32 Places Every Harry Potter Fan Needs to Visit in Their Lifetime

Before Warner Bros. Studios built the Diagon Alley set, they used Leadenhall Market in London for the exteriors of the shops in the first movie of the series. It only seems right that the place where Harry Potter bought his wand is full of charm and charisma.

Who could forget the place where Harry first learned how to fly in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone? It's called Alnwick Castle in real life—and today, the tourist destination offers broomstick flight training for visitors. (Heads up, the castle temporarily closes during the winter!)

In Lockaber, Scotland is a very famous railroad called the Glenfinnan Viaduct. In the movies, this train takes Harry and his classmates to Hogwarts every year. We recommend visitors ride said train while pretending they're off to their first year. The Jacobite Steam Train takes one to two trips per day when it's in season (April to October) and even uses some of the actual carriages from the films.

The filming of Durmstrang's arrival in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the Triwizard Tournament was filmed at what is known as the Loch Shiel in Scotland. We can almost see the boat emerging out of the water now.

There are far too many scenes of Harry, Ron, and Hermione scheming between classes to keep track of, but the ones in the outdoor hallways (known as Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, England) are the most unforgettable, as they're hands down the most beautiful.

Even though the Hogwarts Great Hall in the films was built on a private set for filming, J.K. Rowling reportedly based the description and design of the room on the hall at Christ Church at Oxford University.

When Harry and Dumbledore go searching for one of Voldemort's horcruxes in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, they end up in an unnamed cave by the sea—which in real life is Ireland's Cliffs of Moher.

The part of the library Harry sneaks into during the first movie is the Duke Humfrey's Library at the University of Oxford. Even though the librarians usually forbid any flames in the building, they made an unprecedented exception for the first movie.

When the students take the train to Hogsmeade, they actually get off at a functioning station in Goathland, North Yorkshire. The biggest change in the movie? After production, you'll see Hogwarts was added to the skyline in the background.

Remember when Harry, Ron, and Hermione traveled by portkey to the Quidditch World Cup? They didn't land in the park, but on a cliff nearby—which in the real world is a two-hour train ride from London and known as the Seven Sisters Country Park.

This famous London landmark opened in 2000 and made a notable appearance in the sixth film, during a dramatic attack by the Death Eaters.

Who could forget the beginning of the first Deathly Hallows film, when Hermione helps the trio narrowly escape Death Eaters, but then they're almost run over by a bus in Piccadilly Circus? The bright square is just as busy in real life too.

You might recall Harry having to battle a Hungarian Horntail during the Triwizard Tournament. During part of the battle, he's in front of a waterfall called Steall Falls in Glen Nevis. This location also served as the field for several Quidditch games.

If you recall (of course you do), Harry talks to a snake during a trip to the zoo with the Dursleys in the first movie. That zoo? The London Zoo!

King's Cross Station isn't the only London train station to make a cameo in the film series. In Harry Potter and the Chamber Secrets, Harry and Ron fly over St. Pancras in a Ford Anglia after missing their train from Platform 9¾.

Remember when the Knight Bus squeezes between two double decker buses as it drives over a bridge in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to get to the Leaky Cauldron? That's Lambeth Bridge in London.

Another bridge—the iconic Tower Bridge—makes a cameo (albeit a small one) at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Harry flies into London.