What you don’t know about Harry Potter

You might think that tons of Harry Potter was filmed in the UK. Sorry to burst your bubble British fans, but Belgium actually takes credit for the most castle shots in the movies. Obviously. Belgium has so many castles the film crew had lots to choose from!

The 16th century castle Gravensteen was the unmentioned darling we’ve all come to love without even knowing it. No joke! Put those nostalgia goggles on and we’re sure you’ll see magical traces all along the castle walls.

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You can also find all of these and more on our map.

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Also, here are our top picks for fun activities for you to do while you're in this magnificent country:

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1. Magic on the inside

Don’t believe us? OK, so, the crew used castles in the UK such as Alnwick Castle for those majestic outdoorsy shots. Of course, Gravensteen being in the heart of Ghent city wasn’t the good choice for that kind of scene. Instead, it was the inside of Gravensteen used for all sorts of shots. We gotta keep it real. From storage cupboards to bedrooms, the castle was the 100% top choice by the crew.

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2. Deep in the dungeons

As we all know, uncut scenes from the Harry Potter movies include the potion rooms and ancient dungeons of Hogwarts castle. Many of these were filmed in the historic dungeons of Gravensteen. The castle was once used as a prison so it fitted the bill.

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3. A forest to remember

No doubt you’ll recall the Forbidden Forest of the Harry Potter series. A few different forests were actually used for filming. From the Swinley Forest of Surrey all the way to Belgium. The Sonian Forest right on the edge of Brussels was the perfect place to find ancient trees and a dark, natural atmosphere.

We recommend walking through the woods in the day to avoid giant spiders!

4. Castles galore

Belgium has over 3000 castles! This little country has the most castles per square meter on the whole planet. There’s so many castles to see and magical memories to make.

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5. Happy April Fools!

While the general castle facts about Belgium are true, we’re sorry to say that no filming of Harry Potter took place in Belgium.

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You can find all of these and more on our map.