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Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: the making of Harry Potter

The Harry Potter films were shot over ten years at a former aircraft factory at Leavesden, near Watford. When the last one was finished the sets were kept, and since 2012 two of the sound stages have been open to visitors.

What it is
Day trip
Time to allow
5 to 6.5 hours
Cost
Ticket, booked ahead
Best time
A weekday in term time

London this week

    Why the Warner Bros. Studio Tour is worth it

    This is not a theme park. There are no rides: what you walk through are the sets the actors worked on, with the furniture, the costumes and the thousands of props that were made for the films, shown by the people who made them.

    The scale of the craft is the surprise. The portraits on the walls were painted by hand, the wands were carved one by one, and the Great Hall has a real stone floor because it had to last ten years of filming.

    It is also one of the hardest tickets to get in the country. Nothing is sold at the door, and school holidays sell out months ahead.

    What to see

    1. The Great Hall

      The tour begins when the doors swing open on the hall itself, with the long tables laid and the teachers' costumes at the far end.

    2. Diagon Alley

      The crooked shopping street, built at full size, with the wand shop, the joke shop and the white marble front of the wizards' bank.

    3. Platform 9¾ and the Hogwarts Express

      The steam engine used in the films stands at its platform, and you can walk through the carriage.

    4. The Forbidden Forest and Gringotts

      Two later additions: a wood of giant trees with a spider overhead, and the banking hall with its chandeliers and the vault where the dragon breathes fire.

    5. The model of Hogwarts

      The last room holds the castle itself, a model at a scale of one to twenty-four used for every outdoor shot, which took a team of eighty-six people seven months to build.

    How to do it well

    • Book as far ahead as you can. Tickets are for a fixed time, are not sold on the day, and go first for weekends and school holidays.
    • A ticket that includes the coach from central London is the simplest way. On your own, take the train from Euston to Watford Junction, about twenty minutes, and the shuttle bus from the station.
    • Allow three and a half hours inside. There is no time limit once you are in.
    • The café halfway round is the only place that sells Butterbeer, and the back lot beside it has the Knight Bus and the house in Privet Drive.
    • Go on a weekday in term time if you can: the sets are far easier to see without a crowd.

    Where it is

    Address

    Leavesden, near Watford, about 30 kilometres north-west of central London

    Nearest station

    Train from Euston to Watford Junction, then the studio's shuttle bus

    Tickets and tours: Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter

    Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter: common questions

    How far in advance should you book the Harry Potter Studio Tour?
    As early as possible. Tickets are sold for a fixed time, never at the door, and weekends and school holidays sell out months ahead.
    How do you get to the Harry Potter studios from London?
    By a coach included in the ticket, or by train from Euston to Watford Junction in about twenty minutes, followed by the studio's shuttle bus.
    How long does the Harry Potter Studio Tour take?
    About three and a half hours inside, and five to six with the journey from central London and back.
    How much time do you need for the Warner Bros. Studio Tour?
    Allow 5 to 6.5 hours. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

    What visitors say about the Warner Bros. Studio Tour

    Rating from Google

    4.8

    105,255 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 8 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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