A group of people stand around a tour guide - they are all looking to their left

Library guided tours

30, 60 or 90 minutes

Divinity School, Old Bodleian Library

Available in English

Children must be 11+

Book tickets in person or online

A trip to Oxford is incomplete without a visit to the world-famous Bodleian Libraries.

The Bodleian Library dates back to 1488, and the library as it stands today was opened in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley. Generations of famous scholars have studied in its reading rooms through the ages, including monarchs, Nobel Prize winners, British prime ministers and writers such as Oscar Wilde, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien.

We offer several guided tours of the Bodleian Library. The Old Library and Radcliffe Camera are working libraries, and guided tours are the only way to go inside these spaces.

Book library tour tickets

Most tour tickets are only available to buy in person on the day of the tour – visit the information desk in the Weston Library. Tickets often sell out quickly during peak periods (e.g. weekends, and July–August).

We release a limited number of tour tickets online in advance. These go on sale exactly 1 month in advance of the tour. For example, a tour on 5 August at 10am will go on sale on 5 July at 10am.

Learn more about booking tours on our tour information page. For upcoming closures, please check our Plan your visit page.

30-minute tour

Daily
£10 per person

Discover the Bodleian Libraries’ medieval origins. Admire the elaborately carved gothic ceiling of the Divinity School featuring over 400 crests and other images, see the pulpits and benches where students and tutors once debated, and visit Oxford University’s oldest reading room, the stunning Duke Humfrey’s Library.

You will see the Divinity School and Duke Humfrey’s Library.

Book 30-minute tour

View of the Divinity School in the Bodleian Library, a 15th-century room with ornate stone ceiling carvings, a stone floor, and windows down either side of the room

60-minute tour

Daily
£15 per person

Delve into the drama of the university and stories of student high jinks. Starting in the Divinity School and ending in the exquisite Duke Humfrey’s Library, hear how Oxford University maintained order in the 17th century and also housed King Charles I’s parliament whilst the King was resident in Oxford during the English Civil War (1642–1651).

You will see the Divinity School, Convocation House, Chancellor’s Court, and Duke Humfrey’s Library.

Book 60-minute tour

Tour and Tea

Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
From £43 per person

Complement your 60-minute tour with a traditional afternoon tea served in the Bodleian Café.

Explore the Bodleian Libraries’ historic spaces on a guided library tour, then unwind in the modern atrium of the Weston Library with a selection of savoury and sweet treats, tea, coffee, or prosecco. Vegan options available.

View the menu (PDF).

Book Tour and Tea

View of Convocation House with wooden pews either side of an ornate stone room

Two paintings in gilt frames hanging on a panelled wall either side of a stone doorway

90-minute tour (limited availability)

Saturdays and Sundays
£20 per person

Experience 600 years of history on an in-depth journey from the 15th-century Divinity School and Duke Humfrey’s Library to the iconic 18th-century Radcliffe Camera via the 21st-century Gladstone Link.

Discover beautiful domed reading rooms, fan vaulted ceilings, late gothic architecture and an underground tunnel, as our experienced guides reveal the fascinating history and secrets of the Bodleian Libraries.

You will see the Divinity School, Convocation House, Chancellor’s Court, Duke Humfrey’s Library, Gladstone Link and the iconic Radcliffe Camera.

Book 90-minute tour

tours radcliffe camera christopher judge

Library tour information

Guided tours are conducted in English.
All tours include a number of stairs and some walking. We regret that 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 working library spaces.
We reserve the right to cancel any tour at short notice. In case of cancellation any pre-purchased tickets will be refunded.

*Please check our plan a visit page for information and unexpected closures.