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Published on September 29, 2007

These days, tourists flock to places made famous as backdrops to hit films. And London's scenery has been a star for years. The city is as popular with moviemakers today as it ever has been: The Guardian recently reported that the industry is worth billions of pounds a year to the British economy. 

The Harry Potter films are the latest attraction. Lovers of the teen wizard have followed the magical trail beyond the books and the screen to London and other loca?tions in the UK.

There have been five "Harry Potters" so far, starting with the "Philosopher's Stone" in 2001 and moving through to the recent "Order of the Phoenix".

Muggles visiting London this month have been greeted with lovely, sunny weather, and locations here, including the scene for the Quidditch contest, make for a nice day of sightseeing.

From the first to the latest Potter instalment, scenes were shot at Kings Cross Station - where Harry takes the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9? to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The station, built as the Great Northern Railway's London termi?nus in 1851 and 1852, is an impor?tant stop on the Potter pilgrimage. On my day trip a gaggle of young disciples - mainly European schoolchildren and Indian and Japanese tourists - gather beneath the Platform 9? sign to be pho?tographed. Some of them even try to run through the wall.

The sign is misleading. Filming actually took place near Platform 4.

The latest Potter-film director, David Yates, brings in other London locations for starring roles, too. The Thames and the London Eye are impres?sive, despite their short time on screen. The Eye is a 135-metre tall wheel on the banks of the river and is one of several landmarks in the "Order of the Phoenix" chase sequence involving Dumbledore's Army and Harry's classmates on brooms high above London, en route to a clash with Voldemort's followers.

A trip on the Eye brings visitors an excel?lent view of Big Ben, Westminster and Buckingham Palace.

Nearby is the tube sta?tion from which Harry travels with Arthur Weasley to a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic. Westminster London Underground station was closed to commuters for a day of filming last year. This gorgeously modern glass-and-steel underground sta?tion is served by the Circle, District and Jubilee lines.

Potter devotees are fascinated to find out which telephone box Harry and Weasley use to enter the ministry. Just down the road from the station keep an eye out for a red telephone booth near New Scotland Yard. Hey presto! There's the secret entrance.

The market used in the "Philosopher's Stone" is Leadenhall Market in the shadow of the Lloyds building at the corner of Leadenhall and Lime in the City. This is where Potter alights from the Knight Bus in the scene depict?ing Harry and Hagrid entering Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron pub.

The entrance to The Leaky Cauldron was an empty shop. It's now an optical store - The Glass House, 42 Bull's Head Passage in Leadenhall Market.

The market has been the back?drop for other films. The Lamb pub was the site of a raucous brawl in John Wayne's only British movie, "Brannigan", while Angelina Jolie once zoomed through the arcade on her motorbike in "Lara Croft - Tomb Raider".

The Cauldron stands beneath the railway bridge on Stoney Street opposite Borough Market. This has been a popular area for makers of films such as "Bridget Jones's Diary", "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", "The French Lieutenant's Woman", "Howards End" and "Entrapment".

Many people like to walk through Charing Cross, officially recognised as the centre of London, to the inn and entrance to Diagon alley. It would be great to visit Eeylops Owl Emporium, get rotten cabbage in the Apothecary, buy a pot in the Cauldron Shop and pick up a paper at The Daily Prophet. These shops sound a lot more excit?ing than those on any ordinary high street.

If the spell hasn't worn off, you can carry on to where Aldwych meets the Strand, home of the Australian High Commission. The chandeliers and marble columns of Australia House were transformed into Gringotts Wizarding Bank. It's not generally open to the public, but there are daily tours.

Towards the end of the day we visit Regent's Park for London Zoo and the Reptile House. It became the Little Whinging Zoo where Daniel Radcliffe learns to speak to a snake and frees a boa constric?tor.

If the Strand part of the tour tires you out, why not head for Hamley's, the toy shop on Regent Street. The seven-level emporium sells items signed by the cast - great for muggles and wizards with deep pockets.

Vipasai Niyamabha

The Nation

London