Can you visit Oxford University Harry Potter?

Discover key locations from the Harry Potter movies on this guided Oxford walking tour. The itinerary varies, but sights you might visit include the Bodleian Library and Christ Church college, both used for Hogwarts settings. Bond with fellow fans, take a quiz on the movies, and hear behind-the-scenes stories.

Was Harry Potter filmed in Oxford University?

Many people wonder if the Harry Potter films were actually filmed in Oxford. If that's you, you are not wrong! In fact, a lot of Harry Potter scenes were filmed in Oxford University spaces. However, many others, while not directly done there, were inspired by the beautiful colleges, their halls, and their libraries.

Can you visit University of Oxford?

In addition to the main University Open Days, several departments run course-specific open days and there are also many outreach events. We hope very much that you will be able to visit during one of our Open Days, but if this is not possible, you are still welcome to visit the University at any time.

Where is the University in Harry Potter?

Walk through the historic University City of Oxford and find the famous film locations inside the colleges that were featured in many of the early Harry Potter movies and learn about the places across the city that inspired the movies.

Where is the Hogwarts dining hall?

Christ Church's high-ceilinged dining hall was a model for the one seen throughout the films (with the weightless candles and flaming braziers)…but the actual filming happened on a set at the Leavesden studios.

Harry Potter - The Filming Locations in Oxford

Can you eat at the Great Hall Harry Potter?

Experience. Guests are invited to arrive into the Studio Tour Lobby for a drinks reception before moving through to the magnificent Great Hall for dinner. This truly magnificent event space is able to accommodate up to 240 guests on round tables.

Can you visit where Hogwarts was filmed?

For the 10 years that the Harry Potter film series was in production, it was lensed at a studio in Watford, a small town northwest of London. At this Warner Bros. Studio, visitors can see iconic sets like the Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts' Great Hall, and Diagon Alley.

How do you get into Hogwarts university?

Wizards and witches who turn 11, get letters from Hogwarts through owl posts, informing them about their acceptance to Hogwarts. Muggle born kids are reached out to by a professor of Hogwarts, who tells the Muggles about the magical world and how their kid has to be trained in one of the best magical schools.

What is the closest university to Hogwarts?

On our list of universities that look like Hogwarts, first, we have Oxford University. Oxford is the closest you can get to Hogwarts. Scenes from the films were shot on campus. The Dining Hall at Hogwarts was inspired by Oxford's Great Hall (seen below).

Is there a Harry Potter university?

Is there wizard college in Harry Potter? No, students graduate from Hogwarts and go straight to work, or if you're lucky, a grand tour of the world. In Goblet of Fire, Percy starts work at the Department of International Magical Cooperation right after graduation.

Is University of Oxford open to public?

The University itself does not organise tours, but many of the University buildings, including many of the colleges, are open to the public during the day.

Is it free to walk around Oxford University?

Some parts of the University - particularly the oldest, most centrally located colleges - charge for or restrict admission but many can be visited absolutely free.

Can you walk in Oxford University?

Some of the colleges' gardens are open to visitors, and there are many other public spaces where you can walk, jog or go for a picnic.

Did JK Rowling attend Oxford University?

Rowling took A-levels in English, French, and German, achieving two As and a B, and was named head girl at Wyedean. She applied to Oxford University in 1982 but was rejected. Biographers attribute her rejection to privilege, as she had attended a state school rather than a private one.

Where is Hogwarts Castle?

In the novels, Hogwarts is somewhere in Scotland (the film Prisoner of Azkaban says that Dufftown is near). The school is depicted as having numerous charms and spells on and around it that make it impossible for a Muggle to locate it.

Where is the Harry Potter library?

Bodleian Library, Oxford, England

The oldest reading room in Oxford University's magnificent Bodleian Library doubled as the Hogwarts library in three Harry Potter films. The next-door vaulted Divinity School became Hogwarts hospital, admitting students for broomstick injuries, curses and back-firing spells.

What school goes to Azkaban?

Only students of the Hufflepuff house will be able to access the only Hogwarts Legacy mission set in the dementor infested prison. The Hogwarts Legacy map is huge and includes some of the most emblematic locations in the world of Harry Potter, so Azkaban prison was almost a given.

Is Hogwarts at Oxford or Cambridge?

Every college in Cambridge has their own dining hall, some as majestic as the Great Hall of Hogwarts (which was actually filmed in Oxford's Christ Church College). These beautiful, spacious rooms are big enough to welcome all the students from the college, and are often used for informal breakfasts and lunches.

Is Hogwarts based on Harvard?

“I swear these staircases are modeled after Hogwarts,” she says. It's a statement that's not untrue, as Harvard was loosely based on Oxford, which also served as the inspiration for the popular wizarding school! Moving along, we then see the actual dorm, and it is lovely.

Can you visit the real Hogwarts Castle?

The fictional school of Hogwarts is located in the highlands of Scotland. However, in reality there is no “Hogwarts Castle” which one can visit. What you see in the film is a combination of visual effects work, purpose-built sets (constructed in a film studio) and one or two real locations.

Can you stay in Hogwarts Castle?

Sort of. Since Hogwarts is, well, fictional, you can't really check-in. But, the Georgian House in London has transformed some guest rooms into Wizard's Chambers. The rooms are part of the hotel's Harry Potter Tour Package.

Can you visit Hogwarts in Scotland?

Discover the magnificence of Alnwick Castle as you spot iconic filming locations from both the Philosopher's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets. Step into the movies at this grand medieval fort which doubled as Hogwarts itself.

Where is Diagon Alley in real life?

Diagon Alley is located in London. But the real-life inspiration for the street is thought to be Victoria Street in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city. BuzzFeed and Forever Edinburgh report that the street is rumored to be the inspiration behind Diagon Alley and recommend it to "Harry Potter" fans visiting the city.

Where is Diagon Alley?

Diagon Alley is a high street located in London. It is accessible to the wizarding world, to which it is something of an economic hub, but hidden from Muggles (non-magical people).

Where is Diagon Alley filmed?

Leadenhall Market in the City of London was used as Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, whilst the entrance to wizard's pub, the Leaky Cauldron, is in real life an optician in Bull's Head Passage.