London Harry Potter Film Locations Audio Walking Tour
Walk from the Leaky Cauldron doorway in Leadenhall Market past the Millennium Bridge, St Paul's and Australia House to Lambeth Bridge and the Knight Bus.
- 7 stops and 18 minutes of stories, told as you reach each place
- The intro and stop 1 are free in the app: try before you buy
- Download before you go; the audio plays without signal (the street map needs a connection)
- Walking with friends? Pick 1 to 10 seats; everyone hears each stop on their own phone, at the same moment
30 seconds of the real narration
Plays in the free Walk With Me app on iPhone and Android.
A taste of the narration
You're in Leadenhall Market. Look up first: painted wrought iron and glass arching over the lanes.Stop 1, Leadenhall Market
About this tour
On a screen these places flash past in seconds. On foot you get to stand in them: the doorway, the bridge deck, the corner where a phone box once stood. Walking from the City to Westminster also shows you how the films borrowed London, a Victorian market here, a diplomatic hall there, a Tube station and a red bridge, and how much of what you see on screen was added later in a studio. Along the way you pick up the real stories too, from Roman Londinium to the Wobbly Bridge and Scotland Yard. If you'd like company on your next walk, open the Walk With Me live map to find other people out walking London.
The route
6 km in walking order from Leadenhall Market to Lambeth Bridge. Stop 1 is free in the app.
- 1Leadenhall MarketA Victorian covered market of painted iron and glass, a shop doorway in a narrow passage, and two myths about Diagon Alley.Free in the app
- 2Millennium BridgeThe slim steel footbridge below St Paul's, wrecked on screen in one film, and the nickname Londoners gave it years before.
- 3St Paul's CathedralWren's cathedral, where one of the west towers hides a spiral stair that climbs to a classroom in the third film.£27 to go in, optional
- 4Australia HouseThe Australian High Commission on the Strand, a building a war held up, and the goblins' bank behind its walls.
- 5Scotland PlaceA quiet corner off Whitehall where guides place the Ministry of Magic's phone box, and how London's police got their nickname.
- 6Westminster StationA Tube station with a vast concrete and steel hall under Parliament's offices, on Harry's way to his hearing in the fifth film.
- 7Lambeth BridgeThe red bridge by the House of Lords, with puzzling finials on its obelisks, where a purple triple-decker squeezes through traffic.
Where the story happens
Each stop, the moment of the story it belongs to, and what is there today.
| Stop | In the story | Today |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Leadenhall Market | Philosopher's Stone (2001): Hagrid leads Harry down a Muggle street to the Leaky Cauldron's door. | The 1881 covered market; the doorway at 42 Bull's Head Passage is a working shop. |
| 2. Millennium Bridge | Half-Blood Prince (2009): Death Eaters twist the bridge until it snaps into the Thames. | The footbridge opened in 2000, fitted with dampers and steady since 2002. |
| 3. St Paul's Cathedral | Prisoner of Azkaban (2004): the spiral stair up to Trelawney's Divination classroom. | The Geometric Staircase, shown only on special guided tours, not with standard entry. |
| 4. Australia House | Philosopher's Stone: the marble Exhibition Hall plays the banking hall of Gringotts. | A working diplomatic building, opened in 1918, seen from the street only. |
| 5. Scotland Place | Order of the Phoenix (2007), by fan and travel guides' accounts: the phone box down to the Ministry. | A quiet back street with no phone box: it was a prop brought in for filming. |
| 6. Westminster Station | Order of the Phoenix: Harry and Arthur Weasley pass the Jubilee line barriers on the way to the hearing. | A busy working station, its 1999 Jubilee line hall under Portcullis House. |
| 7. Lambeth Bridge | Prisoner of Azkaban: the Knight Bus squeezes between two London buses. | The red steel arch bridge of 1932, with Parliament filling the view downstream. |
Questions
How long does it really take?
1 h 24 of walking plus 18 minutes of stories, so plan for about 1 h 42 with stops.
Can I climb the staircase from the third film?
Only on the cathedral's special guided tours of its upper levels, which you book ahead. A standard ticket does not include it, but the story works from outside.
Can I go inside Australia House?
No. It is the Australian High Commission, a working building, so this stop is from the street. Please don't linger by the doors.
Is Diagon Alley on the route?
No. The films' Diagon Alley was a studio set at Leavesden, outside London. Leadenhall Market only played the street outside and the pub's front door.
What costs extra
1 stop has a ticket to go inside. The story plays outside, so going in is your choice.
| Stop | Inside | Ticket from |
|---|---|---|
| 3. St Paul's Cathedral | Optional | £27 |
Cheaper in a bundle
More walks in London
| Tour | Walk | Price |
|---|---|---|
| London Assassin's Creed Syndicate | 6 km · 1 h 23 | $17.99 |
| London Blitz and Churchill Walking Tour | 4.6 km · 1 h 05 | $16.99 |
| London Great Fire 1666 Walking Tour | 3 km · 43 min | $14.99 |
| London Henry VIII Six Wives Walking Tour | 5.5 km · 1 h 18 | $17.99 |
| London Whitechapel 1888 Walking Tour | 4.1 km · 58 min | $15.99 |