Harry Potter Bus Tour in London
The very first part of our Harry Potter weekend experience in London was to get on a bus tour of Harry Potter locations with BritMovieTours. We had already been on a great Game of Thrones bus tour in Northern Ireland with that company, so we had high expectations. We’re happy to say this Harry Potter bus tour did not disappoint and that we’re glad that BritMovieTours hosted us for this review!
What you have to know about BritMovieTours’ Harry Potter Bus Tour in London
The London bus tour and the guides
The guides explained from the start that the tour could last between 2:30 hours and 3:30 because the London traffic can be quite unpredictable! We honestly didn’t notice the traffic, even if our guides told us a few times that they had to find another way to the next stop because of diverted routes. Which showed their professionalism and perfect knowledge of the area! It also allows you to do somewhat of a London bus tour while catching all the Harry Potter locations, not bad for the (grand)parents who might not be total Potterheads!
In the end, our Harry Potter London bus tour took a bit less than 3 hours, not including the Platform 9 3/4 since it’s where the tour ends and is not included in the experience (which is good, and you should absolutely skip it if you’re planning to go to the Warner Bros Studios!). Special thanks to our group’s guide, who was very talkative (something you should look for in a guide!), extremely knowledgeable, and quite funny!
Let the Harry Potter London bus tour begin…
Driving by Gringotts Wizarding Bank and the Savoy Hotel
The Ministry of Magic : Scotland Place
Driving by Westminster Station and the Lambeth Bridge
Second Stop: St Paul’s Cathedral and the Wibbly Wobbly bridge (Millenium Bridge)
The two locations of the Leaky Cauldron : Borough Market and Leadenhall Market
On our way to the first location of the Leaky Cauldron, I’m proud to say that I earned 10 points to Slytherin by answering right to a question!
Ahem, back to the tour!
Did you know that two different locations in London have been used to film the Leaky Cauldron? Well, now you do! One is at the very lively Borough Market – it’s now a Mexican Restaurant.
Driving by 12 Grimmauld Place: Claremont Square
End of the Harry Potter Bus Tour: Kings Cross St. Pancras:
Platform 9 3/4
Last word: how really was the Harry Potter bus tour with BritMovieTours?
It was great!
The big advantage of a Harry Potter bus tour – apart from not getting lost and not losing any time – is that the guides are incredible! They know everything there is to know – especially anecdotes you might not be aware of – and are hilarious! Also the bus tour is great when it’s cold outside. We had a whole Harry Potter weekend planned – and we knew we were going to walk A LOT, so the bus tour really was our best option (especially as it was freezing outside). It was comfortable and we got to see a lot of locations without any hassle!
Note that BritMovieTours also offers a Harry Potter walking tour that we haven’t tested but as this second experience with them has been a great success, we’re pretty sure you can trust them with all of their tours!
27 comments
I love love love love love Harry Potter. I did almost the same tour but without a guide. It is so great to see all this spots. I´m glad you enjoyed it.
So happy to have found another fan! 😉 What did you do differently? Any spot you missed, one we haven’t seen?!
Sounds like an absolute dream for a Harry Potter fan. And I love Ledenhall Market; I’m always surprised by how empty it is!
It was!! We had never been to Leadenhall Market and it was incredible how empty it was! I’m really wondering why tourists aren’t crowding this beautiful place…
Sounds amazing. My husband is the biggest Harry Potter Fan i know. He is going to love this.
We’d love to do this next time we’re in London. I’m a huge Harry Potter and may enjoy it even more than my kids! Pinning for future trip planning!
London has its charm and we love this city so much! For a fan of Harry Potter this is a must and these spots are so beautiful…. Leadenhall Market is what has always intrigued us 🙂
I can’t believe how little people there were at Leaden Hall! The interior is stunning and I’d love to check it out. The bus tour sounds like so much fun and I’d love to try it out the next time I’m in London – great tip about Platform 9 3/4, I had no idea there were so many other replicas at the studios!
That looks like a lot of fun. And sounds like the guides really make the experience, too.
It has been very fun! And believe me the guide made it even more!
I’m not really a fan of such tours, but this sure sounds like fun. It must have been nice to see clips from movies while touring around.
The Leaden Hall would be the place I’d love! It looks lovely, just like the movie set, right! 😀 So glad you such fun! 🙂
The Leaden Hall is the only place that our guide strongly suggested to go back!
How cool! I love that you got wands. And amazing to see all the locations in real life. I’m interested in doing the walking tour.
At the beginning Simone thought it was the walking tour…..
Maybe next time we’ll do it!
Seems like a lot of fun guys! As I am a big HP fan, I’ll surely join one of this bus tour next time when in London 🙂
If you are a fan it’s a must, if you are not you’ll enjoy it as well!
Take it from the one (Simone) of the two that is not the super fan.
Anyway I highly recommend this tour!
Merci Alice Cardy, ça donne envie ! D
oh God, i totally love it! read all Harry potter books at least 3 times. Would love so much to repeat your route 🙂 by the way shots are nice
This is wonderful! We were in London, and made the trip out to Leavesdon, but we would have loved this bus tour. Wish we had known about it. 🙁 Oh well, guess we have a reason to return now!
As a fan of a movie or book series, nothing can be more amazing than seeing what is depicted and described in the film or novel come to life! I’m sure it must have been a fabulous experience entering the world of Harry Potter.
I am usually not big on group tours, but after reading your post, this seems to be the perfect/right way to experience Harry Potter in London!
I have to admit that I am not a fan of Harry Porter but that did not stop me from watching all their movies. Few of my friends are hardcore fans and I can’t imagine how crazy they would get here. I would love to experience and explore a place like this – must have been awesome fun.
what a fun experience! I’ve never done a movie tour, but did stumble upon some places from the Sound of Music while in Salzburg and that was really fun. This tour seems amazing, given the guides were so knowledgeable and fun
I have to catch up on the Harry Potter movies! This looks like so much fun, would love to do this next London trip! We are headed to Scotland in May and will be taking the famous train ride too.
This is interesting. I’ve never heard of something like this before. Thanks for sharing. I’m heading to London with my children in October. This is definitely something to consider.
This is pretty cool! It’s like stepping right into the movie. The wand is a nice thought. Wingardium Leviosa!
I’m not a Harry Potter fan, but I can relate to all the fun connected with movie tours, since we have done the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg. My niece lives and dreams Harry Potter, and this is something she would absolutely love. I will be suggesting it to her.