London. Whether you’ve visited or not, you almost certainly recognize the iconic imagery of Big Ben, The London Eye, Buckingham Palace, red phone boxes, and more. And whether it be because of The Great British Bake Off, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Harry Potter, or One Direction, if you’re anything like me your childhood was riddled with dreams of the place. With all those things giving me big expectations, I know I was a bit apprehensive when I finally visited—what if London wasn’t the place of my imagination? Fortunately, with the right itinerary I realized all of my dreams and more could come to life with the best things to do in London! With that said, let’s get started with answering our question:
The Home of Harry Potter
See where the magic was made
When it comes to Harry Potter in London, your first thought might be to visit King’s Cross Station and look for the elusive Platform 9¾. With the popularity of the books and movies, it probably won’t surprise you that there’s a little display at King’s Cross where the platform would be (as well as a giant gift shop!). Here you can do a bit of shopping for your favorite Potterhead merch and take a photo with some Hogwarts house props and a cart that’s half sticking out of the wall. In all honesty though, there’s a huge line to take a photo and I found the whole experience a bit lackluster, so I don’t recommend visiting unless you’re already in the area.
So, what’s a Potterhead to do, then!? Well, you could either pay to take a walking tour that shows you some of the film locations, or… you can travel just outside of London and visit the ACTUAL place most of Harry Potter was filmed and see many of the sets, costumes, and props that were REALLY used! You can grab a meal there, learn how many of the special effects were pulled off, ride a broomstick in front of a green screen, and so much more. The practical effects and some of the deliberate stylistic choices were some of the most fascinating to me. For example, did you know that Harry’s Hogwarts acceptance letters were shot through his front mail slot by a letter sorter? Or that some patronuses were created by having real animals wear lighted vests? Or that the creative team deliberately makes Umbridge’s outfits, accessories, etc. more vivid shades of pink to coincide with her growing in power? In contrast, I was shocked by how bare the Great Hall set felt, as much of it is enhanced with CGI. So cool!
As far as my personal favorite area, as the studio is broken into sections, was the Forbidden Forest. The Buckbeak props almost looked like real animals and the Forbidden Forest set itself was amazingly detailed and much more expansive than I’d expected it to be. As a Potterhead, I can fully vouch that visiting Leavesden Studios was everything I wanted it to be and more. The only thing that was a little disappointing was that the butterbeer wasn’t as good as the stuff at Universal Studios.
As far as one last note, the cherry on top of the cake, of course, was walking all around the huge, detailed model Hogwarts that was built for all the sweeping film shots around the outside of the castle.
Pro Trip: If you decide to do the “passport” and look for the golden snitches hidden among the sets, some of them are genuinely quite tough to spot. One, in the replicating treasure set from Bellatrix’s Gringotts vault, took my friend and I probably fifteen minutes. I HIHGLY recommend doing the passport though, it’s so fun! There’s fun challenges and embossed stamps to collect.
Pro Trip: If you’ve been to the Harry Potter worlds at Universal Studios, you’ll probably feel like a number of things seem amazingly familiar. The Gringotts bank hall in particular I remember walking into and saying WOW! I’ve been here before!
Ready… Set… Bake!
Live the Great British Bake Off Fantasy
Whether you consider yourself a serious baker or not, who doesn’t want to live a Great British Bake Off dream? And what if I told you that you could drink cocktails with a friend while doing so? Introducing a great company called The Big London Bake. Every month they have a special theme, and teams of two compete to win a chef’s hat or apron. For example, when I visited it was the weekend of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and the challenge was to bake a cake that looked like the English crown. Just like in The Great British Bake Off, my friend and I were provided ingredients, a set of instructions to make the crown, and a time limit to bake our cakes within a semi-outdoor tent. During and beforehand, we were also able to buy drinks and snacks to enjoy!
At the end, you even get judged much like the show does it: each team brings their bake up to the front and they’re assessed to find a winner. Of course, as a hobby baker with a highly competitive partner I met in business school, my team took the crown (pun intended 😉)! Even if we hadn’t, though, it was a great way to bond with a friend over a low-stakes and competitive activity. I definitely did not leave disappointed!
Zooming out on the experience, the environment all throughout The Big Bake journey is pretty awesome. The front door is “hidden” and makes it seem like you’re just opening a fridge, which gives off major speakeasy vibes. After that, the bar area is super aesthetic to relax in before the competition. Once ready to compete, you really feel like you’re in The Tent™. There’s also super cute areas just to take photos at, like a pair of giant “leaning” cake statues. I will caveat this by saying I’ve only been to The Big London Bake’s East location, but I feel confident saying that the other locations are probably quite similar.
Pro Tip: Some people take the competition part relatively seriously while some people are purely at The Big Bake for the drinks and the vibes! Regardless of which camp you fall into, you’ll enjoy. Even if you’ve never baked in your life, you will have enough instructions to finish your bake… which, for the record, you get to bring home with you!
Pro Tip: Arrive a bit early with your teammate to chat and grab a drink at the bar 🙂 Enjoy the whole experience!
High Class Affairs
Embrace Your Inner Posh Princess
Sure, there are places to do derbies in various places in the world, but there’s something about going to an English Derby that feels an extra level of fancy and classic. When I went, I specifically went to the Cazoo Derby Ladies’ Day in 2022 that celebrated the queen’s 70th year on the throne! Watching the horses race was great, but I’ll openly admit that if you’re like me and don’t really know anything about horse racing you want to make sure you have some other distractions as well. Consequently, I’d recommend splurging a bit on whatever package you buy. My group didn’t go the highest end on our tickets, but spent more than the standard entry ticket. When we arrived at the derby, we were directed to a series of picnic tables right next to the races and received a large box with “picnic” food in it, as well as two bottles of wine. It was super nice to have a reserved home base to keep my group’s stuff and an umbrella for some shade. With that said, derbies are more than horse racing! There was a carnival, betting, grandstands, performers wandering around, and (my favorite) an area of beanbag chairs to sit in and watch the horses. I really enjoyed the day!
To add one more item to my suggestions for embracing your inner stereotypical London posh fantasy, I’d be remiss not to suggest going to see a performance at Shakespeare’s Globe. If you’re anything like me, the idea of spending your free time on Shakespeare makes your high school self roll her eyes and groan. Trust me on this though: watching professionals perform it in the Globe (particularly if you indulge in some wine while you watch) will change your feelings toward Shakespeare entirely. We might think of Shakespeare as high class nowadays, but originally it was seen as low class and crude… which is exactly why it’s so great at the Globe, as they perform it true to the original spirit. If I can summarize the experience in one moment, I never thought I’d be watching Shakespeare where the performers jumped around on a giant representation of a dick made of golden balloons as a part of a scene. Tickets can be pretty cheap at times, though I will warn you those extra cheap “obstructed view” tickets definitely have a giant pole in the way of them. With that said, my friend and I got obstructed view tickets and just moved over a little bit since the Globe wasn’t full.
Pro Tip: My only controversial derby statement is going to be a recommendation to wear comfy shoes. Sure, heels are a classic, but heels + uneven ground = a recipe for messed up ankles. At the very least, bring ballet flats or something similar that you can put in your purse to swap if your feet get too sore. Oh, and bring a power bank — good luck finding a plug outside!
Pro Tip: Buy any wine/hot chocolate/snacks you want at the Globe before the show. The only unpleasant part of the experience for my friend and I was that the snack area generally had huge lines and then sold out of things during the show. Given it got a bit chilly (the Globe does not have a full roof) we were sad when they sold out of hot chocolate!
At Tea Time, Everybody Agrees
Take to the Thames for a High Tea
I know, I know… I’m writing about another river cruise with some sort of food and drink. And yet, I’m going to maintain that a high tea on the Thames is a fun, unique experience worth writing about! Each river and city is different, and there’s something about cruising up the Thames that feels particularly special. Not only do you get to embrace your inner fancy self with cute snacks and drinks during a high tea or dinner, you also get to learn about the history of London’s expansion, see the red Time Ball of Greenwich mean time, and view many of the iconic London landmarks you’re famous for. Plus, your guide may even point out Daniel Radcliff’s (non-fictional) school along the banks of the Thames! At least with the company we used, the boats were clean and comfortable, which is always worth mentioning too.
You’ll need to reserve your spot a little further in advance for these days, but I highly recommend looking for a high tea or dinner cruise near a holiday, as some places will have special themes then that tie everything together. For example, since I was there around the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee there were loads of pennants with the Jubilee’s symbol on it, a cutout of the queen, and special pins among other theming! They also offered us a complementary glass of champagne when we boarded. It may seem kitschy to a real Brit, but my little tourist heart enjoyed every second of it.
Pro Tip: My friend and I got a touch lost finding the right dock and the right line on that dock to stand in, so I recommend planning to get to your reservation a bit early. Only 4-person groups got window seats on our cruise, but as member of a a 2-person group I can vouch that the giant windows still provided quite a nice view.
