5 Things To Do in London as a Harry Potter Fan

I will be the first to admit that I am a massive Harry Potter fan. I have what my friends and family like to call a "shrine" in my room dedicated to Harry Potter (I prefer to think of it as a tasteful collection of Harry Potter items all in one convenient spot), I have a quilt on my bed that's Harry Potter, and of course I can recite all the movies and books back to you word for word. Ok, that last one may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but they are the one thing in my life that I do seem to know a lot about. Growing up reading the books and watching the movies made me pretty desperate to go to England from a young age. I wanted to be over there, I wanted to get my Hogwarts letter, and I wanted to be doing magic!

Well, I never got a Hogwarts letter and I never got to do magic, BUT I have now been to London a number of times. Ahh, a real dream come true! I have managed to not-so-subtly sneak in some Harry Potter every single time I've been, even if who I'm traveling with isn't the biggest Harry Potter fan (Oops, sorry not sorry!). These are 5 of my favourite things to do if you're a Harry Potter fan who happens to find themselves in London.

1. Platform 9 and 3/4 at Kings Cross Station

Ok, this is probably pretty obvious, but I definitely think it's worth the trip. They have the "Platform 9 and 3/4" sign up on the wall and you can stand in line to get your picture taken pushing the trolley through the wall and onto the platform. The people who work at this photo spot even have the house scarves so that you can pick your house (if you're not already dressed up) and they will throw the scarf it so it looks like you're moving. So fun! There is a professional photographer that will take your photo and you can buy it inside the Harry Potter Shop that they have here, but you are also welcome to have your friend or family member (or whoever you're travelling with) take the picture off to the side as well! Now, this is something that you'll have to stand in line for, but the line moves pretty fast. If you want to get a professional photo, I would try to go around opening or later in the evening as the lines tend to be a little shorter (however, the trolley is still there when they're closed so if you're not bothered about a professional photo you can go outside of their opening hours and take one yourself!). While you're there definitely take a peek around the shop! It's got lots of fun merchandise; they sell wands, clothing, stuffed animals, trunks, candy, the works, and they have some items that are exclusive to the Platform 9 and 3/4 shop!

Where to find it? If you enter Kings Cross Station from the side that faces Euston Road (the most common entrance point) head straight towards the back, and on your right hand side you'll see it!

Cost? This one is free to do unless you want to buy a photo or any merchandise inside the store!

2. House of MinaLima

This is a wonderful gem if you're a Harry Potter fan. If you're sitting there wondering who or what House of MinaLima is, let me tell you. This duo worked on all of the Harry Potter movies (and more recently, the Fantastic Beasts movies) creating the beautiful graphic design elements for the movies - posters, newspapers, book covers, tapestries... I mean, the list goes on! They are truly geniuses at what they do. House of MinaLima is a building in London that showcases just some of the stunning work they've done, and offers you the opportunity to buy some too! It's a stunning gallery to walk through if you enjoy the artwork from the movies, and a great opportunity to purchase some unique pieces of Harry Potter merchandise.

Where to find it? This one I'll admit took me some time to find. Its at 26 Greek Street in London. If you know where the Palace Theatre is (where Cursed Child is currently), walk to the back of the Palace Theatre and turn right. You'll definitely know it when you see it, its a tall pink building!

Cost? This one is also free to go in and look around, but fair warning - you could definitely spend a small fortune in here on the artwork!

3. Primark

Ok, so this one might seem a bit out of left field. A large chain store - what have they got to do with Harry Potter? Turns out, more than you might think! They carry a lot of really cute Harry Potter merchandise (clothes, pyjamas, purses/bags, ornaments, baby clothes, etc) and its all pretty moderately priced! I love Primark anyways, cause they have cute stuff for low prices, and I always make a stop there when I'm in England, but the Harry Potter stuff is a real added bonus! I personally love the Tottenham Court Road Primark location, but I believe the Oxford Street store also carries Harry Potter merchandise! If you want to beat the crowds, definitely go for opening. You'll have a pretty much empty store to browse and way more choices! Primark gets crazy busy during the day so if you can go in the morning for opening I definitely recommend it.

Where to find it? If you're going to the Tottenham Court Road location, I usually take the tube to the Tottenham Court Road tube stop. When you exit to the road, you'll take a right and it should be across the street! Once you're in Primark, the Harry Potter stuff has been straight back towards the cash registers on the main floor and then on your right. This could of course change, but last time I went that's where it was located!

Cost? Again, free to enter, but I always drop a lot of cash here!

4. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

This was an absolute dream to be able to go the last time I was in London. I had tried to get tickets before but with no luck, but this time my friend and I tag-teamed the ticket buying. They are not easy tickets to get, but if you know when you want to go, try to grab tickets as soon as they become available. Now, neither my friend nor I had ever been to the Palace Theatre, so we weren't sure where to purchase seats. We ended up picking seats in the stalls closer to the back (row Q). Now, these seats were spectacular, there's no denying it, but they were pricey. But, we had no clue how the theatre was designed so we were skeptical to purchase tickets in the upper levels since we weren't sure how far back those seats were going to be, and we knew this was something we may only see once in our lives, so we didn't want to risk it. That being said; the way the theatre is designed, the levels are on top of each other, not further back. So if you chose to be in the dress circle as opposed to the stalls, you would just be on top of the stalls, not behind. Without spoiling anything (#keepthesecrets), there were some aspects of the shows performance that we did feel would have been quite cool if we were in one of the upper levels. So, if you are also concerned about picking a seat, just know you're not going to be farther back. You will be higher up though, so do take that into account.

This show is absolutely spectacular. I had my issues when I read the play myself, but it is truly a masterpiece to watch on the stage and that is really how it is meant to be experienced. If you have the opportunity to go, I wouldn't miss it! Another fun thing to note - there is merchandise available when you enter the Palace Theatre. A word to the wise - don't spend all your money at Part 1 though, they bring out new merchandise for Part 2!

If you're wanting to get a photo in front of the theatre before the show, I would recommend going in the morning and stopping by for a photo (if you're planning to go to House of MinaLima in the morning this is a good time to stop by for a photo as well!). It gets pretty busy about 1.5 - 2 hours before the show starts so if you don't want tons of people in your photo, go early!

Where to find it? It's just down the road from Leicester Square Station or Tottenham Court Road Station. It is located on 113 Shaftesbury Avenue, right on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road. You'll definitely know it when you see it!

Cost? This is definitely a bit pricier, especially if you're picky about where you sit, or there are only more expensive seats left; tickets can be up to £80 per part.

5. Harry Potter Studio Tour

Of course, you can't miss going to the Harry Potter Studio Tour! While this one is outside of London and is basically a day trip, its an absolute must! I have done it 3 times now, and they're always adding new things and expanding the studios, so it never gets old! This one again can be tricky to get tickets for. Tickets sell out fast, so if you know what date you want to go, make sure you get your tickets asap! I highly recommend picking an early time if you can. It is a self guided tour, and you have as much time as you want once you get in, so if you're one of the first groups in, you will have a really small amount of people around making for better photos AND no matter when you enter you're allowed to stay until they close, so more time for looking around! If you pick a later time you could still have people around from the first entry time and every group after that, so its definitely worth it to go early. They also have an adorable cafe that you can go to if you're there too early for your time (The Chocolate Frog Cafe). You also must try the butterbeer! This is sold about halfway through the studio tour at The Backlot Cafe, and they have regular butterbeer and butterbeer ice cream. I've never had the ice cream, but the regular butterbeer is quite tasty. It reminds me of a cream soda with a sweet creamy top. Definitely worth a try, if only for the photos! Oh! And if you didn't get a chance to go to Platform 9 and 3/4 before heading here, they have a photo opportunity set up here as well, but there aren't any professional photographers on hand (unless you happen to have one with you!!).

Where to find it? This one requires some planning. You need to arrive a bit early for your time (there is a bag check, and the lines get get long depending on when you go), and like I said, it is outside of London. I have always taken the train to get there. Wherever you are in London, you'll need to get to London Euston Station, and from there you will take the train to Watford Junction. Once you get off the train at Watford Junction you'll walk outside the station and go to the bus stop - there is a dedicated Harry Potter Studio Tour bus that only runs from the station to the tour, and vice versa. You'll need to get on this bus. Make sure you have change or a contactless card! A return ticket for the bus is £3. The whole journey is around 45 minutes so I would plan to leave at least an hour early to ensure you don't miss your entry time!

Cost? This one is a bit more expensive. Tickets cost £47.00 per person, and then you also need to account for the train ticket and your bus ticket. Plus, they have a very large merchandise shop, so you may also need to account for that!

And there you have it! 5 of my favourite things to do in London as a Harry Potter fan. Are there more things to do in see that are related to Harry Potter? Of course! So start exploring! You'll be surprised how many things you recognize from Harry Potter while you're out and about just wandering around!

Happy adventuring!