Diagon Alley

Lore & Background

On Charing Cross Road in London, the Leaky Cauldron is a shabby pub and inn that serves as the entrance to Diagon Alley. It is located between a bookstore and a record shop, and is invisible to Muggles. The rear doorway of the pub opens into a courtyard enclosed by a brick wall, and a particular brick must be tapped three times by a magic-user in order to open a passage to Diagon Alley. Numerous locations within Diagon Alley are notable in the series: Eeylops Owl Emporium sells owls, which deliver wizard mail, and supplies related to their care.

It is here that Rubeus Hagrid purchases the snowy owl Hedwig as a birthday gift for Harry. Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour sells ice cream and other treats. Mr. Fortescue, the proprietor, is highly knowledgeable about magical history; in Half-Blood Prince, he has gone missing and his parlour is boarded up. Flourish & Blotts sells a variety of magical books including Hogwarts textbooks.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the only wizarding bank mentioned in the novels. It is operated primarily by goblins and contains vaults that are protected by very strong and complex security measures. Ollivanders is a wand shop owned by the wandmaker Mr. Ollivander. His shop closes in Half-Blood Prince after he is kidnapped by Death Eaters.

He is rescued by Harry and his friends in Deathly Hallows. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is a popular joke shop founded by Fred and George Weasley. It sells joke and trick items, useful novelties, sweets, and items for use in defence against the Dark Arts. They open the shop in Half-Blood Prince, after several years of product development and owl-order service.

The shop is temporarily closed in Deathly Hallows, but Fred and George continue to take and fill owl orders. In the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, George and his younger brother Ron manage the business, Fred having been killed in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Reader's Guide

Several fan adaptions of Diagon Alley have been made. Some notable examples include a pop up Diagon Alley in Sykesville, Maryland, a Diagon Alley-themed Christmas display in Austin, Texas, and a pop-up Diagon Alley in the Changi Airport. A rebuilt version of the original Diagon Alley set is currently in the Warner Bros. Leavesden Studio Tour. Before the release of Hogwarts Legacy, some media outlets speculated that Diagon Alley could be a visitable place in the game, but considered it unlikely.

After the release of the game, several advocated for the inclusion of Diagon Alley in any potential sequel. IGN ranked the 2025 Diagon Alley Lego set as the 11th best Harry Potter Lego set of all time. Patrick Cavanaugh, writing for ComicBook.com, criticized the size of the set but described the set as a 'detailed and delightful display.' Sophie Brown, writing for Wired, rated the Diagon Alley board game as a 4/5.

Scott Reintgen described the first time Harry Potter goes to Diagon Alley in the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as his favorite scene in the movie. Charlie Lyne, writing for The Guardian, compared the same scene to 'getting a massive nostalgia cuddle from your mind.' The dragon at the end of Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida has been described as noticeable. Bonnie Wright described Universal Studios Florida's Diagon Alley as 'more detailed than on the set'.

Carly Caramanna, writing for Business Insider, praised the food and drink options at Universal Florida's Diagon Alley. Others praised the Escape from Gringotts ride.

Did You Know?

• The real-world version of Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida was created by dismantling a Jaws attraction.
• The attraction cost approximately $400 million.