Harry Potter on foot through London, from the morning's filming locations to the evening performance.

London has three Harry Potter filming locations you can see for free in a single morning and, for the afternoon and evening, two of the places that matter most to a fan: the gallery of the films' graphic designers and the stage play that continues the story. This plan links them in order, from north to south and back to the West End, by Tube and on foot. The only thing you need to book is the performance.

The day, hour by hour

8:30 · King's Cross. Start where the saga starts. Most of the platform scenes were filmed at this station, although the platforms themselves keep nothing of it today. In the concourse, outside the ticket barriers, is the trolley disappearing into the wall: put on your house scarf and have your photo taken for free. The queue is short at this hour. The shop next door opens at 8:00.

9:45 · Leadenhall Market. Take the Northern line to Bank and walk for five minutes. Under the Victorian roof, the walk of Hagrid and Harry to the Leaky Cauldron was filmed for The Philosopher's Stone. The pub entrance was a door in Bull's Head Passage: it has no plaque, so look for it by its shape.

10:45 · The Millennium Bridge. It is a twenty-five-minute walk along Cheapside, going round St Paul's. The bridge the Death Eaters destroy in The Half-Blood Prince is perfectly intact, and you can cross it in ten minutes to the South Bank.

12:00 · Borough Market. Following the river eastwards, you reach Borough Market, the food market next to London Bridge, in a quarter of an hour. Eat your way from stall to stall.

14:30 · House of MinaLima. Take the Tube from London Bridge to Tottenham Court Road. In Wardour Street you will find the gallery of the studio that designed the paper props of the films: newspapers, acceptance letters, wrappers. Free entry.

In between. With the afternoon ahead of you, two more filming locations and a statue are a few minutes' walk away: Piccadilly Circus, where Harry, Ron and Hermione walk through in Deathly Hallows: Part 1; and in Leicester Square, among the film statues, the one of Harry on his broomstick. If you have time to spare, Westminster station, which appears in The Order of the Phoenix, is a short Tube ride away.

19:00 · Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The Palace Theatre is a ten-minute walk away. Arrive an hour early: there is a security check and suitcases are not allowed. The play lasts 2 hours 55 minutes with an interval and is in English.

If there is no performance or you are travelling with children

There is no theatre on Mondays: swap the evening for the afternoon at the Studio Tour the next day. With young children, bear in mind that the play is long and in English; end the day at MinaLima and Leicester Square, and have dinner early.