Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided London audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~240 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type museum
- Suggested visit ~240 min
- London London guide
About Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
A walk-through behind-the-scenes attraction at Leavesden Studios where the Harry Potter films were made, featuring original sets, costumes, props, and the spectacular 1:24 scale Hogwarts Castle.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter opened to the public on 31 March 2012, just months after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 wrapped up a decade of filming at Leavesden Studios. What had once been a wartime aircraft factory, built in 1940 by the de Havilland Aircraft Company to produce Mosquito bombers, was rediscovered in 1994 by the production team for the James Bond film GoldenEye, who saw that the cavernous hangars were perfect for filmmaking.
In 1999, Heyday Films leased the site for the first Harry Potter film, and over the following ten years all eight films in the most successful film series in history were made here. In 2010, Warner Bros. purchased the studios outright as their permanent European base and invested over £100 million to transform a portion of it into the world's most magical film attraction.
The self-guided tour winds through two enormous sound stages packed with original sets, the Great Hall with its long oak tables and floating candles, Dumbledore's Office, Umbridge's pink-stained ministry chambers, the Gryffindor common room, Hagrid's hut, and the Forbidden Forest with its towering trees, Aragog the giant spider, and Buckbeak the hippogriff. Outside on the backlot you can stroll past the Knight Bus, climb aboard the original carriages of the Hogwarts Express on a recreated Platform 9¾, and even taste a frothy bottle of Butterbeer.
The expansion programme has continued for years: the Forbidden Forest opened in 2017, the breathtaking 16,500-square-foot Gringotts Wizarding Bank set in 2019, and Professor Sprout's Greenhouse in 2022. The grand finale of the tour is the model room, where the magnificent 1:24 scale Hogwarts Castle, used for every aerial shot in the films, sits surrounded by gently changing mood lighting that takes it from dawn to dusk to midnight.
Did you know? The Leavesden site was a wartime aircraft factory that built de Havilland Mosquito bombers from 1940, the studios were rediscovered in 1994 by the producers of GoldenEye.
How long should you spend at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London?
Plan about ~240 min at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Warner Bros. Studio Tour London worth visiting?
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is one of the 41 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in London, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in London
Hear the story of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
Preview the London tour free in the Gingerguide app.