Plan your visit

We’re open to sightseers and the public:

Monday – Friday: 9am – 5pm
Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: 11am – 4pm

Check our upcoming closures for any changes to our normal hours.

Exhibitions at the Weston Library

Our exhibition galleries are open:

Monday – Friday: 10am – 5pm
Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: 11am – 4pm

Café and shops

Café and shops opening hours
 

January

• Saturday 18 January: The Divinity School will be closed all day. 30-minute library-only tours will be available.
• Monday 20 January: There will be no 60-minute library tours until 1pm.
• Tuesday 21 January: There will be no tours or entry to the Divinity School all day. The Old Bodleian, Old Bodleian information desk and both gift shops will be closed. The Clarendon Quad will be closed from 4–7pm.

February

• Wednesday 5 February: The Divinity School will be closed from 3pm. Library-only tours will be available from this time onwards.
• Friday 14 February: There will be no 60-minute library tours until 1pm.
• Thursday 20 February: Blackwell Hall will close early at 4pm.
• Saturday 22 February: The Divinity School will be closed all day. Library-only tours are available all day.

March

• Tuesday 18 March: Blackwell Hall will close early at 4pm.
• Thursday 20 March: Blackwell Hall will be closed for an event from 9am–1.30pm.

We recommend starting your sightseeing visit at the Weston Library:

 Weston Library, Broad Street, OX1 3BG

Here you can buy tour tickets, pick up a map, visit our free exhibitions, stop for a drink at the café or pop into the shop.

If you have a pre-booked Bodleian tour ticket, you can go straight to the Old Bodleian Library via the Great Gate on Catte Street.

Find out more about how to get here
 

Enjoy delicious drinks, snacks, and hot and cold meals in the Bodleian Café at the Weston Library, including vegetarian and vegan options.

Our traditional afternoon tea includes finely cut sandwiches, freshly baked scones served with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam, and a delightful selection of sweet treats, served with tea and coffee – or add a glass of prosecco to your booking.

We want to ensure that everyone can explore our buildings as comfortably as possible. We have different kinds of support in place for visitors with specific access needs.

Find out more about accessibility at our site.

Please note: all library guided tours involve stairs, and the 90-minute tour also includes a substantial amount of walking. We are working on improving accessibility on our guided tours to ensure visitors have an equitable experience.
 

We ask that visitors follow these rules in all of our spaces:

• Please do not leave bags unattended.
• When walking around library buildings, please observe 'quiet please' signs to avoid disturbing those working inside the Old Library and Radcliffe Camera.
• You are very welcome to take photographs, as long as this is for your personal, non-commercial use only. We do not allow the use of video cameras, flash or tripods (including selfie sticks) inside our buildings. Photography is not allowed in the Radcliffe Camera.

Exhibition galleries

Please follow these rules when visiting the exhibition galleries in the Weston Library. We aim to provide a safe environment for our visitors and make sure that our collections are preserved for the future.

• Food and drink are not allowed in the galleries, including bottled water.
• Children are very welcome, but please make sure they are supervised at all times.
• Pushchairs and buggies are welcome in the galleries. At very busy times we may need to limit the number of buggies in the gallery, and this will be at the discretion of the room attendant. Very large double-buggies cannot be brought into the exhibition galleries, due to the narrow walkways between exhibits.
• Assistance dogs are welcome in the galleries.
• Large items such as rucksacks or wheeled cases may not be taken into the galleries, due to space limitations. This includes any item larger than aircraft carry-on luggage. Medium-sized backpacks or cases should not be worn on the back or wheeled, but may be carried. Very small bags and day-packs may be carried on the owner’s back. These rules help avoid damage to works on the walls or to the display cases. The room attendant will use his or her judgement on which bags may be admitted, and how they should be carried, to avoid any risk of damage to the galleries, collections, or other members of the public. For guidance, bags larger than approx. 50 x 40 x 25 cm will be excluded from the galleries. We are unfortunately not able to provide any storage for large bags which have been excluded.
• Please do not bring wet umbrellas into the galleries. You can leave coats or umbrellas on the coat rack outside the galleries (please note that this is at the owner’s risk).
• You may bring pencils into the galleries. Pens and markers are not allowed.

• We encourage all visitors to use Park and Ride options to travel into Oxford to visit us.
• We provide e-tickets for all tours purchased online and we recommend that visitors recommended show their tickets on their devices. Onsite, we have halved the amount of paper being used for printing receipts/tickets.
• Read about sustainability at our café and shops.