Muggles in London

By Laurel Pauling

Heading for the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 3/4

LONDON -- Muggles travel from around the world to experience the magic of London. The infamous Harry Potter novels have strong ties to the city, because events throughout the series take place here. Many scenes for the movie adaptations were filmed on location as well. According to Visit London, there are six places fans can go and retrace Harry’s steps through the books. Filming for Platform 9 3/4, where young wizards and witches board the Hogwarts Express, took place at St Pancras station. At King's Cross station, where the platform existed in the books, there is a replica Platform 9 3/4 were you can dress up and take pictures as you prepare to run through the wall.

The Millenium Bridge

The Tower Bridge

The Leadenhall market was used for several of the Harry Potter films, and was portrayed as Diagon Alley and as the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron. At the London Zoo, the scene with Harry and the snake was filmed for The Sorcerer’s Stone. London bridges can also be spotted in the movies. In The Order of the Phoenix, Harry flies over the Tower Bridge on his broomstick. The Millenium Bridge is destroyed by death eaters in the seventh movie, and the Knight Bus squeezes through the Lambeth Bridge. Piccadilly Circus and the Westminster Tube station were also featured in the films.

The Bodleian Library, Oxford

With the growth in popularity of the Harry Potter series, London has experienced a growth in tourism. According to tourism marketing agency VisitBritain, fans spend a total of around 6.5 billion pounds in the UK during their stay. According to the agency, Americans spend more than one billions pounds on their Potter-centered trips, more than any other country. Tourists visit places outside London as well, helping boost the economies of smaller towns like Oxford, where interior shots of Hogwarts were filmed, and Northumberland, where Ainwick Castle, used for exterior shots of the school, is located.