What to see at the Harry Potter Studios

The tour of the Warner Bros Studio Tour London is a journey behind the scenes: original sets, real props and the tricks that brought the saga to life. This is roughly the order in which you'll discover its great highlights, which you can explore with the tour with transport from London included.

1. The Great Hall

The tour opens with one of its most memorable moments: the doors swing open and you find yourself inside the Great Hall of Hogwarts. It's a real set, with the York stone floor, the long tables of the four houses and the suits of armour lined up. During filming it was dressed to match the scene: the start-of-term feast, the Yule Ball or the Great Hall in ruins after the final battle.

2. The interior Hogwarts sets

After the Great Hall you enter a large hall with the castle's most iconic interiors: Dumbledore's office with its portraits and gadgets, the Gryffindor common room, the boys' dormitory, Snape's Potions classroom and the door to the Chamber of Secrets. Here you'll also see original costumes and countless prop details that barely register on screen.

3. The outdoor area and Butterbeer

Halfway round there's an outdoor courtyard where you can get some air. It's the perfect spot to try Butterbeer (alcohol-free, sweet and frothy) and see large pieces up close, like the Dursleys' house on Privet Drive, the purple triple-decker Knight Bus, the Hogwarts bridge or Hagrid's motorbike.

4. The Forbidden Forest

One of the most atmospheric sets: a dark Forbidden Forest, with enormous trees, mist and light and sound effects. Creatures from the saga appear and the atmosphere shifts around you. It's one of the parts that impresses visitors most, especially younger ones (though it can be a little intense for very sensitive children).

5. Platform 9¾ and the Hogwarts Express

You reach the reconstructed Platform 9¾, with the red Hogwarts Express locomotive and several carriages. You can step onto the platform, look inside the train and take the classic photo pushing a luggage trolley towards the wall. It's one of the most photographed corners of the whole visit.

6. Diagon Alley

Before the final stretch you walk down Diagon Alley, the wizarding world's shopping street, with its façades and shop windows: Ollivanders' wand shop, Gringotts bank, the ice cream parlour, the Weasley twins' joke shop... Walking down this street, with its careful lighting and the detail of each shop, is pure cinema.

7. The creature and effects workshop

A gallery dedicated to the craftsmanship behind the saga: masks, animatronic creatures, prosthetics and models. You'll see how Buckbeak, Dobby and the basilisk were built, and understand just how much handmade skill lies behind each effect that looks digital on screen.

8. The Hogwarts castle model

The tour ends in style in front of the scale model of Hogwarts castle, the very one used for the wide and aerial shots of the films. It's enormous, packed with detail and the lighting changes to simulate day turning to night. It's the perfect finale and another of the great photo moments.

9. The shop

As with any great attraction, you exit through the shop, one of the largest dedicated to the saga: wands, house scarves, clothing, replicas and souvenirs. Prices are themed-shop level, so decide beforehand how much you want to spend.

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