Magicians and Muggles: a journey into the world of wizardry

London is one of those metropolises that defies summary: a millennia-old capital of the United Kingdom, it spreads along both banks of the Thames and changes character with every district. Its monumental heart turns around Westminster, where the Palace of Westminster and the Big Ben clock tower face the Gothic Westminster Abbey, setting for royal coronations. A little further on lies St James's Park and, at the end of the Mall, Buckingham Palace with its famous Changing of the Guard. Heading east you reach Christopher Wren's domed St Paul's Cathedral and, on the river, the medieval Tower of London guarding the Crown Jewels, flanked by the iconic Tower Bridge. On the opposite bank, the South Bank lines up the London Eye, the Tate Modern set in a former power station and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The great museums are free and astonishing: the British Museum with the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon marbles, the National Gallery overlooking Trafalgar Square, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert in South Kensington. Shopping has its temples along Oxford Street and at Harrods and Liberty, while Covent Garden, Soho and Camden Market reveal a younger, more creative London. The West End lights up its musicals each evening and Notting Hill smells of vintage stalls along Portobello Road. The food is an atlas of the whole world, from the curries of Brick Lane to pubs serving fish and chips and a pint of ale, not forgetting the ritual of afternoon tea. Getting around is easy thanks to the Underground and the red double-decker buses. Within easy reach await unforgettable excursions: the royal gardens of Kew, Windsor Castle, Greenwich with its zero meridian. London is a city forever reinventing itself, suspended between royal tradition and contemporary energy.

Gloucester guards one of England's most admired Gothic treasures, a historic south-west city founded by the Romans on the banks of the River Severn. Its heart is the magnificent Gloucester Cathedral, a masterpiece of Perpendicular Gothic with its fan-vaulted cloister made famous by the Harry Potter films, where King Edward II lies buried. Around the cathedral gather medieval streets and timber-framed houses, while the regenerated Gloucester Docks, an old inland port linked to the sea by a canal, now host museums, restaurants and shops among Victorian brick warehouses. The city also keeps the New Inn, one of the best-preserved galleried medieval inns in the country. Its position makes it an ideal base for exploring the Severn Valley, the Forest of Dean and the nearby Cotswold villages. Gloucester is a city weaving spirituality, mercantile history and riverside charm into an authentically English atmosphere.

York packs two thousand years of history within its medieval walls, the best preserved in England. Founded by the Romans as Eboracum and later the Viking capital of Jorvik, the city is dominated by the Gothic mass of York Minster, one of northern Europe's largest cathedrals, with vast medieval stained glass and a tower commanding the whole city. In its shadow winds The Shambles, a lane of timber-framed houses so overhanging they almost touch, now among the country's most photographed streets. Walking the ramparts offers glimpses of rooftops and fortified gates, the bars. The Viking past comes alive at the Jorvik Viking Centre, while the National Railway Museum celebrates Britain's railway epic with legendary locomotives. Among tearooms, historic pubs and chocolate shops — York has a long confectionery tradition — the city invites unhurried strolling. The banks of the River Ouse offer cruises and parks, and nearby stretch the moorlands of the North York Moors and the spa towns of Yorkshire. York is an open-air time machine, where every stone tells of a different civilisation.

Edinburgh reveals itself as one of Europe's most dramatic capitals, poised between volcanic rock and ever-changing skies. Its Old Town and New Town together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, two souls separated by a green valley, the Princes Street Gardens. Atop the crag stands Edinburgh Castle, a fortress guarding the Honours of Scotland and offering breathtaking views; from here the Royal Mile descends, the backbone of the old town, down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the sovereign's Scottish residence. Along the way open narrow alleys, the characteristic closes, St Giles' Cathedral with its stone crown, and shops of whisky and tweed. The airy, elegant Georgian New Town lines up neoclassical façades and stately George Street. Walkers can climb Arthur's Seat, an ancient volcano giving panoramas over the whole city and the Firth of Forth, or Calton Hill with the monuments that earned Edinburgh the nickname Athens of the North. The National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Botanic Garden round out the cultural offer, while in August the city erupts with the famous Festival Fringe. The cuisine ranges from historic pubs and traditional haggis to seafood and Scotch distilleries. Within easy reach await the coastal villages of Fife and the bridges over the Forth. Edinburgh blends history, mystery and refinement in an atmosphere unlike any other.