https://sendgb.com/aNpfkSKZi4R - exhibition video 

The two thousand square meters of interactive rooms, cinematic props, themed photo spaces, and the official store of Harry Potter: The Exhibition are officially open to visitors. From this morning, September 19, 2025, until Epiphany, Harry Potter fans can visit the interactive exhibition that brings Italy into the fold of countries that have hosted a version of this traveling Warner Bros Discovery initiative, which involves various cities around the world, each with its unique and unprecedented version of the setup.

It was also a significant logistical challenge in the heart of Milan, as revealed by The Mall's manager at the press conference presenting the event: "Seeing the setup come to life over these months has been incredible. It's something rarely seen in an Italian city. We had fifty trucks of material that we had to bring into this space in the heart of Milan, working in three shifts." Tom Zaller, President and CEO of Imagine Exhibitions, which curates the various incarnations of this exhibition around the world, echoed him: "We created this exhibition using hundreds of original props and costumes, worn by actors in all the Harry Potter films, in Fantastic Beasts, and even some from the Broadway show Cursed Child." There are more than twenty rooms full of experiences. When you enter, you will see all these original props and costumes."

Tickets to visit the exhibition start from 26 euros (plus 2 euros for presale and 1.9 euros in fees if purchased online from the official event website) for adults, with discounted options for families and packages including exclusive merchandise and flexible entry for super Harry Potter fans (for a price approaching 50 euros). They are already on sale on TicketOne. Given the significant financial investment, what can you find inside the exhibition? Below is an account of the experience, so you can decide if it's for you and plan your visit best.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition: a personalized visit

At the entrance to the exhibition, in an environment that recreates London station and the famous Platform 9 and 3/4, there are a series of totems where visitors can register the personal bracelet given to each visitor upon entry. The procedure is quite simple to follow, but adults will need to help younger children, as it requires entering an email and accepting various privacy regulations.

Once the small bureaucratic hurdles are overcome, you type your name on the totem's touch screen, choose your house affiliation (which is not assigned randomly, as happens on Pottermore, for example), and choose your wand and patronus. The games within the exhibition allow you to earn points for your House and lead it to victory in the final tournament.

Once your profile is registered, you move to a space where visitors are photographed: upon exit, you can purchase your portrait with one of the personalized Harry Potter themed backgrounds starting from 20 euros.

In the various rooms, using the bracelet that must be passed over the Golden Snitch-shaped readers, you will participate in mini-games to test your skills as a wizard: they are all quite simple and intuitive, perfect even for younger audiences.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition: room by room guide

Upon entering the actual exhibition, after a room with the first prints of the first Italian and English novels, you enter a hall surrounded by large screens where the Marauder's Map will appear. The names of newly entered visitors will appear on it. You then move to a room with a digital version of Hogwarts in various seasons of the year and at various moments in history.

You then pass through the portrait gallery, with some paintings that magically come to life, like the Portrait of the Fat Lady. You arrive in a circular room with the Sorting Hat, with the first mini-game that allows you to accumulate the first points for your house. In this space, costumes and props of some representative characters from each house, from Luna to Bellatrix, are displayed in four showcases. In the subsequent rooms, many stage costumes are displayed, mostly from the final chapters of the cinematic saga, where Daniel Radcliffe and company were already grown up and dressed as "Muggles" fleeing from the Death Eaters. In the prop showcases, you will also find many materials from the first film of the Fantastic Beasts spin-off saga and from the Cursed Child stage play.

The first valuable photo opportunity is in the Great Hall, where you can sit under the floating candles at one of the Hogwarts student tables and take a souvenir photo. This is followed by the wand room, displaying the original wands of the saga's protagonists, from Voldemort to Hermione, also made for the two films that conclude the main saga and for Fantastic Beasts.

This is followed by four rooms dedicated to lessons: in the first, you test yourself on potions, then it's the turn of defense against the dark arts, passing through herbology and divination. In all these rooms, there is interactive content for visitors, to be unlocked with the bracelet. Among the most beautiful props displayed in these spaces, I would highlight the best-selling books of Gilderoy Lockhart, one of the many Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers who passed through Hogwarts.

Two other fun photo sets are present in the following rooms, which recreate Hagrid's hut: you can sit at his table and in his armchair, all extra-large. Here you can distinctly hear the smell and sound of the crackling fireplace. This is followed by a set that recreates the Forbidden Forest, where you can summon your Patronus on a screen. Among the best-designed virtual experiences is one that allows you to experience using a Portkey, with a dedicated animation on the screens surrounding the visitor.

Next is the Quidditch room, where you can test yourself by throwing Bludgers and trying to hit the floating hoops: if you manage to score, applause erupts from the stands. In a corner, you can take a photo riding a Nimbus 2000. There is also space for a room dedicated to the Triwizard Tournament, with the uniforms of the participants worn in the film, the Cup transformed into a Portkey, and the Goblet of Fire from which Harry Potter's name also emerges.

The next section of the exhibition is dedicated to the villains of the saga: it begins with the most sinister incarnations of the Ministry of Magic in Fantastic Beasts (there is also a room where you can take a photo popping out of Newt Scamander's suitcase) to move on to Dolores Umbridge's office, where you can take a photo sitting at her desk.

Another very fun set is the one that recreates the cupboard under the stairs that served as Harry's room before the Hogwarts letter arrived: you can slip into his small bed and take a photo. The final room is dedicated to Voldemort and his Horcruxes: in addition to Ravenclaw's diadem and Hufflepuff's locket, there is also a Death Eater costume and one of Ralph Fiennes' cloaks from the last film in which he embodied Voldemort. In a dedicated set, you can also recreate his final wand duel with Harry Potter. The final environment is dedicated to Dumbledore and recreates his study: in two large showcases, you can see the many trinkets present in his office at Hogwarts, while in a corner there is a replica of his Pensieve.

At the exit, there is a dedicated shop with a large quantity of gadgets related to the films, books, and also the materials seen in the exhibition. As Zaller emphasized, over 90% of the items for sale are exclusive to the event and cannot be purchased elsewhere. However, I would point out that the prices are very high, even considering the average for initiatives and events of this type.