Booking fee
The booking fee includes the costs of booking your tickets such as charges for payment processing. It also covers the provision of our customer care center for processing your order, and all charges imposed by our suppliers.
* This tour requires at least one of the following per booking: Adult, Senior
This is a small group tour with typically under 5 persons and limited to max 14 persons. Minimum numbers to book may apply to book- currently minimum 3 or 4 adults applies to book. Our competitors run tours with much larger numbers than we do, so one advantage of booking our tour, is a more personalised service.
This tour will include entry into at least one or more colleges- which college/s will vary from day to day.
See Oxford and England's history will be brought alive on this unique small-group guided walking tour of the city and university traditions. See inside colleges with any chargeable entrance fees included in your tour. The 90 to 120-minute long tour will feature storytelling about student life, college traditions, Henry VIII, Bloody Mary, CS Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien and even Harry Potter!
Notice: please see What's not included section for details of university graduation dates as most colleges are closed on such dates.
See more
PLEASE SEE EXCLUSIONS SECTION FOR DETAILS OF ANY CLOSURES TO VENUES.
Your guide will give you a complementary ILoveOxford map, showing you of all the main sights.
The tour typically visits inside either Balliol or Exeter or St Johns college
Tour does NOT visit Bodleian, Christ church, Magdalen or New colleges ( which cost £8-£18)
Christmas notice: colleges are usually all closed from approx Dec 21 to Jan 2nd
On graduation dates, we may not always be able to enter a college so see graduation dates below:
2024 Graduation dates includes....
Sep 27+28, Nov 8+9+16 of 2024
Departure Point
15-16 Broad St, Oxford OX1 3AS, UK
Meet your guide wearing red iloveoxford lanyard by our red sign, OUTSIDE Oxford Tourist Info centre, 15 Broad street, OX1 3AS.
Return Details
Bridge of Sighs, New College Ln, Oxford OX1 3BL, UK
The tour either ends outside New college or next door outside the Bodleian library.
Wadham College, Oxford, United Kingdom Which colleges we visit inside will vary from one tour to the next, depending on what is open from day to day. This college is free entry to visit yourselves.
Exeter College, Oxford, United Kingdom We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. This college is where Tolkien was a student! It's also connected to JK Rowling. 5 minutes
Balliol College, Oxford, United Kingdom Which colleges we will visit will vary from day to day, depending on what is open from day to day. This college is worth £3 in entry fee and we often visit here during the tour.
Bodleian Library, Oxford, United Kingdom We introduce the Bodleian and the Divinity school which is a Harry Potter film site at the Bodleian library. It costs £3 to enter the Divinity school and on dates, when no colleges may be open, the tour instead includes entry to the Divinity school.
We do NOT visit inside the medieval library as it is not open to private guiding but we do introduce the library history and architecture from outside. We also present info about the filming of Harry Potter here. 15 minutes
Bridge of Sighs, Oxford, United Kingdom We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.
Radcliffe Camera, Oxford, United Kingdom An iconic Oxford sight
University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, United Kingdom We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. 10 minutes
Radcliffe Camera, Oxford, United Kingdom We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.
All Souls College, Oxford, United Kingdom We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.
This college is free entry and we sometimes visit here. 10 minutes
Brasenose College, Oxford, United Kingdom We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.
Hertford College, Oxford, United Kingdom We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.
Jesus College, Oxford, United Kingdom We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. This college is where...Jesus studied in Oxford!! 5 minutes
St John's College, Oxford, United Kingdom We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. This college, we usually visit during the tour, assuming it's open. Its' free entry. 20 minutes
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
We cannot always guarantee entry inside any colleges during Covid19 and on graduation dates or Xmas period from approx. Dec 22nd to Jan 2nd
Please take note of any advertised university graduation dates mentioned below, as those dates can have less options of colleges to visit.
Graduation dates- please see 'EXCLUSIONS' section.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
Laura_T
25 Jan 2023
Our guide Murray was fantastic! He was knowledgeable, flexible, and fun. Very grateful for him and the view of Oxford he provided.
Thank you!
karenbB6545JV
27 Aug 2022
City of Oxford walking tour. (Bodleian Libraries) we highly recommend this tour. Our guide Lucy told us so much about the history of Oxford and the colleges' that have been built through the ages. Monies given by individuals and families to build the wonderful colleges we see today.
Anne F
20 Aug 2022
We did this tour today and just wanted to say how interesting Jacob made the tour. Not only did we see the buildings we wanted, but we also got both a historical view of Oxford and some fascinating stories.
Thanks again Jacob
This tour in
England
is organized by
Visit Oxford Tours Ltd
We always double-check the availability with our local partners for each booking. Even though this is usually a swift process, it can take up to 24 hours. Once this process is completed you will receive your voucher or ticket by email. If our local partner is not able to confirm your booking we will offer you the best possible alternative. If the new date and/or time doesn’t fit your itinerary, we will reimburse the full amount paid.
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