It was, to be exact, 20 years ago this year when I first heard about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone a book that took the world by storm. Parents read chapters to their children but then stayed up all night to finish it themselves. I was enthralled with the imagination and magic, and voraciously read the books before passing them onto my daughter when she was old enough. She read the books but also watched the blockbuster film adaptations. (The first film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone debuted 20 years ago in 2001.) To this day, Harry Potter’s magic enchants people around the world and has sparked the creation of musicals and such adventures as The Making of Harry Potter theme park-like experiences. Potter adventures keep popping up everywhere.

But there is one thing that can really bring the magic to life for Potterheads and that is seeing some of the Harry Potter filming locations in person. Oxford, the old university town in England, is a wonderful place filled with historic colleges and architecture throughout, so it’s not surprising that many locations here were chosen for filming scenes set in Hogwarts, both inside and out. When I recently went back to Oxford, I decided to see some of these places myself.

My first stop was a tour of the Bodleian Library which blew my mind immediately. Step past the ticket box and you enter the Divinity School, a stunning hall with Gothic vaulted ceilings, immediately recognizable as the Infirmary of Hogwarts. Scenes in both Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were set around a sickbed under this very ceiling.

Steps up from there is the medieval Duke Humphrey’s Library, part of the Bodleian Libraries, which doubled as the restricted section of the Hogwarts Library. This is where Harry entered wearing his invisibility cloak in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Just so you know, the library is restricted. It has documents so ancient and valuable – such as the 3,000-year-old Egyptian papyrus scrolls, and the Gutenberg Bible – the most valuable book in the world and the first-ever printed book.

Steps away from the Bodleian Libraries lies the New College, new in a European sense only because even the New College dates to 1379. Its cloister courtyard doubled as one of Hogwarts’ many arched walkways and tunnels in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The college’s courtyard and the old tree growing in the corner were used as a scene in the same film where Mad Eye Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret.

I then visited two stores on Broad Street, just steps away from the library and New College, which are must-sees for fans: Watsons of Oxford, and its neighbor The Shop of Secrets, where you can buy merchandise ranging from your very own Doddy to a magic wand and more.

On to Christ Church College, where the stairs with their distinctive ceiling were used in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when Harry and his friends walk up to Hogwarts for the first time and are welcomed by Professor McGonagall. It was also used in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets where Harry meets Tom Riddle. The Christ Church College Great Dining Hall inspired the Hogwarts Dining Hall, which was built in a study.

Tip: Many Harry Potter filming locations are filmed in working colleges and libraries, so going as part of a tour, or organizing entrance to a college, is a must, because student life is ongoing, and they will not let any unauthorized people wander freely. To get the most out of the Harry Potter filming locations in Oxford go along one of the Harry Potter Walking Tours, which includes entrance fees and saves the hassle of trying to sort everything out yourself.

And while you’re in Oxford, why not try and catch a game of Quidditch? Oxford University has the oldest Quidditch club in the world and hosts regular games. If only they could fly!