I am taking my 9 year old daughter to London in November and am wondering if there are any things to do or places to see that have to do with Harry Potter...Would love to see the movie in London would it be different than seeing it in the states?

Trafalgar had a Harry Potter tour last june. You could probably still find the itenary on the internet if you try. I did not go on it and do not know if they intend on offening it again. It could give you some good ideas of what to visit.<BR><BR>As far as whether the movie will be different, it might have some slight changes in the vocabulary they use. We live in the states and I am trying to teach my child French. I could only find the DVD of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone in the US in Spanish and English so I bought the Canadian version which came in French and English. That version was named Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone. Everything about the movie was the same except that they kept referring to the stone as the &quot;philosopher's&quot; stone.

Off topic for this site I suppose, but why was the title changed for the US? <BR><BR>The philosopher's stone was a well-known concept in mediaeval times and crops up in Shakespeare, and takes no more explanation today than a 'sorcerer's stone' would. Did the philosophers' trade union launch a protest or something?

&gt;That version was named Harry Potter &gt;and the Philosopher's stone. <BR><BR>That really annoyed me. The title of the novel was changed for the US version. It seems as though the American publishers thought that our kids were too dumb to know what the philosopher's stone was.

Kjulie<BR><BR>The original story is called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone. The name was change for the US market as it was believed that having 'Philosoper' in the title would be confusing.<BR><BR>Do a search in Google for Harry Potter tours and you will find loads of tours / things to see.

Kjulie,<BR>Thanks for the tips on google. I will certainly check it out as well as the Trafalgar reference.....

If you use Google for harry potter tour you find the Trafalgar tour of Britain and another one. In London the sites they list are the reptile house in the Zoo (for Harry's liberation of a snake), Kings cross station (for platform 9 1/2) and (new to me) Australia House in Aldwych (for Gringott's Bank). They seem to have missed Leadenhall Market, near Monument tube station (for the pre-school shopping trip).<BR><BR>I saw the first film in London and then in Novi Sad in Serbia, and there was no difference: the young audiences were enthralled in both places. The film opens in London on 15 November.<BR><BR>I have on disc a note on Lonfin for young children: shall I copy it to you ?<BR><BR>Welcome to London<BR><BR>Ben Haines<BR><BR>

Ben, <BR>Yes I would like any info on London that you may have. Thank you...I have seen your posts and know you to have very good info about London...Here's a difficult question for you. How or Where could tickets for the Eric Clapton concert Nov 29th be procured. Would love to know this if you have any info.......many thanks

The reason that Australia house doesn't make it onto the lists of Harry Potter sites is that the film used only the interior (as Gringott's bank) but for security reasons they won't let you in, so there's really nothing relevant to see.<BR><BR>At King's Cross, there's no barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, so they filmed at Platforms 4 and 5.

Don't just search google -- do a fodors search there have been other discussions of HP sites.

Sam - they used to let you in to Australia House (it is the embassy) but stopped after 11/9 last year.

yes, I know -- that's why I pointed out that it was for security reasons -- i didn't think it was necessary to point out the specifics. We actually went there during our visit in summer 2001.

This is a little off the subject, but the newspaper today wrote an article about the tie between Harry Potter and Paris, being Nicholas Flamel's house (the man who made the socerer's stone in the book, an alchemist in life). It is reputed to be the oldest house in Paris.

Hi.<BR><BR>Most of the Harry Potter locations are not in London. One place I know in London is the interior of Gringotts Bank, which is the lobby of Canada House in Trafalgar square (can't miss it, big maple leaf on the top). Privet Drive is just some nameless housing estate and Hogwarts is an amalgamation of various places, some of which are...<BR>Alnwick Castle, Bodleian Library, Christ Church College, Oxford, Gloucester Cathedral<BR>If you go to Yorkshire you can go on the Hogwarts express, which is a real train (North York Moors Railway) they borrowed for the film and runs on a tourist route through the same countryside you see in the films.<BR>Diagon alley could be any old town, though it looks a lot like the Shambles in York.<BR>Kings Cross station is actually St Pancrass Station nearby.<BR><BR>To be honest, there isn't one place that really captures the Harry Potter feel more than anywhere else. Places like York and Oxford are very medieval.<BR>Remember that London isn't the whole of England, it's just one city!<BR>The West Country (Devon, Somerset etc..) is quite ye olde.<BR>It's hard to say what you'll like because we're used to all the old stuff so we don't notice it so much. You'll find that may very old buildings are just in day to day use like any other building. <BR>For more Potter location info, try: http://campaigns.visitbritain.com/harry_potter/index.htm<BR><BR>Hope this helps. Have a nice time over here and bring a warm coat!

Saw the new film on the 8th and it's very enjoyable - if your daughter hasn't already seen it in the US before you leave why not see the film here?<BR><BR>I found it even better than the first film - better developed story line which I felt stood alone much better than than the first.<BR><BR>Really enjoyable.<BR><BR>Kavey

Just a small point - the platforms 9 and 10 used in the film aren't the actual platforms 9 and 10 at King's Cross! I forget the actual numbers - I think it might be platforms 4 and 5 - but if you head for the platforms where the GNER services for Edinburgh and Leeds leave then you'll see the arches (and if you're very lucky, maybe platform 9 1/2 too!)

John, I couldn't get the site you suggested to come up, what is the name of the site so I can search for it? Thanks for the info but, I am going to the UK soon and wanted to chase up some of these sights

It's platform 9 3/4....

JET - I couldn't get it either, but there's the link (+ lots of others, e.g. the BBC one)if youBR><BR>- Go to www.google.com<BR>- Enter: British Tourist Authority Harry Potter

Erin, not sure if you're gone, but on PBS shortly they ar running a special on The Real Harry Potter which details all the locals used for shooting and which areas were described in the books. <BR>You can check your local PBS website for screening times...