If you've experienced any of the studio tours for Harry Potter sites in London, please may I have your suggestions or advice as to whether or not they are worth the expense. So many of them appear attractive, but wish to obtain input from those who have scheduled any of these tours.
I did receive suggestion to visit Christchurch, as it is where the famous dining hall etc, was filmed.
Thanks!
I think you’re confusing different things.
There is one studio tour - the Warner Brothers studio at Leavesden, near Watford, where you can see the actual sets from the movies. By all accounts this is brilliant and well worth seeing, but you must buy tickets in advance and it books up months ahead. It’s north of London, but an easy journey by train.
Alternatively you can get an organised coach trip from central London to the studios, which includes entry tickets. But that’s not really worth the extra expense, although if studio tix have sold out it can be the only way to buy one.
There are several walking tours of London landmarks used in the films - I’ve heard good things about the Muggles tour. These are not “studio” tours and most of them are inexpensive walking tours.
You mention Christchurch - you probably mean Christ Church, which is a college of the University of Oxford and not in London at all. Oxford is an easy day trip from London by train, and once there you will find a number of Harry Potter-themed walking tours.
I found this excellent feature, which you’ll find helpful: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/great-britain/travel-tips-and-articles/from-hogwarts-to-christ-church-britains-best-harry-potter-experiences/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d276e784
To add to the above. London walks - www.walks.com - do some Harry Potter themed walks.
As This Person Who Writes Stuff just mentioned, you have the actual Warner Bros studio tours of Harry Potter sets, costumes, props and such, as well as tours offered by various companies for filming locations in and around London.
I've yet to actually do the Warner Bros studio tour, but did go on a half-day Harry Potter + parts of London tour with Capital Taxi Tours for HP filming sites and locations (this was before the Warner Bros studio tour even opened). That was a tour with a Blue Badge guide and black taxi driver that was amazing - so good, in fact, that we canceled a group tour we had scheduled for a couple days later to book a new full day tour with Capital Taxi Tours (of Hampton Court Palace and Windsor). It wasn't cheap, but worth it for us, and if you check out the link you'll get a good idea of what sites are included on their tour and - even if you don't plan to book a tour with them - what filming locations are in and around the city as opposed to in the Warner Bros studio tour. Kings Cross, Grimmauld Place, Gringotts, The Leaky Cauldron - these are all filming locations you'll see on a regular Harry Potter themed tour around town. Keep in mind, though, that oftentimes visiting these filming locations means simply seeing them from the outside. For security reasons you can't go in to the location used for Gringotts, for instance, because it's the Australian High Commission (an embassy). Other spots on a tour might just be where exterior shots were taken - your imagination and memories of the movies will have to fill in the rest. They even offer a tour that involves seeing the London sites, then dropping you off at the Warner Bros studio for your pre-booked studio tour scheduling and booking that must be handled on your own, then returns you to your hotel. Again, their tours are on the pricey side because it's a private tour with your own driver/guide. There are other companies that offer more affordable group tours.
As you've seen, studio tours book out months in advance. It's late April now, and regular adult tickets are sold out until July. There's a Deluxe studio tour option that has much earlier availability (as soon as May), but those tickets are several times more expensive than the regular ones.
Agree with TPWWS that you're probably thinking of Christ Church in Oxford. That's a whole day's visit.
I didn't read the Lonely Planet link so this may have been mentioned in there. Leadenhall Market is easy to find and was used for the Leaky Cauldron/Diagon Alley sets. Very cool. If you are near either Tower of London or Saint Pauls, it is not too far a walk from either. Also very neat to walk in the various small alleyways around there!
Leadenhall_Market
Here's a googlemap walk from the Tower to Leadenhall.
