things!

London Walking Tour

And London itself also has a TON of filming spots.

These include:

• Millennium Bridge

• King’s Cross Station (go inside for a pic at Platform 9 ¾)

• St. Pancreas Station

• Piccadilly Circus

• Reptile House at London Zoo

• Leadenhall Market

• Westminster Tube Station

• And more!

You can do a self-guided tour, but if you’d like to do a more in-depth tour with a guide, check out this Harry Potter walking tour.

Hogwarts Express (a.k.a. Jacobite Steam Train)

The Jacobite Steam Train in Scotland is the actual train filmed in the movies, and the route it takes from Fort William to Mallaig might look familiar because many locations on this route were filmed in the movie! This includes the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct.

To learn more about how to do this train journey (and a cheaper option for it!) check out my guide.

Glencoe

This absolutely gorgeous part of Scotland will make even non-Harry Potter fans fall in love with this Harry Potter landscape. The nature in the Sottish Highlands is stunning, and Glencoe has some of the most beautiful views.

So naturally, a lot of shots were filmed here, most famous being the location Hagrid’s hut.

Alnwick Castle

Like I mentioned above, although it may be hard to believe, the first Harry Potter films had a low budget, so they were filmed at existing castles around the UK. Alnwick Castle is one of the most popular ones.

It is perhaps most recognizable as the place where Harry had his first flying lesson, and the interior was also used, so head inside too! (Although note: only the exterior is accessible during Covid; the ticket is discounted as a result though!)

Oh, and they also have (muggle) flying lessons. What the perfect spot for that!

Durham Cathedral (Durham, England)

The interior and the courtyard of Durham Cathedral were also used in the films. The courtyard was closed due to Covid when I visited, but this cathedral was still worth visiting.

York, England

Okay, so Harry Potter wasn’t filmed here, but it may as well have been. The Shambles is a medieval, narrow street that seriously looks like Diagon Alley. And, it’s packed with Harry Potter merchandise selling stores!

Also, its train station was filmed for the movies!

And if you’re a writer, check out my Writer’s Travel Guide to York.

Gloucester Cathedral

Another cathedral where Harry Potter was filmed, Gloucester Cathedral is massive and absolutely stunning.

The courtyard is (in my biased, Harry Potter obsessed opinion) the best part of it. You’ll immediately recognize the halls, particularly the hallway where Mrs. Norris was found petrified in the Chamber of Secrets.

Elephant House (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Edinburgh is the place most associated with J.K. Rowling writing the books. And the Elephant House is the most famous café out of the confirmed places where Rowling wrote Harry Potter.

Sure, the prices are higher than normal, but this is where Harry Potter was written! I thought the food was great, and the bathroom was full of evidence of how far-reaching the Harry Potter fandom is.

More on the Elephant House in my Writer’s Travel Guide to Scotland.

Balmoral Hotel (Edinburgh, Scotland)

And the last place Rowling wrote Harry Potter was also in Edinburgh, but rather than in a café, Deathly Hallows was written in a suite at the Balmoral Hotel.

You can actually stay in the same suite where Rowling finished the book (although be prepared to pay handsomely for it, of course).

Greyfriar’s Kirkyard (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Yet another place to see where Rowling got her inspiration from is at the Greyfriar’s Kirkyard. Rowling got inspiration for character names from the tombstones at this very graveyard.

Oxford, England

Oxford is a pretty famous place, and so it’s common knowledge that some of the scenes in Harry Potter were filmed here. The Bodleian Library, Chirst Church and the New College Cloisters were all used in the films!

Lacock (Cotswolds, England)

Another place where the interior of Hogwarts was filmed was at Lacock Abbey. Specifically (and most recognizably), its courtyard.

Lackock is also a charming little place to wander around, and you’ll find several Harry Potter film featured houses too! Most famous is the Potter’s house, and also Slughorn’s hideout in Half Blood Prince.

Freshwater West Beach, Wales

This “Harry Potter” beach was used to film the sites of Dobby’s grave and Shell Cottage. Although both the cottage set and Dobby’s gravestone are now gone, there is a memorial in the spot where Dobby’s grave was.

The area is so beautiful too, and you can find an in-depth guide on reaching this Harry Potter film location without a car here.

Asia: Harry Potter Places to Visit

Always Café- Hanoi, Vietnam

This magical little café made a city I already liked become my favorite in Asia. Sure, it has culture and history and all that, but it also has a Harry Potter café!!!

The butterbeer was delicious, there are Harry Potter decorations galore, and if you donate second hand clothes which they give to charity, you even get a coupon voucher!

If I traveled to Hanoi alone, I would probably have spent all day every day in this café. I didn’t, so I had to make do with just a few hours of bliss. But I will come back for you one day, Always Café!

Platform 1094 Singapore

I did travel to Singapore alone though, so I spent my entire last day at Platform 1094, just pretending that I was in a real-life Harry Potter location and writing the day away.

P.S. Even if you’re not a Harry Potter fan, Singapore is an amazing place for a solo writing retreat!

Platform 1094 is more like a restaurant than café, and I very much enjoyed the soup served in a cauldron and the tea served with an owl-shaped infuser.

Hogwartz the Pub (Bali, Indonesia)

Located in Kuta, this Harry Potter themed bar is a reason in itself to go to Bali.

If you need more reasons to visit, just check out my non-touristy spots in Bali post.

Japan Universal Studios

If you’re somewhere in the world where a trip to Japan is more reasonable than a trip to Florida, Japan now also has a Wizarding World at its Universal Studios! I haven’t been, but I will when I finally make it to Japan!

Bonus: Temporary Harry Potter locations to visit

These are constantly changing, so make sure you do a Google search to see if there are any going on around you right now! Since Harry Potter is so massively popular, there are always Harry Potter themed events you can find somewhere in the world.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition

This traveling Harry Potter exhibition came to Chicago years ago, and it was one of the best days of my teenage years. The studio tour in London was of course better, but this exhibit also shows lots of props used in the films.

Harry Potter pop-up bars

I went to one in Chicago. It was awesome. Harry Potter themed drinks enjoyed in a room with Harry Potter decorations and filled with Harry Potter custome-clad people and Harry Potter music? That is my kind of bar.

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So, how many of these Harry Potter themed places did you go to? Any not on here that I should add to my Harry Potter bucket list? Comment below!