CERM
"Religion and Science are two aspects of social life, of which the former has been important as far back as we know anything of man’s mental history, while the latter, after a fitful flickering existence among the Greeks and Arabs, suddenly sprang into importance in the sixteenth century, and has ever since increasingly moulded both the ideas and institutions among which we live." - Bertrand Russell
Location: Switzerland
Original Name: Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Magié
Official Title: European Organisation of Magical Research
Noted Scientists:
Jurisdiction: None
In a Nutshell: Located a few miles from CERN laboratories on the border of France and Switzerland, the research facility was inspired by it's nuclear predeccesor and opened only a few years after the muggle laboratories in 1957.

Diagon Alley
"The future is an unknown, but a somewhat predictable unknown. To look to the future we must first look back upon the past. That is where the seeds of the future were planted. I never think of the future. It comes soon enough." - Albert Einstein
Location: London, England
Hot Spots: Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour
Famous For: Ollivander's, Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, Gringotts, and more
Jurisdiction: Ministry of Magic, Britain
In a Nutshell: Located behind the Leaky Cauldron it is unquestionably the hub of commerce in the British wizarding world, with virtually every type of wizarding business stationed there. Consequently, the demand for space here is steep, and rent prices are considered astronomical.

Knockturn Alley
"The answer is never the answer. What's really interesting is the mystery. If you seek the mystery instead of the answer, you'll always be seeking. I've never seen anybody really find the answer-- they think they have, so they stop thinking. But the job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer." - Ken Kesey
Location: London, England
Hot Spots:
Famous For: Borgin & Burkes
Jurisdiction: Ministry of Magic, Britain
In a Nutshell: Just around the corner from Diagon Alley lies a dark, twisting alleyway devoted to the Dark Arts. Not only are the wares sold their a bit dodgy, but the wizards hanging around behave fairly suspiciously as well. From the shops and the street vendors one can purchase, among other things, shrunken heads, poisonous candles, human-looking fingernails, and all sorts of mood & mind altering potions.

Rhetoric Alley
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." - Dale Carnegie
Location: London, England
Hot Spots:
Famous For: the Order of the Phoenix Memorial Fountain
Jurisdiction: Ministry of Magic, Britain
In a Nutshell: At the far end of Diagon Alley lies a new section of roads, most buildings no more than two years old. It's primarily a residential area, lined with tall colorful town-homes and quaint grocery shops. The small streets are primarily named after heroes and martyrs of the most recent war. Rhetoric Alley was built on the idea of hope, and growth within the Wizarding World as a whole. It is unique in some of it's facilities, such as a youth center, an orphanage for young wizards & witches, and a primary school to teach not only a pre-magical education, but the basic skills every person should know.

Trigon Alley
"If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear." - Gene Roddenberry
Location: London, England
Hot Spots:
Famous For: Being the first Wizarding District to run on electricity
Jurisdiction: Ministry of Magic, Britain
In a Nutshell: Trigon Alley was developed during the reconstruction of Diagon Alley after the war. It was built with the mindset of having a more muggle friendly environment, particularly to muggleborns and their families. It is both a residential and commerical district, offering some of the same services that Diagon Alley offers, as well as having innovative new shops that central on magically enhanced muggle "artifacts" and technology. It's the only spot in the Wizarding World that you'll find signs in shop windows saying "WiFi available".