Diagon Alley

"Harry wished he had eight more eyes.... There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...."

- Description to Harry Potter's first visit in Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley is a wizarding street and shopping area located in London, England behind a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Inside the alley is an assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights.

Location
Diagon Alley is accessible from Muggle London through the Leaky Cauldron, which is on Charing Cross Road. The Muggles who pass by the inn seem to be "quite unconscious" of its existence.

Access
"Welcome to Diagon Alley."

- Rubeus Hagrid to Harry Potter during Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley can be accessed by tapping the correct brick in the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron (three up, two across), to reveal the archway into the alley. It can also be accessed by Floo powder and Apparition. There may be other entrances as well.

Community
Inside the Alley is an assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights; some even have tables out front with colored umbrellas. Particularly during the days or weeks before school starts at Hogwarts, the location is packed with witches and wizards, though shops are open year-round as witches and wizards travel to the location for various goods. While the books include many school-supply locations, there are also many locations important to the wizarding world, such as Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Ollivander's Wand Shop, and is also the location of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, established by Fred and George Weasley shortly after leaving Hogwarts.

Important Locations

 * Eeylops Owl Emporium: is a pet store located in Diagon Alley that sells owls. It sells a variety of breeds, including Screech, Barn, Tawny, Brown, and Snowy.
 * Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour: is owned and operated by Florean Fortescue, and is located on Diagon Alley in London.
 * Flourish and Blotts: A popular bookstore in Diagon Alley where most Hogwarts students purchase their schoolbooks.
 * Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop: Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop is located in Diagon Alley. Fred, George, and Lee Jordan stocked up on Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks
 * Gringotts Wizarding Bank: Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the only known bank of the wizarding world. It was created by the goblin Gringott. It is located in Diagon Alley and is owned and run by Goblins. In addition to storing money and valuables for wizards, one can go there to exchange Muggle money for wizarding money.
 * The Leaky Cauldron: The Leaky Cauldron is a popular Wizarding pub in London. It is the entrance to Diagon Alley.
 * Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions: Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions (sometimes simply referred to as Madam Malkin's) is a shop in Diagon Alley. Students get their Hogwarts school uniforms there, and also dress robes, travelling cloaks, and the like.
 * Magical Menagerie: One of the shops where students buy their pets.
 * Obscurus Books: Obscurus Books is a Wizarding book publisher. Its range of titles include the popular Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
 * Office of the Daily Prophet: Presumably where they write the Daily Prophet.
 * Ollivander's Wand Shop: Ollivander's Wand Shop is the sole wand shop of Diagon Alley. Peeling gold letters over the door of the shop read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.. The shop's display consists of a solitary wand laying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. The shop is tiny, empty except for a single, spindly chair in the corner. Thousands of narrow boxes containing wands are piled right up to the ceiling of the tiny shop, and the whole place has a thin layer of dust about it.
 * Pottidge's Cauldron shop: Pottidge's Cauldron shop is a shop where you can buy cauldrons
 * Quality Quidditch Supplies: A store in Diagon Alley. Its main products are things having to do with Quidditch such as Quaffles, Bludgers, and broomsticks.
 * Slug & Jiggers Apothecary: Where students buy their potion ingredients.
 * Twilfitt and Tatting's: Twilfitt and Tatting's is a wizarding clothing shop located in Diagon Alley, London, England. Given that it is favoured by elitist pure-blood witch Narcissa Malfoy, it is probably an upmarket shop.
 * Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is a joke shop in Diagon Alley owned by Fred and George Weasley. It sells practical joke objects, such as Extendable Ears, a Reusable Hangman, and Fred and George's special WonderWitch products, such as love potions and ten-second pimple remover. There is also a section of Muggle magic tricks in honor of their father Arthur Weasley. They're not big sellers, but they do fairly well.
 * Whizz Hard Books: Whizz Hard Books is a Wizarding book publisher. Its range of titles include the popular Quidditch Through the Ages and Hairy Snout, Human Heart.

Etymology
The words "Diagon" and "Alley" when pronounced together, produce the word "diagonally" which is most probably the origin of the name "Diagon Alley".When Harry mispronounced the name into diagonally, he landed in a fireplace in nearby alley, the Knockturn Alley.

Behind the scenes
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 * In the United States, there is a remake of Diagon Alley in Santa Monica, California called Whimsic Alley (which is a play on the word "whimsically". There are shops there that mimic the real Diagon Alley and one can actually purchase things there.
 * In 2010, Universal Studios, FL is re-creating Diagon Alley in their Harry Potter theme park.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Notes and references
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