Visit the University of Oxford's world renowned library
Tours
Tours of the Bodleian Libraries
Get behind the scenes access to one of the oldest working libraries in the world. See the awe-inspiring architecture and hear the stories from the historic heart of the University.
Our shop and pop-up café opened on 12 April. Our exhibitions and library tours remain closed. Find out more.
City Walking Tour
Available from: 15 April 2021 Price: £20 per person Duration: 90 – 120 minutes Meeting point: Steps of the Weston Library
The Bodleian Libraries have teamed up with the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides to offer city walking tours operated by Green Badge tour guides.
Enjoy a fun and engaging walk through the historic streets and lanes of Oxford while your guide tells the complex stories of the evolving relationship between the city and the University.
Walking amidst the city’s most beautiful and iconic buildings you will follow in the footsteps of famous authors, scientists, politicians and film stars, getting the complete Oxford experience.
Your tour will start and end at the Weston Library. This tour will include the famous quadrangles of the Bodleian Libraries, recognisable from numerous TV series and Hollywood blockbusters.
Designed to impress, this splendid medieval room is the University’s oldest teaching and examination room used for the study of Theology. Considered to be a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture, it was built between 1424–88.
The Divinity School features in numerous Harry Potter films, including The Philosopher’s Stone and The Goblet of Fire.
Duration: 15 minutes
Starting location: Divinity School
Price: £2.50 per person
Open to: All adults and children
Available: Not currently available
Audio guided tour
The Bodleian Libraries’ interactive audio tour explores the historical significance of the stunning buildings that make up the Library.
What you’ll see:
The Old Schools Quadrangle
The Divinity School
The Clarendon Quadrangle
The Sheldonian Quadrangle
Radcliffe Square
Tour duration: 45 minutes
Starting location: The Ticket Office, Great Gate
Tour language: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Japanese
Price: £4.50 per person
Open to: All adults and children
Available: Tour not currently available
Exclusive 30-minute guided tour
This exclusive tour includes the Divinity School and the atmospheric Duke Humfrey's Library.
What you'll see:
Divinity School
Duke Humfrey’s Library
Tour duration: 30 minutes
Starting location: Divinity School
Tour language: English
Price: £9 per person (minimum spend based on a group size of at least 3 people)
Group size: Up to 5 people within the same household/bubble.
Open to: All adults and children over the age of 11
Available: Tour not currently available
Exclusive 60-minute guided tour
This exclusive tour includes the Divinity School, the atmospheric Duke Humfrey’s Library and some of the interiors of the building that form the historic heart of the University.
What you’ll see:
Divinity School
Convocation House
Chancellor’s Court
Duke Humfrey’s Library
Tour duration: 60 minutes
Starting location: Divinity School
Tour language: English
Price: £12 per person (minimum spend based on a group size of at least 3 people)
Group size: Up to 5 people within the same household/bubble.
Open to: All adults and children over the age of 11
Available: Tour not currently available
Divinity School
The University’s oldest teaching and examination room.
Convocation House
A 17th-century room originally constructed as a meeting place for the University’s supreme legislative body. It also briefly housed Charles I’s Parliament while the King was resident in Oxford during the Civil War (1642–6).
Chancellor’s Court
The University's former courtroom with a fan-vaulted ceiling and panelling from the 1630s.
Duke Humfrey’s Library
The most ancient library room and the atmospheric heart of the library.
Library tour information
Guided tours are conducted in English.
All tours include a number of stairs and some walking, no lift is available.
The routes and times of tours may change, please check with staff.
Only children over the age of 11 years are permitted on guided tours.
Children aged 11–16 must be accompanied on tours by a responsible adult, as our guided tours enter into Duke Humfrey’s Library which is still a working library.
Tickets can be booked up to two weeks in advance online.
We reserve the right to cancel any tour at short notice. In case of cancellation any pre-purchased tickets will be refunded.
