The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
FIVE WIZARD WAYS TO EXPLORE THE WORLD
THE HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR
Leavesden
The Warner Bros Studio Tour in Hertfordshire brings together thousands of props from the eight blockbuster films, plus recreations of the studio sets including the Great Hall, Privet Drive and the potions classroom (entry £47; wbstudiotour.co.uk).
THE WORLD OF FANTASTIC
BEASTS
New York City
The latest addition to the Harry Potter franchise is the Fantastic Beasts series, starring Eddie Redmayne. Many of the filming locations can be found in New York City, including New York City Hall (where Senator Henry Shaw meets his demise) and the abandoned Old City Hall subway station (location of the final battle scene). In June 2021, an official Harry Potter store opened at 935 Broadway, selling rare collectibles and Fantastic Beasts merchandise.
EDINBURGH
Scotland
After her time in Portugal, JK Rowling moved to Edinburgh in 1993, where she would write in cafés around the city. One of her favourites was the Elephant House (elephanthouse.biz); just around the corner, in Greyfriars Kirkyard, you will find graves showing the names of real life people like Thomas Riddell and William McGonagall, among others. To take it all in, book onto the Potter Trail (pottertrail.com) for a 90-minute tour of the city.
HARRY POTTER THEME PARKS
Orlando, Hollywood and Japan
There are dedicated Harry Potter theme parks in Orlando, Hollywood and Osaka, where you can visit the Leaky Cauldron, fly on Hagrid’s motorcycle and ride on the Hogwarts Express (universalorlando.com; universalstudioshollywood. com; usj.co.jp/web/en/us). A new theme park will open in Tokyo in 2023.
i Swivelling staircase: the architecture at the Livraria Lello in Porto is said to have inspired Rowling
In the early1990s, JK Rowling lived in Portugal. She was influenced by the berobed students of Coimbra University, while Livraria Lello in Porto is said to have inspired the moving staircases at Hogwarts (livrarialello.pt). She penned the first chapters of the first book at Porto’s Café Majestic (cafemajestic.com).