Explore the real-world places that appear in Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Privet Drive, King's Cross Platform 9¾, Diagon Alley, Gringotts Bank, Ministry of Magic and 7 more.
The Dursleys' suburban home at number four
Harry Potter spends his childhood in the cupboard under the stairs at number four, Privet Drive, with the Dursleys. Hagrid arrives on his eleventh birthday to tell him he is a wizard. Years later the Order of the Phoenix gathers here to move Harry safely away.
Surrey is a county of commuter suburbs southwest of London, developed heavily in the 20th century. Towns such as Woking and Guildford grew along railway lines.
Typical suburban streets fill the area. The Warner Bros. film location in Bracknell (Picket Post Close) is a private residential street, and the cupboard set is displayed at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.
Hidden gateway to the Hogwarts Express
Harry learns to run through the barrier between platforms nine and ten with help from Mrs. Weasley. Every September the scarlet Hogwarts Express departs at eleven o'clock. Harry, Ron and Hermione meet here and say goodbye to Harry's children nineteen years later.
King's Cross opened in 1852 as the London terminus of the Great Northern Railway. Its distinctive arched train shed is Grade I listed.
A photo stop with a half-trolley in the wall sits in the station concourse, next to an official Harry Potter shop. Queues form daily for photos.
Hidden wizarding shopping street
Hagrid takes Harry here to buy school supplies, including his wand at Ollivanders and Hedwig at the Magical Menagerie. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes opens later, and Death Eaters attack the alley in Half-Blood Prince. Harry also visits Borgin and Burkes in neighboring Knockturn Alley.
Cecil Court is a Victorian pedestrian street off Charing Cross Road known for antiquarian booksellers, nicknamed Booksellers' Row. Its narrow shopfronts inspired the alley.
Cecil Court still houses rare book and print dealers. The nearby Charing Cross Road area is a popular literary stop.
Goblin-run wizarding bank
Harry visits his vault and collects the Philosopher's Stone from vault 713 with Hagrid. In Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron and Hermione break into the Lestrange vault to steal Hufflepuff's Cup, escaping on a dragon. The bank is run by goblins and guarded by deep underground tunnels.
London's financial history stretches from the Bank of England to the Lloyd's markets, and vaulted storage has long been a city specialty. The Royal Mint and private banks reflect centuries of trade.
The Bank of England Museum in the City of London explains the history of banking and shows gold bars. It is free to visit.
Government of British wizardry
Harry goes to a disciplinary hearing here in Order of the Phoenix and later battles Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. In Deathly Hallows the Ministry falls under Voldemort's control and Harry, Ron and Hermione infiltrate it to retrieve the locket from Umbridge.
Whitehall has been the center of British government since the 17th century, lined with departments of state. Downing Street and the Cenotaph are nearby.
Visitors can tour the Churchill War Rooms and nearby Parliament. Whitehall remains the hub of civil service buildings.
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harry spends seven years at Hogwarts, sorted into Gryffindor and befriending Ron and Hermione. He faces Quirrell, the Basilisk, the Triwizard Tournament and the Battle of Hogwarts. The castle holds the Great Hall, Room of Requirement and Dumbledore's office.
The Highlands are known for lochs, glens and ancient clan history, with Glenfinnan the site of the 1745 Jacobite rising's start. Alnwick Castle in England was used for film exteriors.
Glenfinnan Viaduct and Loch Shiel draw many Harry Potter fans, and the Jacobite steam train runs in summer. Alnwick Castle offers broomstick training sessions.
Only all-wizard village in Britain
Students visit from third year, buying sweets at Honeydukes, joke items at Zonko's and butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. Sirius Black hides in the Shrieking Shack, and Dumbledore's Army meets at the Hog's Head. In Deathly Hallows Aberforth helps Harry enter Hogwarts.
Highland villages grew around crofting, fishing and clan life, and many have pubs and inns serving travelers. Glencoe is also known for the 1692 massacre.
Glencoe village has a visitor centre and pubs serving hikers. Fans also visit Edinburgh's Victoria Street, thought to have inspired Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.
The Weasley family home
Harry first stays here in Chamber of Secrets after Ron and the twins rescue him in a flying car. The family hosts Bill and Fleur's wedding here, which Death Eaters crash. The house is later damaged in an attack.
Ottery St Mary is a small Devon market town with a medieval church and river Otter. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born nearby.
The town is quiet and historic, with St Mary's Church open to visitors. Rowling has no official house, but fans visit Devon landmarks.
Dark wood bordering Hogwarts
Harry encounters Voldemort drinking unicorn blood and meets centaurs, including Firenze. Ron and Harry face Aragog's acromantula colony, and in Deathly Hallows Harry walks here to his apparent death. Hagrid keeps Fang and the Thestrals nearby.
The Caledonian Forest once covered much of the Highlands and today survives in remnants of ancient Scots pine woodland. Efforts to restore it are ongoing.
Glen Affric and Glen Nevis offer walking trails through remnant ancient woods. Rewilding projects continue across the Highlands.
Gamekeeper's cottage on Hogwarts grounds
Hagrid hosts Harry, Ron and Hermione for tea and rock cakes, and hatches Norbert the dragon here. Buckbeak is kept here before his trial. The hut is burned in Half-Blood Prince's aftermath and Hagrid is later seen carrying Harry.
Highland gamekeepers and ghillies have long lived in estate lodges and cottages managing deer and forest. Such stone cottages dot Scottish estates.
Several Highland estates preserve traditional keeper cottages. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour shows the film hut set.
Village where the Potters lived
Voldemort murders Lily and James Potter here and is destroyed by his own rebounding curse, leaving Harry's scar. In Deathly Hallows Harry and Hermione visit the graves and the ruined Potter house, and meet Bathilda Bagshot, who is really Nagini. Dumbledore's family also lived here.
West Country villages like those in Somerset and Devon feature medieval churches and graveyards. Lavenham in Suffolk was used for film scenes.
Lavenham, Suffolk, hosted film shooting and offers medieval timber-framed buildings. Visitors tour the village's churches and guildhall.
Wizarding prison on a North Sea island
Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban in Prisoner of Azkaban, guarded by Dementors. Death Eaters are imprisoned there after Voldemort's fall, and a mass breakout happens in Order of the Phoenix. Voldemort later seizes control of the prison.
The North Sea has many isolated islands and rocky outcrops used historically for lighthouses and garrisons. Bass Rock and Fair Isle are examples.
Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth hosts a huge gannet colony and ruined prison remains. Boat trips circle the island from North Berwick.
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